General Manager: Kimberly-Clark & MARS @ DHL Group

BE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE

DHL Supply Chain is the world’s leading contract logistics provider that combines value-added and management services with fulfilment and distribution. At DHL Supply Chain, we are committed to looking after tomorrow & today with our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.

So, what’s it like to work for DHL Supply Chain? At DHL, we’re proud of our international reach, as it brings together people with a wide range of skills, experiences, cultures and viewpoints. We see the diversity of our employees as a genuine strength, and we’re proud of our supportive work environment, where employees are given the tools and training they need to learn, grow and succeed.

We are offering an exciting opportunity for the position of General Manager. In this position, you will play a crucial role in supporting our vision of becoming a great place to work for all.

Role Outline

The primary purpose of the General Manager role is to provide strategic and operational leadership across Kimberley-Clark accounts, while leading and supporting Site Managers within the assigned cluster. The role is accountable for ensuring the safe, compliant, efficient and profitable delivery of operations across the Western Cape and Kimberley-Clark inland (Gauteng) sites, for the organisation and its customers. Given the nature of the portfolio, the role includes oversight of healthcare-related operations, with a strong focus on applicable quality, safety, regulatory and customer compliance requirements.

The General Manager is responsible for driving operational performance, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement across the portfolio, including oversight of consumer and retail transport operations, third-party logistics and cross-docking activities. The role also encompasses the end-to-end management of new business acquisitions and implementations, from initial customer engagement through to successful implementation and internal sign-off by the relevant managing Business Unit.

A key requirement of the role is to drive sustainable growth within the healthcare sector through both business development and operational expansion. This includes identifying and securing new healthcare business opportunities, strengthening existing customer partnerships, expanding service offerings and ensuring operational readiness and excellence to support sustainable portfolio growth.

In addition, the General Manager is responsible for supporting the organisation’s broader growth and development strategy, strengthening strategic customer relationships and providing effective leadership across the consumer, retail and healthcare portfolio.

Key Accountabilities

Regulatory Compliance

• Oversee the resolution of any legal compliance issues, ensuring that compliance processes are developed to avoid recurrence.
• Communicate all relevant DPDHL policies.
• Resolve any escalated issues relating to legal compliance.

Security

• Ensure adequate security measures are in place for all sites.
• Ensure an effective deployment of the DSC 6 Steps security framework across all sites.
• Ensure an effective response to all security risks and manage all claims where applicable.

Process Framework

• Define the sites’ operational potential based on the business strategy and ensure operations are performing to their potential in a simple and sustainable way.
• Define the sites’ KPIs to be achieved this year and next year, and develop plans to achieve these goals.
• Manage supplier relationships and appoint new suppliers within guidelines where applicable.
• Ensure adherence to customer and contractual requirements.
• Manage customer relationships, including key negotiations and major issue resolution.
• Review the customers’ regulatory and internal audit results and action plans, and develop existing local process frameworks accordingly to avoid a repetition of any negative audit points.

Customer Engagement

• Lead commercial reviews with the customers (growth and renewal) affecting all the sites.
• Develop customer relationships year-on-year to ensure customer retention and loyalty.
• Conduct quarterly business reviews with the customers on performance to ensure an appropriate level of account profitability.
• Work with the customer to identify and propose opportunities to grow the business.
• Support Business Development / Account Management on business case preparation and review.
• Help identify and introduce new profitable opportunities to Business Development.
• Develop customer joint business plans and regularly review execution of the plans, removing internal barriers to their achievement.
• Support cross-selling by introducing existing customers with relevant business needs to other DSC products or to other DPDHL divisions.

Resource Planning and Management

• Lead the overall approach to resource planning and management, ensuring that direct reports are recruited, assessed and trained; that resources are planned to meet forecast volumes and managed to achieve optimum performance within budget; and that the organisational structure is lean and efficient.
• Manage and integrate the competing requirements of sites to deliver a balanced set of results or services.
• Recommend whether DSC should add to, or delete from, its existing products and services and the infrastructure of sites, equipment and IT systems.
• Lead regular performance reviews with the management team, with a focus on profitability and overall efficiency in line with targets.

Performance Management

• Be accountable for the overall multi-year performance of the site, including achievement of agreed customer KPIs, delivery of the site budget, financial results and other internal KPIs (e.g. safety, operational and employee-related

KPIs).

