• As a key member of the Enterprise, Superintendent Nickel Processing is accountable for managing the entire plant’s efficient and high-quality operation for the operational aspects.
• Main focuses are the operating strategy and efficient operation of the crushing (primary & pebble), conveying, milling, classification, flotation and concentrate thickening operations of the Process Plant to maximise production and minimise costs, while ensuring operational safety and sustainability. ​

Specific Job Responsibility

• Understand and execute accountabilities of legal appointment under Zambian Mining Regulations.
• Lead and mentor the nickel processing team of engineers, technicians, and operators, fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment to consistently deliver and exceed expectations.
• Identify training needs and provide ongoing professional development opportunities for plant personnel. Maintain staff development and training programs, particularly skills transfer and coaching to the national staff. Identify and actively manage succession planning for key roles.
• Implement the structure, manning levels and resources to deliver the Plant operations plan.
• Develop and manage the departmental budget and forecast (cost, capital, and physical), ensuring accurate performance planning, cost-effective operations and adherence to financial targets; and ensure and oversee the accurate reporting of plant performance and cost.
• Plan, manage and develop weekly to yearly operations and metallurgical activities of the plant and personnel to ensure optimised plant utilization and metallurgical performance; with a particular focus on the longer-term development of the operation towards excellence.
• Ensure steady, performing, integrated and cost efficient daily operation.
• Maintain HSE standards and ensure strict compliance within the nickel plant.
• Ensure all Safety and Environmental incidents are addressed & reported promptly.
• Ensure a very high standard of plant housekeeping is maintained.
• Consistently deliver and exceed the main KPI’s of plant throughput, product quality and yield in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner.
• Ensure monitoring, control and report on performance indicators, plant activities and operational shortfalls.
• Manage, drive and ensure execution implementation metallurgical and operation continuous improvement.
• Develop and nurture strong relationships with all stakeholders on the nickel value chain, inclusive of mining to enable a strong mine-to-mill integration. In particular, closely cooperate with the geology department (Geometallurgy) and business improvement (Project, Optimisation, budget and data) functions in a integrated manner.
• Build a ‘team’ environment with geology, mine planning, engineering, reliability engineering, metallurgical engineering, process control, business optimisation, data systems, utilities and services operations, and operations personnel; Take ownership in developing these interactions to the benefit of the team and the operation.
• Ensure the diagnosis of plant defects is conducted, focusing on identifying root cause, and then the implementation of both corrective and preventative measures.
• Approve weekly and monthly maintenance plans.
• Support maintenance in the delivery of their tasks and equipment reliability.
• Define, prioritise, obtain approval for and implement capital improvement projects.
• Control, report and reduce operational costs.
• Implement FQM Way culture “Smarter, Bolder, Driven, Together”.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Operations Manager, Enterprise Plant.

Job Specific Competencies

• Strong commitment to SHEC performance.
• Good leadership and motivational skills, with ability to get work done through others.
• Strong drive and personal sense of ownership and accountability.
• Strong ability to task assign, build working relations and coordinate different disciplines to create a multidisciplinary “team” environment.
• Excellent cognitive and analytical skills for identifying process shortfalls, equipment bottlenecks and implementing corrective and preventative action plans.
• Strong understanding of metallurgical process improvement and control strategies.
• Possess the management discipline and perseverance to develop and implement medium to long term plans.
• Strong understanding of technical, production and maintenance strategies for large-scale, continuous operating mineral processing plants.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and able to assemble data and provide clear and accurate operational performance reports in both an upward and downward direction.
• Ability to maintain self-discipline within a stressful environment.
• Be diligent and thorough in approach.
• Be enthusiastic and pro-active in manner.

Key Job Attributes

• Must be thorough and detail oriented
• Must be dependable and self-motivated
• Must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to interact with people of different cultures.
• Must be bold, smart and driven.
• Must be able to work under pressure and multi-task.
• Must be adaptable and a team player.
• Work safely and to regulations – setting an example for all personnel.

Experience required to perform in this job

• A minimum of 10 years of direct experience in operational roles, with a strong background in operational aspects.
• A minimum of 5 years proven leadership and team management experience, overseeing the entire plant’s operations.
• Preferably experienced in nickel circuits; copper experience is beneficial.
• Exposure to minerals processing plant design or metallurgical optimisation.
• Computer literacy and English language fluency are required.
• Being conversant with modern data management and visualisation tools, such as PowerBI, is beneficial.

Qualifications

• Full Grade 12 with a minimum of 5 passes
• All qualifications must be certified by ZAQA
• Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred.
• Manual SADC class B driver’s license preferred.
• EIZ membership eligibility.