General Manager

GENERAL MANAGER

Location: Cape Town, Western Cape

Remuneration: R70000 CTC

Reporting To: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Job Purpose

As the General Manager of the Cape Town Hub, you will be the most senior operational leader on the groundfully accountable for the PL, SLA performance, and day-to-day running of the hub across both Business-As-Usual (BAU) operations and a major global e-commerce delivery service partner (EDSP) contract.

In addition to leading the hub, you will serve as the primary Account Manager for the principal e-commerce clientowning weekly operational reviews, managing the high-stakes relationship, and ensuring consistent delivery against strict On-Time Delivery Multipliers (OTDR) and service-level requirements. This dual mandate requires a leader who is equally comfortable delivering a commercial presentation in the boardroom and standing on the sort floor at 05:30 AM.

Authority Levels

Operational Control: Full authority over hub operations, staffing, shift structures, and vendor management for the Cape Town site.

Financial Sign-off: Authority to approve operational expenditure within the hub budget (escalating capex or budget variances to the COO).

Commercial Authority: Sole authority to enter into or amend service agreements with operational counterparts (all changes to be confirmed in writing).

Talent Decisions: Authority to make hiring and off-boarding decisions for all hub staff (subject to executive sign-off for senior roles).

Performance Management: Final decision-maker for all on-site disciplinary processes and performance management actions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Commercial Account Management

Own the Anchor Client Relationship: Attend weekly operational reviews, report on OTDR performance, and manage all high-level contract escalations.

PL Responsibility: Track and report on the hub PL monthly, managing cost-per-delivery, payroll efficiency, and operational metrics as the three core financial levers.

Growth Capacity Planning: Proactively identify capacity constraints and volume growth opportunities, presenting scaling recommendations to the executive team ahead of demand curves.

Client Retention: Manage commercial relationships with existing regional clients in the Western Cape, ensuring SLAs are met and contracts are retained.

2. Operational Leadership Compliance

Daily Operating Rhythm: Establish and oversee the daily facility cadence, including pre-shift readiness, wave execution, and post-shift reviews.

Team Accountability: Hold the Operations Manager accountable to hub KPIs through structured weekly reviews, ensuring goals cascade effectively to the broader team.

Resource Optimization: Match headcount, sorting capacity, and the driver pool to forecast volumes for both anchor and BAU delivery waves.

Health Safety (HS): Ensure strict compliance with Health Safety regulations across the site, owning the investigation and escalation of any near-misses or incidents.

Continuous Improvement: Drive efficiencies in cost-per-drop and sort-sorting cycles by implementing and enforcing rigid Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Legal Compliance: Monitor and maintain alignment with South African labour law, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and COIDA.

3. People Leadership

Talent Acquisition: Lead the recruitment of all direct reports, ensuring a robust benchmarking process for leadership roles.

Performance Culture: Conduct monthly one-on-ones with direct reports and quarterly performance reviews for the full hub team, fostering a culture of accountability and operational pride.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

Education: Degree in Business Administration, Logistics, Operations Management (NQF Level 7), or equivalent exceptional industry experience.

Experience: 5 years of proven experience in logistics, last-mile delivery, or supply chain operations, with clear PL ownership.

Preferred Experience: Prior leadership experience within a large-scale, world-class fulfilment partner framework is a highly distinct advantage.

Financial Literacy: Highly proficient in reading, analyzing, and presenting a PL and managing operational cost levers.

Technical Skills: Strong proficiency in logistics management systems, Excel, and data-driven dashboards.

Leadership Profile: Exceptional communication skillscapable of bridging the gap between corporate client executives and floor-level operational teams under high-pressure conditions.