W

Wabtec

Develops electric locomotives and digital solutions

Vice President Operations Leader

Business & StrategyPosted on Nov 9
Full-timeJohannesburg, South AfricaNo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

  • A bachelor's degree in engineering from an accredited university or college is required.
  • A minimum of 5 years of P&L leadership experience is required.
  • Experience in people leadership roles covering multiple countries across the Sub-Saharan Africa region is required.
  • Fluency in English across writing, reading, speaking, and listening is required.
  • Demonstrated experience in a matrix international organization is required.
  • Applicants must be South African citizens, permanent residents, or otherwise legally authorized to work in South Africa at the time of application.
  • Candidates must be medically fit and capable of performing the inherent physical requirements of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation, where applicable.
  • Appointment may be subject to verification of work authorization and, where permitted by law and relevant to the role, a medical fitness assessment.

Responsibilities

  • Achieve business financial targets and be responsible for revenue, profitability, and cash collection for regional contracts.
  • Participate in developing and lead execution of the Services growth strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Ensure timely resolution of customer issues and customer satisfaction.
  • Build strong long-term relationships with key customers and industry stakeholders within Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Lead complete field resource management efforts.
  • Support all operations and maintenance operational processes.
  • Provide assigned personnel with accurate and timely information regarding salary planning, performance appraisals, career coaching, and disciplinary action as required.
  • Lead efforts to ensure customer service excellence for assigned customers.
  • Lead service engineering to accomplish effective support of regional customer service objectives.
  • Manage cost control, quality, and operations-oriented customer communications.
  • Implement Operation Safety Policy Instructions, conduct field work in compliance with local EHS policies and applicable regulations, and encourage good employee safety practices.
  • Participate in and lead business Lean processes.
  • Interface regularly with the commercial team to review progress of growth initiatives and participate in developing new service offerings.
  • Travel frequently domestically and internationally, including extended periods of standing, walking, and other activities associated with field-based work.

Desired Qualifications

  • An MBA degree is desired.
  • Business and finance acumen is desired.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills are desired.
  • Strong interpersonal and leadership skills are desired.
  • Commercial experience with government customers is desired.
  • Experience managing multi-year service agreements is desired; rail industry experience is a bonus.
  • Demonstrated ability to analyze and resolve problems is desired.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead programs or projects is desired.
  • Additional language skills such as French and Portuguese are advantageous.
  • Established project management skills are desired.

About the Company

Wabtec

Develops electric locomotives and digital solutions

Wabtec provides transportation solutions by designing and producing electric locomotives and related services for freight railroads, transit authorities, and industrial operators. Its flagship product, the FLXdrive, is a 100% battery-electric locomotive with a battery pack over 7 megawatt-hours that cuts fuel use and emissions, while the company also sells traditional locomotives, aftermarket services, and digital solutions to optimize operations. Wabtec differentiates itself through a fully electric propulsion option paired with value-added digital tools and manufacturing techniques like mixed-reality work processes, aiming to improve efficiency and sustainability across rail networks. The company’s goal is to make rail transport more efficient and eco-friendly by delivering reliable locomotives, ongoing maintenance, and advanced software and digital capabilities that help customers run greener, lower-cost operations.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Pittsburgh, PA
Founded
1872

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at Wabtec

See more jobs