Operations Manager Logistics

The Operations Manager Logistics is accountable for the integrated, safe and efficient management of all Astron Energy Logistics operations across South Africa and Botswana. This includes the safe operation, storage and handling of all petroleum products at inland and coastal terminals; the safe, compliant and reliable transportation of fuel across the fleet distribution network. The Operations Manager Logistics leads a team of 133 across four Business Teams, Terminals Inland, Terminals Coast, Fleet - and is accountable for driving cost reduction, operational efficiency, asset reliability and HSSE standards across all logistics assets.

Strategic Implementation

• Translate strategy into operational initiatives with measurable business outcomes and targets.
• Facilitate the development of best practice in operations and service excellence.

• Develop and drive the implementation of the strategy, plans, vision and goals for the Logistics Operations function, encompassing terminals, fleet with a strong focus on asset reliability, efficiency and safety across South Africa and Botswana.

• Propose input into Astron Energy business strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability, growth and profitability of the logistics business, including alignment to the One Astron operating model and Glencore Operating Management System (OMS) objectives.

• Set objectives and key performance indicators for area of responsibility and developing and implementing necessary processes, systems and procedures to monitor, track, report and take corrective actions where necessary.

• Lead the strategic integration of the operations business unit into the One Astron operating model, setting the operational framework, governance standards and performance expectations for marine, aviation, bunker and lubricants operations.

• Co-accountable (with the Operations Manager Refinery, in accordance with the Delegation of Authority (DOA) framework) for managing capital expenditure for operations for within the cycle budget and ensuring logistics and terminal capital requirements are adequately represented and justified for capital approval committees.

• Co-accountable (with the Operations Manager Refinery) for agreeing response plans, ensuring business continuity protocols are in place for all logistics terminals and distribution assets.

Operational Effectiveness

• Manage day-to-day delivery, running processes, monitoring performance, managing exceptions.

• Accountable for operational excellence and OMS objectives across the Logistics Operations function, role-modelling OMS leadership behaviours and ensuring all processes and procedures for terminals, fleet, marine, aviation and bunker operations are implemented, monitored and complied with.

• Accountable for the operational performance of all Astron Energy inland and coastal terminals, directing Business Team Managers (Terminals Inland, Terminals Coast) on terminal throughput, product loading and stock management in adherence to supply schedules, hauler reconciliation and exception management.

• Accountable for the effectiveness of fleet distribution operations with oversight across South Africa and Botswana through the Business Team Manager – Fleet, ensuring fleet coordinator performance, hauler management, safety compliance and last-mile product delivery meet customer service requirements.

• Enforce the implementation of all processes and procedures to ensure full compliance within Logistics, Fleet and operations.

• Develop and implement processes and procedures to ensure that facilities are compliant.

• Ensure that the compliance methodology for the identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of regulatory compliance risks is embedded in the business.

• Ensure systems are implemented to execute on daily operating instructions issued to terminals, detect and assess deviations and reconcile product movements accurately against the supply schedule.

• Govern exception management across the logistics terminal network, including product shortage and price change prioritisation, loading disruptions, Electronic Data Interchange and system failures, mis-loads and stock variance investigations.

• Ensure the compliance methodology for the identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of regulatory compliance risks is embedded across all logistics terminals and fleet operations, with corrective action processes in place for non-conformances.

• Approve of the startup of logistics-related capital project operations and project close-out (by threshold), confirming all commissioning activities and operational handover requirements for terminal and logistics assets are complete to ensure effective and safe restart of operations.

• Co-accountable (with the Operations Manager Refinery) for rationalising and deciding on emergency procurement when standard supply channels cannot meet urgent operational requirements at logistics terminals.

