Regional Manager – West Africa at SMEC Nigeria

SMEC is a professional services firm recognised around the world for providing high-quality consultancy services on major infrastructure projects. SMEC has over 5,400 employees and an established network of more than 75 offices throughout Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and North and South America. SMEC provides consultancy services for the lifecycle of a project to a broad range of industry sectors including: Transport; Hydropower & Energy; Water & Environment; Urban & Social Development, Resources (Mining, Oil & Gas); and Industrial & Manufacturing. SMEC also provides a ‘whole of life’ Asset Management solution across each of these industry sectors.


Job Title: Regional Manager – West Africa

 Job Description

Job No499055 LocationAfrica – West: Nigeria Categories Corporate and Administration: Management and Executive

Global engineering consultancy with great career opportunities
Opportunity to work on a variety of interesting projects both locally and internationally
Friendly working environment across the business


About SMEC

SMEC has joined forces with Surbana Jurong to provide global engineering and consultancy expertise in urban, infrastructure and management advisory. Our new partnership has created a talent pool of 13,000 dedicated people working across a network of 100 offices in 40 countries.

SMEC employs passionate and innovative people who are driven to deliver exceptional outcomes and who want to feel valued in a diverse and inclusive workplace.

We are committed to developing our people. We encourage them to see things differently, to be creative, to push boundaries and to work on a broad range of projects that help build a better future.

Consistently recognised for technical excellence and design innovation, SMEC continues to receive industry awards and accolades from around the world. Engineering News Record (ENR) currently ranks SMEC in the top 50 of the ‘2017 Top 225 International Design Firms’ and 45th in the ‘2017 Top 150 Global Design Firms’.

The role
This is an exciting opportunity for a Regional Manager – West Africa to join a leading infrastructure consultancy and contribute to the growth and development of a business with a reputation for technical excellence and strong client relationships.

Primary Purpose of the Position:
This position is responsible for the development of the West Africa Regional business. This includes ensuring that all strategic direction aligns with the business core strengths and current Strategic Plan. The position will be responsible for the Region’s business planning, marketing, profitability, resource management and project delivery.


Key Responsibilities

Develop business strategies for the West Africa Region in conjunction with SMEC Africa’s business objectives and the overall national and company strategic objectives
Identifying and Managing Risks across the Region;
Marketing within the region as well as focusing on key clients who have a national impact;
Proactive approach in developing work or being aware of what projects are likely to come up from key clients;
Responsible for the commercial overview of all Regions. This includes the financial management, client liaison and contract administration of the selected projects;
Develop and maintain key client relationships in the sector;
Submission of EOIs and Proposals and providing input into large projects;
Responsible for the overview of proposals submitted by the team in West Africa;
Manage the West Africa region’s overhead, proposal and marketing budgets;
Win and deliver West Africa based projects;
Ensure projects are completed on time and on budget;
Ensure all resource processes are functioning within the team, e.g. CareerTrac is completed for each employee, timesheets completed, data sheets produced, CVs kept up to date etc.;
Monitoring staff utilisation levels to ensure staff are fully utilised and coordinate this with the Functional Manager;
Ensure all projects are adequately resourced in terms of numbers and capabilities;
Develop and maintain internal contacts within SMEC to source appropriate skills;
Develop and maintain training and mentoring systems for the West Africa staff. This includes but is not limited to:

• Keeping them informed
• Provide advice on suitable training and any opportunities
• Planning career paths
• Maintaining professional ethics and professional standards of behaviour and
• Develop a training plan within the team.
• Ensure documentation, reporting and communication is appropriately achieved;
• Manage or be part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver project milestones;
• Responsible for assigning Project Directors and Project Managers on projects and monitoring their performance in conjunction with functional managers;
• Work with the Major Project Manager to explore opportunities related to region;
• Cross sell into other SMEC groups when opportunity arises;
• Mentor and develop quality Project Management resources within the West Africa business;
• Recruitment of staff for the West Africa region – approval gained from the Regional Director – Africa;
• Monthly reporting to the Regional Director, including attendance at Senior leadership team (SLT) meetings;
• Keeping staff informed – Regular Group meetings and team updates, and
• Ensuring that all regional projects adhere to SMEC’s Business Management System (BMS).

Key Challenges:

• Provide a robust strategy for the Region’s team
• Develop a multi levelled power business in the region
• Establish and build strong client and team relationships
• Assist in shaping the marketing tools required to penetrate the sector in order to match the strategy when required
• Maintain and develop key contacts within SMEC
• Recruit adequate quality resources when required
• Develop 2IC and succession planning for all key positions in the region.
• Maintain a consistent and manageable workload within the group
• Meet budgetary and time constraints of various projects whilst maintaining appropriate technical standards, QA and EMS requirements
• Develop and grow the team
• Ensure all projects are adequately resourced in terms of capabilities and specialists
• Ensure adequate levels of review are taken on projects and within the tendering period to ensure SMEC’s risks are managed and liabilities understood, reduced and accounted for
• Maintain a consistent high quality of work and
• Contribute to the achievements of SMEC’s Strategic Plan and Australian Power business plans.

Key Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor of Engineering degree/higher degree from accredited university/college
• Minimum 15 years of practical experience in the [insert Function] discipline
• Knowledge of obligations under the current SMEC OH&S program which are defined in the OH&S section of the SMEC BMS – document OHSPR107; and Sound knowledge of Quality Assurance (QA).
• Minimum of 15 years’ experience in the industry
• Ability to market and develop relationships.
• Implementation of sound principles in project management, risk management and financial management
• Ability to coordinate multi-disciplinary input into opportunities (EOI, RFT’s) and Projects;
• Willingness and ability to work with web based financial systems to extract and analyse group performance.
• Knowledge of design processes and standards for sector and client.
• Knowledge of industry trends and advances.
• Ability to write effectively in English to furnish reports and to prepare business development materials including proposals.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully undertake and deliver client’s TOR and
• Hands-on experience in delivering within project based budgets and timelines.
• Professional delivery and appearance to ensure SMEC image is maintained
• Good interpersonal and communication skills to work effectively within a culturally diverse and multi-disciplinary environment
• Courteous and business orientated manner when communicating with stakeholders to foster and promote good working relations
• Co-operative and flexible work style to work in a team environment
• Willingness to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge
• Ability to apply new knowledge, and
• Able to work under pressure.

Key Performance Indicators:

How to Apply


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