O&M Planning & Operations Support Manager

To own and improve the contract management and administrative control system that converts SolarAfrica O&M’s contractual, handover, compliance, maintenance, contractor, warranty and commercial obligations into prioritised work, auditable evidence, timely escalation and verified closure across the distributed onsite and utility-scale portfolios.
Position of the job in the organisation:
The O&M Planning & Operations Support Manager reports directly to the Head of O&M, manages one O&M Operations Coordinator and acts as a hands-on manager responsible for administrative readiness, control assurance and higher-judgement contract/commercial work.
Principal responsibilities:
Control System, Governance & Exception Management
Own one risk-based O&M control framework covering sites, contracts, obligations, handovers, compliance, contractors, work orders, warranties, commercial events and evidence.
Define RACI, stage gates, criticality, approvers, due dates, escalation lead times, evidence standards and exception routes.
Enforce “no evidence, no closure” and exercise the approved administrative readiness veto when critical insurance, H&S, competence, access, service-authority, warranty or handover evidence is missing.
Maintain the Head of O&M exception view, quantify financial/control exposure and drive decisions rather than simply reporting overdue items.
Contracts, Warranties & Commercial Protection
Personally own the authoritative obligation and service-authority control across O&M agreements, SLAs, customer authority, renewals, notices, EPC obligations, warranties, PPAs/funder-derived O&M inputs and contractor agreements.
Ensure every operating site has documented scope, fee/invoicing profile, expiry/extension status, warranty position and accountable commercial decision owner.
Control ASRs, quotations, variations, claims, extensions and approved rates; prevent unsupported additional work except under documented emergency authority.
Lead equipment, workmanship, performance and BESS warranty claims, including notice strategy, evidence quality, OEM escalation, replacements and recovery.
Validate supplier invoice scope, rates, service receipt and evidence before Finance processing; track disputes and leakage without owning accounting or payment.
Contract Governance & Commercial Assurance
Own the contract/agreement-renewal strategy and commercial recommendations.
Review service scope, pricing, amendments and renewal proposals.
Approve or escalate renewal recommendations in accordance with delegated authority.
Ensure contractual notices, renewals and extensions are issued within required timeframes.
Resolve commercial issues requiring management judgement.
Act as the primary O&M interface with Legal on contract-related matters.
Mobilisation, Handover & Operational Readiness
Own the administrative readiness framework from pre-COD planning through takeover, final acceptance and 90-day hypercare; the coordinator maintains the working register and dossier.
Translate contracts, O&M plans, permits and approved checklists into entry/exit criteria covering appointments, insurance, H&S, competence, equipment, spares, access, warranties, manuals, as-builts, defects and reporting.
Challenge incomplete submissions, recommend accept/hold decisions to the Head of O&M and ensure Projects/EPC or suppliers retain unresolved defects until formal transfer or closure.
Work Management, Contractor & Compliance Assurance
With input from the technical team, set the rolling maintenance-control calendar and service levels; assure the coordinator’s 14-day/7-day/48-hour dispatch gates, work-order creation, dispatch packs, report-to-action workflow, ageing and evidence closure.
Own contractor scorecard design and performance reviews covering safety, competence, quality, cost, SLA, repeat attendance, reporting and corrective-action closure.
Define critical contractor/site compliance requirements and approve or escalate exceptions; technical/HSE owners retain technical approval.
Review recurring access failures, aged tickets, incomplete reports and unsupported closures; lead corrective-action and control-failure reviews.
Systems, Reporting, Team Leadership & Capacity
Own O&M administrative master-data standards, controlled records, permissions, versioning, KPI definitions and workflow requirements in Dynamics, Simpro and SharePoint.
Prepare decision-useful weekly exceptions and monthly control reporting covering readiness, ageing, compliance, SLA exposure, unbilled/additional work and warranty recovery.
Lead, coach, prioritise and quality-assure the O&M Operations Coordinator; establish leave cover and standard work for a two-person function.
Use workflow automation and governed AI to remove manual chasing, while preserving named ownership and human approval for material decisions.
Measure volume, cycle time, rework, exceptions and overtime; escalate a quantified capacity risk when the two-role model cannot sustain critical service levels
Experience & Skills
7+ years in maintenance planning, operations support, contract/commercial control, work management or asset-management support in an asset-intensive environment.
At least 2 years in renewable energy, power generation, utilities, facilities, telecoms or comparable multi-site/mission-critical operations; direct solar PV/BESS O&M experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated ownership of contract obligations, warranties/claims, mobilisation/handover, CMMS work management, contractor governance and auditable controls.
Strong ERP/CMMS/document-management capability; Dynamics 365, Simpro, SharePoint, Power Automate and advanced Excel experience advantageous.
National Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Supply Chain, Contract/Commercial Management, Project Management, Finance, Engineering Management or a related field.
Valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel to distributed and utility-scale sites.
AI experience is not essential, but a strong technology-savvy, digitally driven mindset is required. .
Specific attributes:
Control-minded and commercially pragmatic; able to identify critical gates without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
Hands-on manager who can perform high-judgement contract, warrant

Employment type
Full-Time

Work arrangement
No