• To lead Tongaat Hulett's investment and business development agenda by identifying, evaluating, funding, governing and delivering opportunities that enhance the Group's long-term value and sustainability
• Acting as an extension of the Office of the CEO, the role is responsible for embedding disciplined capital allocation, investment evaluation, project governance and value realisation practices across the Group, ensuring opportunities are translated into sustainable business outcomes and shareholder value.

• Lead the identification, assessment and development of strategic growth, diversification, asset optimisation and value creation opportunities across the Group.
• Develop and maintain a strategic opportunity pipeline and portfolio aligned to the Group's strategic priorities, capital allocation principles and long-term value creation objectives.
• Partner with business leaders to identify, evaluate and prioritise opportunities using strategic, commercial, financial and operational criteria.
• Conduct strategic analysis, market assessments and opportunity evaluations to identify emerging trends, growth opportunities and potential risks.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary engagement to shape strategic opportunities and develop recommendations for Executive Committee and Board consideration.
• Establish and maintain strategic opportunity reporting and dashboarding to provide visibility of the opportunity pipeline, priorities and expected value creation outcomes.
• Promote a disciplined, value-based approach to strategic opportunity identification and investment decision-making across the Group.

Strategic Investments, Capital Allocation & Portfolio Optimisation

• Lead the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the Group's strategic investment evaluation, capital allocation and portfolio optimisation frameworks.
• Establish and embed disciplined investment criteria, including hurdle rates, return thresholds, value creation measures and strategic prioritisation principles.
• Evaluate strategic investments and capital projects using robust commercial, financial, operational and risk assessment methodologies.
• Facilitate and oversee the Group's investment review, capital review and stage-gating processes to support informed decision-making, effective governance and optimal capital deployment.
• Partner with business, finance and operational leaders to optimise the allocation of capital across strategic opportunities and investment portfolios.
• Provide strategic recommendations and investment insights to the Chief of Staff, Executive Committee, Board and relevant governance forums.
• Monitor investment portfolio performance to ensure capital efficiency, portfolio optimisation and value delivery.

Business Case Development & Investment Governance

• Lead the development and evaluation of strategic business cases, ensuring robust commercial, financial, operational and strategic analysis.
• Establish and maintain investment governance frameworks, policies, standards and stage-gate processes.
• Facilitate multidisciplinary business case development processes involving operational, commercial, finance, legal, technical and risk stakeholders.
• Engage Human Capital stakeholders to ensure workforce planning, organisation design, capability and talent requirements are integrated into multidisciplinary business case development and investment governance processes.
• Ensure that investment proposals are evaluated against defined strategic, financial, operational and risk criteria.
• Develop and present investment recommendations, approval papers and decision-support materials to relevant governance forums.
• Monitor adherence to investment governance requirements and continuously improve investment evaluation and approval processes.
• Promote a disciplined, transparent and value-driven investment decision-making culture across the Group.

Strategic Project Portfolio & PMO Leadership

• Establish, lead and continuously improve the Group's strategic project portfolio management and project management office (PMO) capability.
• Develop and implement project governance frameworks, methodologies, standards and reporting disciplines.
• Provide oversight of the Group's strategic project portfolio, ensuring appropriate prioritisation, resource allocation, governance and delivery discipline.
• Establish project monitoring, reporting and governance cadence to provide visibility of project progress, risks, dependencies, milestones and value delivery.
• Partner with business unit leaders, project sponsors and delivery teams to support successful execution of strategic projects and initiatives.
• Identify and proactively manage project risks, constraints, interdependencies and delivery challenges.
• Promote project management excellence and disciplined execution across the Group.

Funding Strategy & Capital Structuring

• Develop and implement funding strategies and capital structures that support the Group's strategic investment, growth and value creation objectives.
• Identify, evaluate and secure appropriate funding solutions, including debt, equity, development finance institution (DFI), green funding and strategic partner funding opportunities.
• Partner with Group Treasury, Finance and business leadership to optimise funding structures and capital efficiency.
• Lead the evaluation and structuring of funding solutions for strategic projects and investments.
• Develop and maintain relationships with financial institutions, development finance institutions, investors, funding partners and other relevant stakeholders.
• Provide strategic advice and recommendations on funding, capital structuring and financing alternatives to relevant governance forums.
• Monitor funding markets, emerging financing mechanisms and capital trends to identify strategic opportunities.

