SATIC - Ops Lead

At PwC, management consultants help clients optimize operations, improve performance, and achieve strategic objectives. This role, an Operations Lead for the South African Technology & Innovation Centre (SATIC), supports the CTO in driving operational excellence, technical program execution, and cross-functional alignment. The Operations Lead acts as a trusted advisor, managing priorities, streamlining processes, and enhancing the effectiveness of the technology leadership team in a dynamic environment.

Must Have

• Serve as the operational lead of the CTO’s office
• Manage execution of priorities and workflows
• Develop and maintain operating rhythms, governance structures, and reporting frameworks
• Drive implementation of key initiatives
• Coordinate and track progress of major technology programs
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and team development
• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders
• Act as a liaison between the CTO and internal/external stakeholders
• Support adherence to internal governance, risk, and compliance frameworks
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, operations management, or related field
• 5+ years’ operations experience in a global business services or back-office support environment
• Proven experience supporting project implementation in a matrixed or multinational organization
• Proven experience in stakeholder management
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities across operational and strategic domains

Good to Have

• Project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2)
• Strong commercial thinking and business acumen
• Strong analytical and organizational skills
• Project management and operational background
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration
• Proficiency in MS Office, project tracking tools, and business intelligence/reporting tools
• Action-oriented with ability to multitask and remain calm under pressure
• Experience of working in a professional services environment as well as globally

Management Level

Senior Manager

Job Description & Summary

At PwC, our people in management consulting focus on helping clients seize essential advantages by working alongside business leaders to solve their toughest problems and capture their greatest opportunities. They work with some of the world’s largest and most complex companies to understand their unique business issues and opportunities in an ever changing environment. These individuals help create sustainable change by stimulating innovation, unlocking data possibilities, navigating risk and regulatory complexity, optimising deals, and aligning costs with business strategy to create a competitive advantage. Management consultants help the world’s most significant organisations, public and private, quickly become more effective. They improve the way organisations operate; manage costs; better align people, process and technology initiatives; support business growth to maintain or improve competitive edge and complete market and regulatory risk assessment.

As a management consulting generalist, you will play a vital role in helping clients optimise their operations, improve performance, and achieve strategic objectives. Your work may include analysing business data, developing strategies, supporting management teams, collaborating across teams, optimising tools and technology, improving organisational performance, monitoring compliance, and/or managing change.

Growing as a strategic advisor, you leverage your influence, expertise, and network to deliver quality results. You motivate and coach others, coming together to solve complex problems. As you increase in autonomy, you apply sound judgment, recognising when to take action and when to escalate. You are expected to solve through complexity, ask thoughtful questions, and clearly communicate how things fit together. Your ability to develop and sustain high performing, diverse, and inclusive teams, and your commitment to excellence, contributes to the success of our Firm.

Examples of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need to lead and deliver value at this level include but are not limited to:

• Craft and convey clear, impactful and engaging messages that tell a holistic story.
• Apply systems thinking to identify underlying problems and/or opportunities.
• Validate outcomes with clients, share alternative perspectives, and act on client feedback.
• Direct the team through complexity, demonstrating composure through ambiguous, challenging and uncertain situations.
• Deepen and evolve your expertise with a focus on staying relevant.
• Initiate open and honest coaching conversations at all levels.
• Make difficult decisions and take action to resolve issues hindering team effectiveness.
• Model and reinforce professional and technical standards (e.g. refer to specific PwC tax and audit guidance), the Firm's code of conduct, and independence requirements.

About SATIC and the role

SATIC has recently launched the South African Technology & Innovation Centre (SATIC), designed to innovate, build, and deploy solutions for our global clients across a range of technology and transformational needs. This role will work directly with the Business Services Tower Lead Director to bring together the different Business Services capabilities being built in SATIC. There will also be a requirement to work closely with both the SATIC Leadership Team and the various territories who work with and plan to work with SATIC in the area of internal firm services (from admin support through to learning and development).

