National Operations Head

Introduction

Help put 15 000 young South Africans into meaningful workplace experience. We're mobilising a national internship programme, and we need a National Operations Head to run the engine that gets interns placed, supported and paid — on time, every month, in all nine provinces.

Duties & Responsibilities

The role

You'll own placement and internship operations nationally, from getting the right intern into the right workplace, through attendance and wellness, to a monthly stipend run that goes out clean. This is a senior director seat. The National Graduate Recruitment Head, the National OTP Employer Head, the National Corporate Employer Head and the five Provincial Heads all report to you, you chair the weekly Delivery OpsCo, and you hold the operating model that keeps all nine provinces consistent.

What you'll own

Running the placement engine end-to-end: matching → shortlists → interviews → offers → contracting.

The attendance operating model — from simple declaration through to the weekly register.

Monthly employer-submission discipline, and clearing every exception before each stipend run.

Disputes and wellness escalations, resolved to SLA.

Leading the three national function heads and the five Provincial Heads covering all nine provinces, provincial capacity, and all implementation related administration.

The evidence base (PoE): placement records, attendance exception logs, the dispute register and site-suspension decisions — administered in line with the Workplace-Based Learning Programme Agreement Regulations, 2018 (Skills Development Act).

Desired Experience & Qualification

What you'll bring

An NQF Level 7 qualification (Bachelor's degree) in operations, programme/project management, business or a related field. – preferred but not mandatory

8+ years' operations or programme-management experience, with at least 3 at senior or management level. – or similar.

A track record running large-scale, multi-site operations — ideally internships, learnerships, or youth-employment / skills-development programmes.

Proven experience leading managers across multiple provinces or sites.

Strong command of operating models, SLAs and exception management (attendance, registers, stipend-run readiness).

Working knowledge of the South African skills-development environment — Services SETA workplace-based learning, learner agreements, PoE and stipend administration (LMIS-type systems and Section 18(2) unemployed-learner processes an advantage).

A valid Code B driver's licence, willingness to travel nationally, and the right to work in South Africa.

Advantageous

Experience on Services SETA or other SETA-funded programmes, YES, or Harambee-type youth-employment initiatives.

Exposure to stipend/payroll interfaces, ETI, and audit or PoE-driven environments.

Experience standing up — and later winding down — provincial teams.

Package & Remuneration

What's on offer

A fixed-term, project-linked contract to 31 March 2030, on the band shown above.

A national leadership seat on a large-scale youth-employment programme placing 20 000 young South Africans into workplace experience.

The chance to build something that matters — real impact, at real scale, across all nine provinces.

Reports to the Project Director

Interested?

Email your CV and a short covering note to careers@firebirdsa.com , with "NAT-06 — National Operations Head" in the subject line. Closing date: 30th September 2026.

Firebird Consulting and the programme are committed to employment equity and transformation. Preference may be given to suitably qualified candidates from designated groups in line with the programme's Employment Equity Plan, and people living with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

By applying, you consent to the processing of your personal information for recruitment purposes in line with POPIA. Automated tools may assist with screening, but a qualified person makes every decision. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.