• Oversee logistics data harmonisation and its upload to SAC, ensure terminal and truck-movement incidents are explained at Scorecard reviews, and direct root cause analysis of deviations, validating and approving improvement opportunities

• Steer logistics capital projects through PPC stage gates, approving tender evaluations and contractor recommendations, providing input to engineering execution, and ensuring commissioning handovers with Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) and post-project evaluations with lessons learned

• Oversee the procurement of chemicals and additives (including emergency procurement), ensuring quality approval of incoming additive offloading, compliant chemical waste disposal and periodic vendor contract reviews

• Direct regulatory and land-access obligations, ensuring monthly tariff reporting to NERSA and leading the negotiation, renewal and compliant operation of land and access agreements (ACSA/TNPA leases and wayleaves)

• Ensure assurance on charter vessels, approve demurrage claim validations, provide input to marine loss of containment reviews and direct the resolution of import quality disputes with suppliers

• Oversee hauler contracting and its review lifecycle, approving monthly sign-offs of hauler losses and gains, reconciliations of quantities billed by third parties and contracts with third-party waste disposal providers

• Sponsor audit and assurance activities, ensuring audits are initiated with the right assurance scope and that area peer reviews and conformance assessments are evaluated

• Provide input to mechanical integrity governance, including inspection reporting with PCMS updates, escalation of overdue temporary repairs and statutory preventive maintenance deferrals

Financial Management

• Manage budgets and monitor expenses ensuring expenditure is within approved budgets.

• Accountable for all Logistics Operations costs that impact the overall enterprise EBITDA, including terminal operating expenditure, fleet costs and logistics administration, driving adherence to approved financial targets across all Business Teams.

• Manage capital expenditure objectives for Logistics Operations, delivering projects on time, on cost and to quality.

• Govern terminal financial performance, with oversight on hauler loss and gain management, stock reconciliation accuracy and materials spend, holding Terminal Managers accountable for monthly financial close and variance reporting.

• Oversee joint-venture and third-party facility agreements, leading negotiations and reviews of JV and NOJV agreements, quarterly billing and governance reviews, capital invoicing, 3-year capital planning and the evaluation and close-out of JV partner claims

People Management

• Provide leadership to the entire team, defining objectives to be achieved by the department.

• Manage performance of direct reports ensuring agreement of annual goals and measuring performance against agreed goals and addressing non-performance issues.

• Deploy people management processes effectively, in line with Company policies, procedures and prevailing improvement initiatives.

• Ensure strategy is effectively operationalised through managers and their teams.

• Drive a culture of high performance and accountability and encourage team members to live the Company values.

• Drive capability development and succession planning across the Logistics Operations leadership team, actively coaching Business Team Managers (Terminals Inland, Terminals Coast, Fleet) to build operational expertise, commercial awareness and people management depth.

Safety, Health, Environment and Quality

• Ensure compliance with all Safety, Health, Environmental and all other applicable regulatory statutes, and all other safety and quality processes for the area of responsibility/work.

• Steward OMS within Astron Energy to ensure continuous improvement, with key focus on role modelling OMS leadership behaviours for Operational Excellence and compliance performance.

• Hold ultimate operational accountability for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) compliance across all Astron Energy logistics terminals, fleet distribution operations, ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993, road transport regulations, site SHEQ policies and permit-to-work (PTW) procedures.

• Ensure the safe, compliant and reliable road transport of fuel and related products, with strong oversight of HSSE standards, driver and fleet safety, regulatory compliance and road risk management across the entire fleet distribution network.

• Accountable (with Delegation of Authority (DOA)) to manage permit and licence renewals for logistics terminals, including product storage licences, environmental permits and regulatory authorisations, responding to external regulatory audits and inspections as required.

• Ensure all logistics terminal operations meet Atmospheric Emission License (AEL), waste management and environmental compliance requirements, with oversight on  escalation and correction of any permit deviations.

• Drive a zero-harm safety culture across all contracted fleet, hauler and terminal service providers, with particular emphasis on road safety standards, dangerous goods (DG) transport compliance and HSSE risk management in marine and aviation operations.

• Lead logistics business continuity and emergency preparedness, ensuring risks are identified through scenario analysis, response plans are defined, tested annually and exercised through drills, emergency trigger criteria and decision ownership are defined, and lessons learnt are captured and shared with the enterprise

• Govern the safeguard bypass and protective-system impairment process, ensuring SORA risk assessment teams are assembled, risk documentation is completed, overdue bypasses are escalated and safety-critical devices are restored to service with records closed

• Provide input to process safety studies and programmes, including PHA/HAZOP/LOPA/SIL determination, MHI hazard identification (QRA and HAC), maintenance of the SCE list and Safety Instrumented Systems, PSSR and periodic verification of monitoring and inspection programme effectiveness

• Ensure losses of containment are reported to the relevant authority, captured and investigated, and govern the Management of Change process, approving change classifications, change risk assessments, PSSR with start-up approval and extensions of overdue temporary MOCs

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Identify, build, and nurture trust and collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders

• Serve as the Astron Energy Operations representative for Logistics, collaborating with EXCO, Retail, Commercial and Industrial (C&I), Lubricants Sales and Marketing and other relevant functions within agreed service levels to ensure seamless interdepartmental planning and execution of business plans.

