Cape Town · Hybrid, with regular travel · Reports to the Chief Technology Officer

Role Overview

Our client is an established international independent power producer that develops, builds, owns and runs utility-scale renewable energy plants in South Africa and the wider region. They are looking for a Head of Engineering to lead the engineering function in their technical division.

This is a senior leadership role. You report directly to the Chief Technology Officer, you sit on the management team and you help set the direction of the technical division. You lead the Head of Project Engineering and the Head of Grid and Electrical, and through them the project, electrical and civil engineers.

You are accountable for the engineering on every project, from early development and tendering, through financial close and construction, to handover. You own the technical specifications and the employer's requirements that go into the construction contracts, and you make sure each project strikes the right balance between cost and technical risk.

Our client is clear that this is not a purely technical role. They want an engineering leader. You bring real technical credibility, and you are just as strong at leading senior engineers, growing their skills, delegating well and managing performance.

What You'll Do

Leading the engineering team

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of senior engineers, including the Head of Project Engineering and the Head of Grid and Electrical
• Give each person clear responsibilities and objectives, and measure their performance against them
• Delegate properly, manage the workload and assign engineers to project teams according to the company's priorities
• Plan progression and succession, so the team keeps the skills it needs as the pipeline grows
• Build local strength in electrical and civil engineering, so the team can solve South African project problems itself
• Set the engineering performance measures, track them and act on what they show

Strategy and direction

• Work alongside the Chief Technology Officer on the direction of the technical division and its long and short term goals
• Represent engineering at senior management level, on project steering committees and on construction committees
• Give a clear technical view on project and investment decisions, and weigh technical risk against the commercial case
• Bring new technologies into the business and build the know-how to deliver them
• Write, update and enforce the engineering policies, standards and procedures, so every project follows the same principles
• Share engineering knowledge and lessons learnt with the wider international group, in both directions

Development and tendering, before financial close

• Make sure your engineers optimise every part of the design to bring down the cost of energy, without taking on technical risk nobody is managing
• Define the project specifications from the bid requirements, the permits and the technical limits of the site
• Define and sign off the employer's requirements for the construction contracts
• Run the technical evaluation of the main construction contractors and equipment suppliers, their offers and what they deliver
• Lead the technical due diligence on projects being acquired, on outside technical reports and on new suppliers and equipment
• Lead the design-for-construction reviews and the construction readiness checks
• Use value engineering to lift plant performance and project returns

Construction, after financial close

• Make sure designs follow the contracts, the project specifications, local rules and good construction practice
• Set up the review process for contractor designs, drawings, calculations, datasheets and procedures, and keep improving it
• Put the tools in place to supervise and report on the mechanical, electrical, control and civil work
• Sign off the key technical and construction documents and decisions
• Make sure each project meets its environmental authorisation, its environmental management programme, the Equator Principles, health and safety law and the group's own policies
• Carry the legal health and safety responsibilities that come with leading people, including risk assessments for your team

Contractors and stakeholders

• Manage the construction contractors, engineering consultants and suppliers, and hold them to their performance
• Negotiate with service providers when needed
• Work with Eskom, the national energy department, the Independent Power Producer Office and the advisers on engineering and plant performance

What We're Looking For

Minimum requirements

• An honours degree in engineering
• A master's degree in engineering or business administration (preferable)
• At least 15 years in engineering, with around 7-10 of those in renewable energy
• Hands-on experience of utility-scale renewable energy projects through development, tendering and construction
• Experience leading the engineering on large power generation projects where several engineering disciplines have to come together
• Experience across more than one technology, ideally wind, solar and battery storage
• A proven record of leading engineers: mentoring specialists, planning succession, managing resources and building a team that performs
• Strong business sense. You understand what an engineering decision costs, and you know the technical and commercial terms in construction and supply contracts
• Experience leading a work stream from the start of a project through to financial close
• The confidence to influence contractors, Eskom, government bodies and senior management
• South African citizen or permanent resident

Preferred

• Registered professional engineer
• A postgraduate diploma in general management
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Project or Primavera

Our client is looking for a senior engineering leader, not a senior technical specialist. You have the technical depth to challenge contractors and your own engineers, the people skills to build a strong team, the business sense to see the commercial impact of every engineering choice, and the presence to work at senior level with the Chief Technology Officer and the leadership team.

What We Offer

• A senior leadership role on the management team of an established international independent power producer
• A real say in the direction of the technical division and in the investment decisions behind each project
• A pipeline of utility-scale projects across several technologies
• A competitive package that matches the seniority of the role

Should you not hear back within 14 days, your application was unsuccessful.