General Manager

GENERAL MANAGER

Location: Cape Town, Western Cape

Remuneration: R70 000 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 ground—fully accountable for the P&L, 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 client—owning 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.

• P&L Responsibility: Track and report on the hub P&L 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 (H&S): 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 P&L 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 P&L and managing operational cost levers.

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

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

. Skillset Required: P&L Ownership, SLA Performance Management, Operational Leadership, Account Management, Cost-per-delivery Management, Payroll Efficiency, Operational Metrics Tracking, Capacity Planning, Client Retention, Facility Daily Cadence Management, KPI Management, Resource Optimization, Health & Safety Compliance, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Legal Compliance, Recruitment, Performance Reviews, Business Administration, Logistics Management Systems, Excel, Data-Driven Dashboards, Communication Skills, Financial Literacy, Commercial Presentation, Vendor Management