• Ensure the KPIs (e.g. customer KPIs and DSC health and safety KPIs) are maintained at the required level and lead initiatives to improve continuously.
• Ensure the sites report data accurately and on time.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and coaching with direct reports.
• Contribute to the development of the business objectives and strategy, and translate this into multi-year plans.
• Monthly Review Process: Have a standardised structure and routine for monthly performance reviews for all the sites in the cluster. This is to review both input and output operational KPIs and Operations Excellence programme progress (using DPMs/OPMs) in a structured and standardised format.

Site Development Plan

• Create and own 24-month+ Site Development Plans to drive towards Lean operations, engaging relevant stakeholders to improve the sites’ overall maturity, performance and productivity.
• Participate in the Site Development Plans Management Review Process, with personal accountability for those tasks in the plan with target completion times beyond a year.

First Choice Continuous Improvement

• Identify and deliver improvement opportunities using First Choice tools at the sites, focusing on delivering continuous improvement and enhanced productivity to grow the business over the next few years.
• Identify and share best practice about ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of all sites;

ensure this is integrated into Site Development Plans and engage peers to share best practice between sectors and products.

• Ensure sites analyse the environmental impact of the business activities and engage in continuous improvement actions to increase environmental efficiency.
• Conduct OMS FC Confirmation to review and endorse the OMS FC culture in the sites.
• For open-book contracts, ensure gain share is agreed as per the improvement plans for the year by the Site/General

Manager.

• Lead the effective use of, and perform, Gemba Walks and Performance Dialogues to identify and implement areas for improvement.
• Review the success of site continuous improvement initiatives driven by Gemba Walks and Performance Dialogues.

New Business

• Identify profitable new target sectors and key clients within the sectors.
• Prepare and present DHL Supply Chain credentials to target clients.
• Analyse client needs and generate solution options.
• Cost solutions and prepare operations blueprints.
• Sell the operational solution and commercial case to the client and relevant Business Units.
• Manage contractual agreements, with emphasis on SLAs.
• Plan and execute implementation.
• Set sales targets, define a strategy to achieve them and follow the set strategy punctually.
• Support marketing activities, including trade and mailings.
• Determine new opportunities by analysing business needs.
• Manage the proposal development process and maintain the timelines for the proposal teams.
• Coordinate with sponsors concerning size, standards, conditions and timing of research.
• Develop draft proposals based on team meetings and discussions.

People

• Demonstrate an active leadership style.
• Lead and participate in Performance Dialogues, Gemba Walks and Town Hall meetings.
• Lead by example to reinforce behaviours associated with our culture (e.g. Respect & Results, Continuous

Improvement, Employee Engagement).

• Lead a culture where people give and receive feedback in a constructive and productive manner.
• Sponsor Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and engage employees in participation.
• Lead regular customer reviews.
• Provide active recognition of improvements.
• Ensure participation in EOS opportunities and activities.
• Provide leadership for the sites in assessing potential, developing talent and succession planning.
• Take responsibility for recruiting and developing direct reports and managing performance within local guidelines.
• Take responsibility for partnering with the local HR Business Partner regarding any employee or industrial relations matters, e.g. unions and works councils.

Qualifications & Experience

• Education to university degree level or an equivalent professional qualification is essential.
• A professional university degree in Logistics is advantageous.
• A Matric certificate is essential.
• Previous experience in managing large-scale logistics operations.
• 10 years’ experience within the supply chain industry.
• International experience is an advantage.
• Experience in business development roles is an advantage.

Other Requirements

• Can-do, passion and right-first-time attitude.
• Lead by example.
• Capability in planning, defining and deploying strategic plans.
• Ability to lead change initiatives.
• Negotiation skills.
• Experience in running several sites.
• Experience in running operations in different sectors is an advantage.
• Ability to drive standards within the operations.
• Ability to influence.
• Communication and presentation skills (at all levels within the organisation).
• Leadership skills and experience in managing several reporting layers below.
• Building and maintaining customer relationships.
• Commercial acumen.
• Ability to manage others to get things done without direct supervision.
• Project management skills.
• Sound understanding and experience of operational processes.
• Stakeholder management.
• A good balance of a results-oriented and respectful leadership approach.

Languages

English – verbal and written.