Senior Manager Rail, Electrical & Instrumentation

Job Requisition ID

13138 

Closing Date

29 Septembe 2026 

OME

MSA: Energy Marketing & Sales 

Location

Secunda 

Purpose of Job

The Senior Manager: Rail, Electrical & Instrumentation is accountable for providing strategic leadership, governance, technical direction and regulatory oversight of all Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation assets within Secunda Tank Farm Operations. The role ensures the safe, reliable, compliant and cost-effective operation of rail infrastructure, locomotives, signaling systems, telecommunications, weighbridges, electrical distribution networks, instrumentation, automation and control systems to support sustainable business performance and maintain Sasol's license to operate.

• Accountable for asset lifecycle management, maintenance strategy, engineering governance, operational risk management, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across Rail and E&I assets.
• Ensure the availability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of Rail, Electrical, and Instrumentation assets to support safe and uninterrupted production.
• Lead the effective maintenance of plant Electrical and Instrumentation equipment and rail infrastructure to achieve world-class asset performance, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Provide strategic leadership, governance, and technical direction for the Railway, Electrical, and Instrumentation maintenance functions to ensure safe, sustainable, and compliant operations.
• Ensure compliance with Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) permit conditions, directives, statutory requirements, engineering standards, and all applicable Electrical and Instrumentation governance requirements.

Key Accountabilities

Asset Management, Reliability and Lifecycle Planning

• Accountable for asset lifecycle management, maintenance strategy, operational reliability, engineering governance and continuous improvement of Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation assets.
• Ensure the availability, reliability and cost effectiveness of Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation assets to support safe and uninterrupted production.
• Ensure effective maintenance of plant Electrical and Instrumentation equipment and rail infrastructure.
• Maintain assets within agreed operating envelope conditions and approved engineering standards.
• Maintain assets to established performance, reliability and safety standards.
• Develop lifecycle management plans for railway, electrical and instrumentation assets.
• Develop long-term renewal plans and asset replacement strategies.
• Improve asset reliability through predictive, preventative and condition-based maintenance strategies.
• Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), asset availability and operational performance.
• Support digitalization initiatives, predictive maintenance technologies and Industry 4.0 implementation.

Maintenance Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of maintenance systems, maintenance standards and best practices.
• Establish and continuously improve maintenance methodologies, maintenance systems and work management processes.
• Align the right skills and technical resources to the right challenges and asset performance priorities.
• Identify technical problems, operational constraints and improvement opportunities.
• Benchmark best practices, technologies and optimal maintenance solutions against industry leaders.
• Implement sustainable improvement solutions that enhance safety, reliability, asset performance, cost efficiency and operational effectiveness.
• Continuously improve products, services, systems and business processes

Regulatory Compliance, Governance and Railway Safety

• Ensure full compliance with Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) permit conditions, directives, Safety Management System requirements, engineering standards, legal requirements and Sasol governance frameworks.
• Accountable for maintaining railway safety compliance and safeguarding Sasol's railway operating licence.
• Lead the implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of governance systems, engineering controls and compliance programs for Rail and E&I assets.
• Manage standards, governance requirements and legal compliance applicable to Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation systems.
• Ensure continuous improvement of safety performance and key SHE metrics to achieve Zero Harm and maintain licence to operate.
• Manage operational, engineering and maintenance risks by ensuring risks are proactively identified, assessed, mitigated and monitored to acceptable levels.

Strategic Leadership and Technical Stewardship

• Provide strategic leadership, governance and technical direction for the Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation maintenance functions.
• Provide overall leadership of electrical distribution systems, instrumentation, process control systems, automation systems and associated technologies.
• Provide overall leadership of railway infrastructure, permanent way, locomotives, signaling and interlocking systems, telecommunications, weighbridge systems and associated railway operational assets.
• Lead the development and execution of long-term asset management strategies aligned to business objectives.
• Drive operational excellence through continuous improvement, innovation, digital transformation and modernisation initiatives across the Rail and E&I portfolio.
• Provide technical leadership and governance for major capital projects, infrastructure upgrades, asset renewal programs and strategic investment initiatives.

Capital Planning and Project Leadership

• Participate in and lead engineering design decisions to ensure optimal asset functionality, reliability and maintainability.
• Manage implementation of strategic projects, shutdown activities and infrastructure upgrades.
• Lead asset modernisation initiatives and infrastructure renewal programmes.
• Input into the 5-year rolling capital investment plan and long-term asset strategy.
• Ensure capital projects deliver targeted business value, operational improvements and risk reduction.

Maintenance Planning, Budget and Cost Management

• Compile and manage annual maintenance budgets and long-term expenditure forecasts.
• Control costs and ensure maintenance activities are executed within approved budgets while achieving business performance targets.
• Oversee maintenance planning, scheduling and execution to optimise asset reliability and resource utilisation.
• Manage shutdown planning and execution to ensure safe, effective and efficient delivery.
• Manage maintenance spares, materials and inventory strategies to support operational continuity and optimise working capital.

Stakeholder Integration and Value Chain Alignment

• Demonstrate One Sasol behaviour by ensuring decisions and priorities support the broader Sasol Value Chain.
• Manage complex internal and external stakeholder interfaces effectively.
• Build strong partnerships with Operations, Engineering, Projects & Engineering, Supply Chain, Regulatory Authorities and external service providers.
• Integrate maintenance, operations and project activities to maximise business value.
• Report to the Head: Secunda Tank Farm Operations on system availability, asset performance, maintenance execution, shutdown performance, budget utilisation, maintenance requirements and the overall state of railway safety.

Knowledge Management and Organisational Capability

• Manage operational and maintenance knowledge through the effective transformation, packaging, transfer and preservation of critical knowledge.
• Establish a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Lead the development of organisational capability in Railway, Electrical and Instrumentation disciplines.
• Ensure critical technical and operational skills are developed and sustained.
• Plan, source and develop people capability aligned to current and future business requirements.
• Provide succession plans for direct reports and critical strategic positions.

People Leadership and Contractor Management

• Lead, coach and develop employees to achieve high levels of performance, engagement and accountability.
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on safety, reliability, operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective management and governance of contractors and service providers.
• Drive contractor performance against safety, quality, cost, delivery and compliance requirements.
• Ensure service providers consistently deliver value and support business objectives.

Formal Education

BSc Eng/BEng/BTech Electrical/Instrumentation & Control Engineering

Working Experience

Required Personal and Professional Skills