These are the requirements for the worst job in South Africa
Power utility Eskom has published the job ad for a new chief executive officer, listing exactly what it is looking for in a candidate willing to take up the worst job in the country.
The group is looking for an experienced engineer and businessman with at least 15 years of management experience, who can work with intelligence, discipline, and integrity – and is able to address the small task of bringing stability to an ongoing energy crisis.
The listing comes after current CEO, Andre de Ruyter, announced his resignation at the end of 2022. The embattled chief is leaving the post at the end of March 2023.
Eskom has had a multitude of different chief executives since load shedding started in 2007.
Load shedding first hit the country in 2007 under Jacob Maroga, who eventually left in 2009. Maroga’s successor, Brian Dames, oversaw five years of no load shedding between 2009 and 2013, before rolling blackouts struck again in 2014.
This gave way to Collin Matjila, then Tshediso Matona in 2014 and 2015, followed by brief stints by controversial CEOs Brian Molefe and Matshela Koko in 2016.
Eskom next saw Johnny Dladla and Sean Maritz take the helm in 2017, before Phakamani Hadebe and Jabu Mabuza took charge in 2018 and 2019.
De Ruyter was appointed in 2020 and had the dishonour of overseeing the worst levels of load shedding on record.
De Ruyter came under intense pressure during his time at Eskom – not only from the wider South African public who have been suffering through the worst load shedding on record under his watch but also from politicians looking for someone to blame for the crisis, despite them being directly involved with the government and departments that orchestrated it.
Eskom before and after load shedding – the great collapse in one graphic
The CEO is making his exit after being accused of treason by the energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and receiving zero backup support from public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and even president Cyril Ramaphosa.
On top of being under intense scrutiny by everyone in South Africa, Eskom’s new CEO will also be entering a chaotic scene, and will be tasked with accomplishing what a dozen executives before them failed to do.
The company is in a deep financial crisis; power stations are failing left, right and centre; most of the generation fleet is under siege by criminals and syndicates; the business is currently being unbundled into three separate entities, each with their own machinations to deal with; the governing ANC is facing a dismal performance in the 2024 elections, so political interference is elevated, and morale at the company is low.
The risk of failure is high – and whoever takes the job is also likely to see their life threatened.
The key job requirements are listed below. The full ad can be viewed here.
Qualifications
- A postgraduate degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Economics or a suitable qualification at NQF level 8 with 480 credits
- An undergraduate degree, with an MBA or other relevant postgraduate degree, will be an advantage.
Related Experience:
- At least 15 – 20 years’ senior management experience at executive committee level, ideally within emerging markets;
- Strong commercial acumen with a successful track record in managing the strategic turnaround of a commercial entity operating within a complex environment with over 20 000+ employees and an annual turnover in excess of R50 billion;
- A solid track record in mitigating systemic risks and pro-actively managing crises;
- A leader with unquestionable integrity and ethics;
- A solid understanding of global trends within the energy sector and their applicability to local market conditions;
- A demonstrable and sustainable track record of turning around commercially and operationally challenged organisations;
- Extensive experience in raising capital (funding) and managing large capital projects;
- Experience in managing a dynamic and robust stakeholder environment;
- Experience in the energy and/or industrial sectors will be advantageous
- A solid track record of working in a complex environment, leading business turnaround, ideally within emerging markets; and.
- Comply with government policies and the unbundling process currently underway.
Skills and Competencies
- Commercial Acumen
- Strategic Leadership & Governance
- Stakeholder Management
Personal Characteristics
- Must be a disciplined and goal-oriented professional with proven leadership experience at Executive level with personal integrity;
- An intellectually curious critical thinker who can help develop the vision and strategy of Eskom;
- Must be able to take calculated risks and make tough decisions;
- An Executive who has relevant professional and social networks that can be leveraged for the benefit of the organisation;
- Have excellent communication, motivational and negotiation skills; and
- An inspiring and engaging Executive who will be seen as a strong leader of Eskom and viewed throughout the industry as an effective leader.
Key Responsibilities
- Create a high-performing organisation with a culture that maintains the highest ethical and governance standards in line with shareholder, business, communities, and citizen’s expectations to provide excellent customer service;
- Develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate commercial and operational strategies and processes to achieve sustainable organisational outcomes;
- Explore all strategic and commercial avenues that will translate into consistent and profitable business growth;
- Lead and build an executive team which will stabilise an organisation in crisis, whilst managing diverse and sometimes conflicting stakeholder expectations; and
- Ensure that the organisation manages risk and regulatory compliance; requirements, whilst achieving fiscal discipline and reducing high debt level.
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