Operations Director | South Africa | Executive

A mandate-driven leadership role with real authority to fix, stabilise, and rebuild.
This is an opportunity to take full operational control of a complex, logistics-intensive business and drive disciplined execution at scale.

As Operations Director, you will be accountable for end-to-end operational performance across retail, redistribution, warehousing, fleet, logistics, and procurement. The role is both corrective and transformational: restoring delivery reliability, regaining cost control, improving asset utilisation, and embedding governance that enables sustainable, profitable growth.

The initial focus is on stabilisation and execution against clear short-term outcomes, followed by building durable operational structures, systems, and leadership capability. This is a hands-on role for a senior operator who thrives in complexity, pressure, and accountability.

Our client is a well-established, nationally recognised business operating across retail and redistribution channels. The organisation is in a phase where operational excellence is critical to unlocking performance, margin protection, and customer confidence. This role reports directly to the CEO and holds Exco responsibility.

What You’ll Do

• Take full ownership of delivery, logistics, fleet, warehousing, and procurement performance.

• Restore fleet efficiency, route execution, and on-time delivery across all regions.

• Drive down delivery cost per case and eliminate unplanned operational interventions.

• Implement disciplined procurement, supplier governance, and approved supplier frameworks.

• Fix warehouse productivity, stock handling, accuracy, and shrinkage.

• Embed SOPs, segregation of duties, and governance that cannot be bypassed.

• Build transparent operational dashboards covering cost, efficiency, and service levels.

• Stabilise customer service, OTIF performance, and service recovery across retail and distribution.

• Lead and develop a strong operations leadership team with clear KPIs and accountability.

• Act as the operational voice at Exco and Board level, partnering closely with Finance, Commercial, and IT.

What You Bring

• 5–10+ years senior operations leadership experience in retail, FMCG, wholesale, or logistics-heavy environments.

• Proven track record of fixing delivery, fleet, and logistics performance.

• Strong cost-control mindset with the ability to deliver sustainable savings.

• Experience leading multi-site, multi-region operations.

• Exposure to ERP, WMS, routing, or fleet management systems.

• A hands-on, data-driven leadership style with high execution discipline.

• Confidence to challenge legacy practices and enforce standards.

What Success Looks Like

• Fleet utilisation consistently above 85% with materially reduced breakdowns.

• Delivery cost per case reduced by 15–20% within six months.

• On-time, in-full service levels exceeding 95%.

• Measurable procurement savings and zero spend outside approved systems.

• Improved warehouse productivity, accuracy, and reduced shrinkage.

• Clear governance, reporting, and cost visibility across all operations.

• Restored customer confidence through reliable, consistent execution.