Commissioning Manager | Mining | Kathu, Northern Cape | 12-month renewable contract

Introduction Our client, a leading mining company is looking to appoint a Commissioning Manager to join their team based in Kathu, Northern Cape for a 12-month renewable contract.

Duties & Responsibilities Duties & Responsibilities:

Safety, Health, and Environment

Support a safe and healthy work environment where workers, external service providers, and contractors can deliver their outputs within a controlled risk environment. Keep environmental impact within statutory requirements to ensure compliance. Support the compliance to MHSA in the workspace. Participate in VFL initiatives and submit the required number per month. Lead safe introduction of energy, water, and process material into systems.

Performance and Delivery

Commissioning Strategy and Management

Define and own the commissioning strategy, systemisation approach and subsystem boundary philosophy for each project. Provide technical authority for progression between pre-commissioning, energisation, performance testing and handover. Lead commissioning planning and execution across multiple concurrent projects. Own and manage end-to-end commissioning maturity progression from C1 (Construction Completion) through C5 (Operational Handover). Develop fit-for-purpose commissioning plans aligned to project size and complexity. Facilitate and lead the development of integrated commissioning schedules with key stakeholders and contracting parties Coordinate pre-commissioning, cold commissioning, and hot commissioning activities. Manage contractor commissioning teams and vendor specialists. Identify and resolve technical and sequencing issues impacting start-up. Prioritise commissioning and related technical support resources across multiple projects to ensure delivery. Lead brownfield integration strategy, managing tie-ins, shutdown coordination and operational risk mitigation to ensure safe and seamless integration of new systems into existing operations Act as the primary interface with contractors during commissioning to establish seamless communication and issue resolution.

Quality Management Integration

Define and govern C1 (Construction Completion) criteria in alignment with commissioning readiness requirements, ensuring subsystem turnover supports controlled progression through C1–C3 maturity stages. Ensure discipline-specific quality requirements, durations, practical constraints and schedule interfaces are fully integrated into commissioning planning across all maturity stages. Identify and escalate quality gaps that may compromise commissioning progression, energisation readiness or operational acceptance. Establish and enforce structured punch management governance, ensuring defects are prioritised, tracked and resolved in alignment with commissioning stage-gate requirements. Oversee the integrity and accuracy of punch tracking and quality records within the DMS to maintain real-time visibility of commissioning readiness. Ensure commissioning activities comply with approved quality management plans and discipline-specific requirements prior to system acceptance, energisation and start-up Hold contractors accountable for timely defect resolution and compliance with agreed quality close-out criteria.

Commissioning Process and Documentation

Oversee the coordination of all commissioning processes and documentation across multiple projects Ensuring alignment with project commissioning standards, guidelines and the successful handover to operations. Ensure the development of project specific procedures, checklists, control philosophies, risk assessments and related technical documentation required for each discipline that will enable all commissioning steps. Monitor and manage commissioning certification, completion documentation and system turnover packages. Drive document management best practice (DMS)

Performance Testing & Handover

Lead performance verification activities to confirm system operability. Coordinate contractor and vendor performance obligations. Facilitate beneficial handover to operations. Support initial operational ramp-up and stabilization. Ensure commissioning documentation supports operational sustainability

Operational Readiness Interface

Coordinate closely with Operational Readiness teams to align commissioning schedules with training and readiness activities. Confirm operational readiness elements required to support start-up (training, maintenance readiness, spares, procedures). Provide visibility of commissioning sequencing to unlock operational preparedness milestones (integrated planning and scheduling) Escalate misalignment risks between commissioning progress and operational readiness timelines.

Governance and Reporting

Lead the extraction, consolidation and presentation of commissioning data from the DMS, delivering accurate and timely portfolio-level reporting. Maintain structured, complete and accessible documentation for each commissioning area and equipment package, ensuring all records are audit ready. Coordinate with Quality teams and Contract Administrators to confirm databooks and data index requirements are complete and aligned. Provide structured commissioning status reporting across all key projects. Embed daily, weekly and monthly routines to manage, monitor and control commissioning activities. Identify, escalate and manage risks, bottlenecks, resource constraints and documentation gaps impacting commissioning progress or programme integrity. Drive continuous improvement and standardisation of commissioning practices and lessons learned across projects.

 

Desired Experience & Qualification REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering in Mechanical, Electrical, or related fields Commissioning or related certifications Quality certifications (advantageous) Operational readiness (advantageous) Project Management (advantageous) Must have a valid driver’s license and own vehicle. 10-15 years relevant experience in commissioning and system turnover on medium size mining/industrial projects, with demonstrated responsibility for coordinating construction completion, commissioning readiness, documentation control and handover to operations. At least 5 years in a senior commissioning lead/coordination role. Strong working knowledge of the full commissioning lifecycle (pre-commissioning, cold commissioning, hot commissioning, performance testing and handover), including practical understanding of discipline interfaces (Civil, SMPP, EC&I) and subsystem/system boundaries. Proven experience integrating commissioning requirements into construction schedules, understanding C1 (Construction Completion) principles, punch management sequencing, and the programme impact of incomplete quality documentation. Advanced proficiency in administering and optimising Document Management Systems (DMS) for commissioning control, including databook compilation, certificate tracking, system turnover packages and audit readiness. Comprehensive understanding of quality management systems, discipline-specific ITP requirements and commissioning certification processes, ensuring compliance prior to energisation and start-up. Strong knowledge of safety, MHSA and safe energisation principles applicable to commissioning activities, including controlled introduction of energy and process materials. Demonstrated capability in managing punch listing processes, commissioning certificates and system acceptance documentation, ensuring traceability, timely close-out and alignment with contractual requirements. Ability to identify and manage risks, documentation gaps and sequencing constraints that may compromise commissioning readiness, start-up performance or programme integrity. Advanced knowledge of safety procedures and the specific documentation required to ensure safety compliance during all stages of the commissioning process. Proficient in tracking and analysing commissioning progress, generating comprehensive and actionable reports tailored to stakeholder needs.