Senior Operations Manager – Africa

About the role

Yara is seeking a Senior Operations Manager to lead end‑to‑end operations across its African terminals. Based in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana or Tanzania, you will ensure reliable supply, cost efficiency and product quality while upholding safety, health, environment and regulatory standards.

Key responsibilities

• Manage heads of operations in each African market and enforce regional directives.
• Own the regional operating plan, translating business strategy into site goals, budgets and KPIs.
• Control the entire operational cost base against the approved CRC budget.
• Coach and evaluate country/site leaders to drive performance and continuous improvement.
• Standardise operating procedures, escalation protocols and performance governance across markets.
• Oversee operations planning, aligning demand, supply and capacity.
• Lead operational‑excellence initiatives, including Yara Productivity System (YPS) and OKR monitoring.
• Ensure raw‑material and packaging availability through robust forecasting.
• Partner with Procurement, Finance and Supply Management on contracts, cost optimisation and capex projects.
• Maintain audit readiness and harmonise quality standards across sites.

Required profile

• Proven senior‑level experience in multi‑country operations management.
• Strong leadership and coaching abilities for site and country leaders.
• Demonstrated expertise in operational cost control and budgeting.
• Experience delivering operational‑excellence programmes (YPS, OKRs).
• Solid knowledge of safety, health, environment and regulatory compliance.

Required skills

• Yara Productivity System (YPS)
• OKR implementation
• CAPEX project management
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Operational planning and KPI tracking

What we offer

• Opportunity to shape Yara’s African operational footprint.
• Leadership of a high‑performing, cross‑functional team.
• Exposure to strategic projects spanning Africa and Asia.