Technical Assistant to Chief Operating Officer

Technical Assistant to Chief Operating Officer - Dangote Group

To provide high-level technical, operational, and analytical support to the COO, Pan-Africa, in overseeing the performance, efficiency, and continuous improvement of cement manufacturing operations across the Group’s Pan-African businesses.

• The role will support the COO in analysing plant performance, reviewing operational and technical reports, monitoring strategic initiatives, identifying performance gaps, and ensuring effective follow-through on agreed operational actions across the various country operations.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Technical & Operational Support:

• Provide technical and analytical support to the COO on cement manufacturing and plant operational matters.
• Review plant performance across key areas including quarrying, raw material preparation, kilns, clinker production, cement grinding, packing and dispatch.
• Analyse plant operating data to identify performance gaps, bottlenecks, reliability issues and improvement opportunities.
• Support the COO in evaluating technical proposals, operational challenges, and improvement initiatives submitted by country operations.
• Prepare technical briefs and recommendations for the COO’s consideration.

Plant Performance Monitoring:

• Monitor operational KPIs across Pan-African plants and businesses.
• Consolidate periodic plant performance reports and highlight significant deviations requiring management attention.

Operational Reviews & Performance Meetings:

• Support preparation for plant and country operational performance reviews.
• Review technical presentations and reports before submission to the COO.
• Identify key issues, performance gaps, and matters requiring decisions ahead of review meetings.
• Document technical decisions and agreed actions arising from operational reviews.
• Maintain a structured tracker covering actions, responsible persons, deadlines, and closure status.
• Follow up with relevant operations to ensure timely implementation.

Projects & CAPEX Monitoring:

• Support the COO in monitoring major CAPEX, plant optimisation, debottlenecking and operational improvement projects.
• Review project progress reports and identify material deviations in scope, cost, schedule or expected operational benefits.
• Track key project milestones and critical actions.
• Support technical evaluation of proposals and business cases as required.
• Provide regular summaries of major projects requiring the COO’s attention.

Data Analytics & Management Reporting:

• Consolidate technical and operational data from Pan-African businesses into management-level reports.
• Translate detailed technical information into clear executive summaries for decision-making.
• Develop dashboards, trend analyses, and comparative performance reports.
• Conduct root-cause and variance analyses on significant operational performance gaps.
• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and timely availability of management information.

Cross-Country Coordination:

• Coordinate with Plant Directors, Operations Directors, Technical Heads, and other relevant leadership teams across Pan-African operations.
• Follow up on information and actions requested by the COO.
• Facilitate technical exchanges between operations where common challenges or improvement opportunities exist.
• Support the COO in ensuring alignment of operational priorities across businesses.

Special Assignments:

• Undertake technical studies and operational analyses assigned by the COO.
• Conduct benchmarking and research on cement manufacturing technologies and operating practices.
• Support due diligence, technical reviews, and other strategic operational initiatives as required.
• Participate in plant visits and operational assessments on behalf of, or alongside, the COO where required.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in the role should be measured around:

• Quality and timeliness of operational analyses and reports.
• Accuracy of Pan-Africa plant performance dashboards.
• Timely identification and escalation of material operating deviations.
• Closure rate of COO operational action items.
• Quality of technical briefs and recommendations.
• Effectiveness of monitoring major operational improvements.

Key Requirements

Education and Work Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• A postgraduate degree in Engineering, Operations Management or an MBA would be an advantage.
• Relevant professional engineering or project management certification would be advantageous.
• 10–15 years of relevant experience in cement manufacturing or a comparable heavy industrial environment.
• Strong hands-on exposure to cement plant operations, process optimisation, maintenance, production or engineering.
• Experience in multi-plant or multi-country operations would be highly desirable.
• Previous experience supporting senior operations leadership or working in a corporate technical/operational excellence function would be an advantage.
• Demonstrable experience analysing plant KPIs and converting technical data into actionable operational recommendations.

Application Closing Date

Not Specified.