Head of Operations (COO) Ports & Terminals

The Role

Lead Luanda Ports & Terminals Operations. Control daily Container, GC/Bulk operations, Planning, and Safety; plan and monitor terminal capacity to ensure the necessary capacity based on business forecasts and to achieve the Company's profit, revenue, and operational goals.

The position is responsible for overseeing daily port activities, ensuring efficient operations, compliance with safety standards, and alignment with business goals. This role includes strategic planning, capacity management, stakeholder engagement, and promoting a culture of safety and excellence in line with policies and Principles. 

Key Responsibilities

• Implement, direct, and administer the general policies established; develop the Business Unit's annual and long-term (business) plans, and plan, develop, and approve specific policies, programs, procedures, and operational methods in line with the general policies.

• Ensure there are adequate resources, skilled labour, and equipment to sufficiently support daily operations.

• Plan, develop, and implement strategies to accommodate terminal capacity expansion to meet current and future organizational needs.

• Take a leadership role in establishing performance indicators for all operational directorate functions and monitor performance against operational goals.

• Conduct weekly meetings to report on terminal performance and other significant activities.

• Maintain close contact with shipping companies, logistics firms, customs agents, transportation companies, customs authorities, port authorities, and other legal authorities to ensure their requirements are met.

• Establish port operations according to plans, standards, and procedures consistent with global policies.

• Establish and implement current and long-term goals, objectives, plans, and policies for port operations, technical activities, and expansion.

• Provide input for effective strategies to operate the terminal at optimal levels within operational opportunities and constraints.

• Be responsible for leading most of the main functions of the Port, maintaining and creating safe working conditions while ensuring and maintaining high productivity and economical operations.

• Take a leadership role in selecting, negotiating, and finalizing agreements with suppliers and customers, and where appropriate, be responsible for executing and maintaining agreed service levels.

• Provide a working strategy for the IT function and support and contribute to technological and systems development as applicable to improve cost efficiency, productivity, and customer service.

• Ensure compliance with HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) policies and procedures. 

OTHER

• Act as an ambassador at all times when working; promoting and demonstrating positive behaviours in harmony with the company's Principles, values and culture; ensuring the highest level of safety is applied in all activities; understanding and following Code of Conduct and Ethics policies.

• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Implement improvements in work methods, making the necessary recommendations and changes to achieve greater operational efficiency;

• Operational Planning

Minimum Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

• Relevant tertiary qualification

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 8-10 years relevant work experience, in a Ports & terminals environment.

• Fluent in Portuguese and English

• Good computer skills at the user level;

• Strong knowledge of port activities.

• Organizational skills.

• Ability to work under pressure.

• Proactive and adaptive profile;

• Commitment to confidentiality. 

SKILLS

• Business acumen: The ability to understand financial and economic concepts and principles; to identify, create and/or exploit opportunities, and evaluate business growth and sustainability.

• Client centricity: Invest in building relationships, understand client requirements and ensure high standards of quality outputs. Ensure continuous tracking of trends, market information and development to meet future client needs.

• Improvement orientation: The ability to explore, identify, learn and implement new and creative ways to improve processes, value chain effectiveness, service delivery and cost optimisation.

• Interpersonal effectiveness: Establish effective interpersonal relations with key stakeholders to enable functional integration. Establish a culture that values and embraces diversity and inclusiveness of people and ideas.

• Personal courage: Provides constructive feedback in a manner that inspires accountability and self-redirection amongst colleagues and subordinates. Provides an environment for robust debate and open discussion amongst colleagues within a functional area.

• Strategic orientation: Analyse and evaluate the commercial environment and business factors through systematic processes and incorporating these insights towards building a viable operational strategy at a multiple value chain level. Translates the enterprise strategy into targets & operational plans for a multiple value chain function. Develops and implements solutions at a functional level to address actions emanating from insights, either to mitigate critical risk or capitalise on opportunity. Explains the strategic direction of the organisation to others.

• Written and verbal communication, including technical writing skills and ability to effectively communicate complex concepts to clients and internal teams.

• Time management: comfortable working under pressure with stringent deadlines and complex deliverables. Flexible hours to achieve deliverables (sometimes required to work in addition to/outside of normal business hours).

• Plan, manage and be responsible for own time management according to tasks priorities with a high attention to detail.

• Self-motivated and proactive.

• Able to think logical and objectively with the ability to be innovative in approach and solution design / problem solving.

• Exceptional analytical skills.