Strategic Partnerships & Business Development

• Identify, evaluate and develop strategic partnerships, joint ventures and business development opportunities.
• Assess opportunities for market expansion, product diversification, adjacent market opportunities and new business ventures.
• Identify opportunities to leverage the Group's assets, capabilities, expertise and infrastructure to unlock additional value.
• Lead the evaluation, structuring and negotiation of strategic partnerships and commercial arrangements.
• Develop and maintain relationships with strategic partners, investors, industry stakeholders and other external parties.
• Provide strategic recommendations and business cases relating to partnerships, joint ventures and business development opportunities.
• Monitor market trends and emerging opportunities to identify partnerships and commercial opportunities that enhance shareholder value.

Value Realisation & Post-Investment Performance

• Establish and implement value realisation frameworks, methodologies and reporting mechanisms.
• Develop and oversee post-investment review processes to assess project performance against approved business cases and strategic objectives.
• Monitor and evaluate the financial, operational and strategic performance of approved investments and strategic initiatives.
• Facilitate post-implementation reviews and lessons-learned processes to strengthen future investment decisions and project execution.
• Partner with business leaders to track benefits realisation, resolve performance gaps and optimise investment outcomes.
• Develop reporting and dashboards that provide visibility of realised value, investment performance and portfolio effectiveness.
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and value realisation across the Group.

Executive Advisory & Stakeholder Leadership

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to the Chief of Staff, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Committee and Boards on strategic investments, business development opportunities, capital allocation and value creation initiatives.
• Provide strategic analysis, commercial insights and decision-support recommendations to support enterprise-wide strategic and investment decision-making.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with executive leadership, business unit leaders, Boards, investors, funding institutions, strategic partners and other key stakeholders.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration and alignment to support the successful evaluation, approval and execution of strategic initiatives and investments.
• Lead and participate in governance forums, investment committees and strategic review processes.
• Drive organisational capability and best practices relating to strategic investments, business development and project governance.
• Promote a culture of accountability, disciplined execution, commercial excellence and long-term value creation across the Group.

Minimum Qualifications

• Relevant Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, Business Science or a related field.
• CA(SA) or equivalent professional commercial qualification required.
• Postgraduate qualification in Business, Finance, Strategy or a related discipline advantageous.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or equivalent postgraduate business qualification.
• Professional qualifications in Corporate Finance, Treasury, Investments or Capital Markets.
• CFA or similar investment-related qualification.
• Programme, Project Management or Portfolio Management qualifications advantageous.

Experience

• Minimum 12 to 15 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic investments, corporate finance, treasury, business development, strategy execution, infrastructure development, private equity, investment banking, management consulting or related commercial disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience in evaluating, structuring and delivering complex strategic investments, capital projects and business development opportunities.
• Significant experience in capital allocation, investment evaluation, business case development, financial modelling and value creation analysis.
• Experience in funding strategy development, capital raising, treasury, structured finance, development finance institutions (DFIs) and alternative funding mechanisms.
• Proven experience leading strategic projects, programmes, portfolios or transformation initiatives within complex organisations.
• Experience developing and implementing governance frameworks, investment approval processes, stage-gating methodologies and portfolio management disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience identifying, negotiating and managing strategic partnerships, joint ventures and commercial arrangements.
• Experience working with executive leadership teams, Boards, investment committees and other senior governance forums.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence senior stakeholders in complex, matrixed organisational environments.
• Experience within capital-intensive industries, industrial operations, manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, energy or related sectors would be advantageous.

Behavioural & Technical Competencies

• Strategic investment evaluation and capital allocation.
• Business case development, financial modelling and investment appraisal.
• Corporate finance, capital structuring and funding strategy.
• Portfolio management and strategic project governance.
• Project management office (PMO) leadership and project delivery oversight.
• Value creation, benefits realisation and post-investment performance evaluation.
• Strategic business development, partnerships and joint venture evaluation.
• Capital budgeting and portfolio optimisation.
• Development finance institution (DFI), structured finance and alternative funding knowledge.
• Enterprise governance, stage-gating and investment approval frameworks.
• Risk identification, assessment and mitigation.
• Stakeholder management, negotiation and influencing.
• Strategic and enterprise mindset.
• Strong commercial orientation and business judgement.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity, complexity and changing environments.
• Strong influencing, negotiation and stakeholder management capability.
• Courage to challenge assumptions and drive disciplined decision-making.
• Strong execution focus and delivery orientation.
• High levels of accountability, ownership and personal integrity.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation and presentation skills.
• Resilience and adaptability.
• Strong focus on value creation and continuous improvement

Closing date : Friday, 14 August 2026