• Interface with the Enterprise Value Chain Optimsation function through the Enterprise Supply and Demand Coordinator, Head of Operations and Chartering and Enterprise Manager to enable accurate planning, ensure operational execution capability to achieve schedule and quality targets

• Interface with the Operations Manager Refinery to promote seamless coordination with Blending and Shipping on Supply Scheduling, ensuring logistics terminal capacity constraints, product movement deviations and schedule reoptimisation decisions are resolved effectively and robust open communication channels between operations teams on all fronts.

• Build and maintain strong, mutually beneficial relationships with Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and relevant oil companies, managing Astron Energy's port access, berth scheduling and marine logistics requirements.

• Foster relationships with joint venture counterparts and stakeholders, managing JV terminal operational governance and performance within agreed partnership frameworks.

• Manage the organisation's licence to operate at terminals, engaging SHEQ, Legal and regulatory support as needed, and supporting communications and resolution of logistics matters with relevant regulatory bodies.

• Collaborate with the Operations Manager Refinery on refinery-to-terminal product transfer, shared materials procurement, emergency supply decisions and business continuity planning at the refinery-to-logistics operational interface.

• Collaborate with the Operations Manager Refinery on unified asset strategies, unified operations procedures and agreed functional support requirements.

• Engage with the Technical Manager and Fixed Equipment Integrity (Fixed Equipment Integrity) Lead on asset integrity requirements for logistics terminals, including tank inspection programmes, Fixed Equipment Integrity repair scope and terminal capital investment needs.

• Engage with the Reliability and Maintenance Manager to agree and ensure clear centralised support requirements for maintenance and reliability monitoring

• Represent Astron Energy's Logistics Operations interests to government bodies, community forums, customers and contracting companies, building and maintaining relationships that support the logistics function's social licence to operate.

This list is not exhaustive and may include other responsibilities assigned by your line manager that are within your competency and capability to safely execute.

Professional Qualification and Certifications:

• Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering, Logistics, Supply Chain or a related discipline - required

• Financial management or Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification advantageous

• Dangerous Goods (DG) transport or hazardous materials management certification advantageous

Work Experience:

• Minimum 12–15 years' experience in a senior management role in Supply Chain, Logistics or Manufacturing, with relevant experience in petroleum terminal operations, fuel distribution or integrated downstream energy

• Extensive experience in leading and developing people and teams across multi-site, multi-country operations

• Proven track record in terminal operational management: product loading, stock reconciliation, hauler management, JV operations and exception resolution

• Experience with regulatory permit management for bulk liquid storage, including AEL, product storage licences, road transport compliance and environmental management

• Commercial experience in fleet management, marine/aviation/bunker operations and branded marketer or customer relationships advantageous

Knowlege & Skills

• Comprehensive knowledge of petroleum terminal operations: product loading, stock management, hauler reconciliation, Electronic Data Interchange and billing across multi-site logistics networks
• Fleet, road transport and dangerous goods (DG) compliance management, including HSSE and road safety governance
• Knowledge and understanding of all SHEQ and legislative requirements to manage incident free and safe operations
• Knowledge and understanding of Terminal, Transport and Lubricants operations and related financial and operational KPI’s
• Marine, aviation and bunker operations management within the business context
• Supply Scheduling and product movement management across multi-terminal, multi-product, multi-country logistics networks
• Regulatory permit management: bulk liquid storage licences, AEL, environmental compliance, road transport regulations and statutory audit response
• OMS (Operating Management System) implementation and operational excellence leadership in a complex logistics environment
• Strong executive leadership, multi-site team development and cross-functional stakeholder management with EXCO and Board-level exposure
• Sound knowledge of applicable legislation: OHS Act 85 of 1993, Dangerous Goods regulations, National Environmental Management Act, Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) requirements and relevant SANS standards

Application deadline:

13 November 2026