Summary:

We are seeking a highly capable and strategic Operations Lead to support the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in driving operational excellence, technical program execution, and cross-functional alignment. This role acts as a trusted advisor and right hand to the CTO, ensuring the smooth running of the Office of the CTO, enabling strategic initiatives, and enhancing the effectiveness of the technology leadership team.

The ideal candidate will bring a blend of operational rigor, technical understanding, and executive presence to manage priorities, streamline processes, and drive outcomes across a dynamic and fast-paced technology environment.

Qualifications / Certifications required:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, operations management, or related field.
• Project management certification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is advantageous

Experience required:

• 5+ years’ operations experience in a similar role within a global business services or back-office support environment.
• Proven experience supporting project implementation in a matrixed or multinational organization as well as proven experience in stakeholder management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities across operational and strategic domains.
• Experience of working in a professional services environment as well as globally is preferred.

Responsibilities of role:

Strategic & Operational Enablement

• Serve as the operational lead of the CTO’s office, managing the execution of priorities, workflows and ensuring alignment of strategic priorities with execution.
• Develop and maintain operating rhythms, governance structures, and reporting frameworks.
• Drive the implementation of key initiatives and ensure follow-through on action items from leadership meetings.
• Manage the CTO’s strategic calendar, ensuring prioritization of high-impact engagements.

Program & Project Oversight

• Coordinate and track progress of major technology programs and transformation initiatives.
• Support the CTO in preparing for executive forums, board meetings, and global leadership engagements.
• Maintain oversight of project milestones, risks, and interdependencies across the technology portfolio.
• Business Performance & Analytics
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics to assess the health of the technology function.
• Provide insights and recommendations based on data analysis to support decision-making.
• Prepare executive dashboards, business reviews, and performance reports.

People, Process and Relationship Enablement

• Support recruitment, onboarding, and team development efforts across the CTO’s portfolio.
• Embed operational best practices and governance frameworks to ensure consistent delivery.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, mentorship, and continuous improvement.
• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with senior stakeholders across technology, business services, and global territories
• Act as a connector between teams, ensuring alignment, collaboration, and shared understanding of goals and priorities

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Act as a liaison between the CTO and internal/external stakeholders, ensuring clear and consistent communication.
• Draft communications, presentations, and briefing materials on behalf of the CTO.
• Facilitate collaboration across product, engineering, security, and business teams.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Support adherence to internal governance, risk, and compliance frameworks.
• Partner with legal, risk, and audit teams to ensure technology operations meet regulatory and policy standards.

Desirable skill sets include:

• Strong commercial thinking and business acumen with the ability to see the bigger picture and translate strategic thinking into a detailed operational plan
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to understand the interaction of key business drivers, interpret, and make recommendations to improve business performance.
• Project management and operational background with an attention to detail and understanding of commercial dynamics
• Excellent written and verbal communication – able to create engaging agendas for range of audiences, own communication plans and be confident writing communications on behalf of the leadership team.
• Stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration
• Proficiency in MS Office, project tracking tools, and business intelligence/reporting tools
• Action orientated with an ability to multitask, remain calm under pressure, and operate in a growing and changing environment.

Role related attributes:

Leadership & Influence

• Energetic, motivational, and team-oriented.
• Able to challenge constructively and influence decisions.

Strategic Thinking

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to translate strategy into operations.
• Forward-thinking and pragmatic problem solver.

Communication & Collaboration

• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration.

Adaptability & Resilience

• Comfortable with ambiguity and change.
• Action-oriented, calm under pressure, and able to multitask.

Integrity & Accountability

• High professional standards and ethical conduct.
• Results-driven and detail-oriented.

Cultural Competence

• Global mindset and cultural awareness.

Travel Requirements

Up to 20%

Available for Work Visa Sponsorship?

No

Job Posting End Date

January 10, 2026