Operations Specialist

About this role

Discovery Green, a newer business in the Discovery Group, is hiring an Operations Specialist based in Sandton. The role helps bring renewable energy generation projects to life, from deal negotiation and financial close through construction, commissioning and go-live.

What you’ll do

• Support the delivery of the generation portfolio at every stage, from negotiation and financial close through to construction and commercial operation.
• Coordinate with independent power producers, advisors, consultants and internal teams to track progress and push projects towards their outcomes.
• Review project agreements and commercial arrangements from an operational and delivery point of view.
• Monitor key milestones such as financial close, construction schedules and commercial operation dates. Spot risks early and escalate them.
• Run project governance forums, status meetings and reporting so that accountability and decisions stay clear.
• Prepare generation and customer sites for go-live by making sure testing, metering, data integration and regulatory requirements are met on time.
• Help set up monitoring, reporting and governance processes for plants and customers once they are operational.

What you need

• A relevant Bachelor’s Degree (required).
• At least 5 years of experience in project delivery, programme management, infrastructure, renewable energy, utilities or a related industry (required).
• Experience managing complex projects with many stakeholders and competing priorities (required).
• Experience managing schedules, risks, dependencies and delivery performance (required).
• Strong commercial, contractual and operational understanding (required).
• Experience engaging with senior leadership and executive stakeholders (required).
• Strong reporting, governance and project controls skills (required).
• A degree in Engineering, Project Management, Commerce, Finance, Law or a related field (preferred).
• A postgraduate qualification in Energy, Business, Infrastructure or Project Management (advantageous).
• Formal project management certification (advantageous).
• Experience in renewable energy projects, project finance, financial close or IPP engagements (advantageous).
• Experience with testing, commissioning, customer enablement or operational go-live (advantageous).

Is this job for you?

This job suits an organised project coordinator who likes to drive results. You should be comfortable working across teams, handling pressure and raising risks early. If you have worked on energy or infrastructure delivery and can influence people without formal authority, this role could be a good fit.

Tips before you apply

• Have your degree certificates and a record of your project experience ready. Check that the closing date is still open before you start.
• On your CV, list the projects you have delivered. Include the scale, your role, the stakeholders you worked with and the milestones you hit.
• Show your experience of risk management with examples. Explain how you spotted a delivery risk and what you did about it.

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