Overview
General Manager Jobs in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa at AFMS- Air Filter Maintenance Services
Title: General Manager
Company: AFMS- Air Filter Maintenance Services
Location: Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa
Company Description
Established in 1986, the company has been a leader in the certification of HEPA filters and specializes in manufacturing, supplying, installing, testing, and maintaining diagnostic, decontamination, clean air equipment, and high-containment laboratories, including BSL-2 and BSL-3. The company is renowned for delivering specialized solutions in high-containment environments. With decades of experience, it has built a reputation for precision, quality, and customer satisfaction in critical sectors. The organization is committed to advancing technological innovation and maintaining safety standards in specialized environments.
Role Description
We are seeking an experienced qualified individual for the role of General Manager (GM) to oversee daily operations and strategic planning of business functions. This is a full-time, on-site position based in Midrand. Key responsibilities include managing budgets, supervising team performance, establishing operational goals, ensuring compliance with industry regulations, identifying growth opportunities, and maintaining strong relationships with clients and stakeholders. This GM will work closely with the Board to ensure consistent delivery, commercial discipline, flow across operations, and a high‑performance culture.
This is a senior operational leadership role with a strong emphasis on hands‑on execution, coordination, and delivery. The GMr is accountable for leading diverse functional teams to work seamlessly together, improving productivity, removing operational bottlenecks, and enabling flow from design through delivery and support.
The GM is expected to continuously assess the effectiveness of existing structures, systems, and processes, and to proactively recommend and implement upgrades or changes that improve efficiency, quality, and scalability as the business grows.
You will lead a multi‑disciplinary organisation of approximately 130 employees, directly managing functional heads and ensuring operational priorities are clearly set, executed, monitored, and continuously improved.
The GM will be responsible for:
- Overall leadership and coordination of day‑to‑day operations across:
· Engineering and design
· Project and programme delivery
· Sales, marketing, and tender administration
· Logistics, warehousing, and supply chain
· Support services and after‑sales operations and services
· Finance, quality, training, health & safety, HR, and IT
- Translate Board direction and strategic priorities into practical, executable operational plans that align people, processes, and resources.
- Provide regular operational and project status reporting to the Board, including:
· Project progress and delivery risks
· Operational performance and financial trends
· Capacity, resourcing, quality, safety, and compliance issues
- Ensure consistent, on‑time, on‑budget delivery of projects in complex, contract‑driven environments.
- Implement and maintain effective operational processes, controls, and policies aligned to South African legal and regulatory requirements.
- Build, lead, and embed a high‑performance culture that values accountability, collaboration across diverse teams, safety, learning, and continuous improvement.
- Encourage operational innovation, continuous improvement, and practical research and development initiatives that enhance productivity and delivery flow.
- Drive effective utilisation of existing systems, digital tools, and emerging AI solutions to improve efficiency, planning, decision‑making, and reporting.
Qualifications
- Senior operational leadership experience as a General Manager, Operations Director, COO, or similar
- Background in engineering, construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, or complex project‑based environments. Knowledge of manufacturing, decontamination, clean air systems, and laboratory environments (BSL-2, BSL-3 preferred) will be a bonus
- Proven experience leading large, diverse, multi‑disciplinary teams (100+ employees)
- Strong leadership, management, and team development skills, as well as operational, commercial, and financial management capability
- Ability to lead people from different disciplines, cultures, and skill sets to coordinate effectively and increase productivity
- An inquisitive and adaptable mindset with the ability to learn industry‑specific and technical knowledge quickly
- Working knowledge of South African labour law, safety, quality, and governance requirements
- A pragmatic, delivery‑focused leader who is visible, decisive, and hands‑on
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal abilities
- Proven problem-solving skills with a focus on optimising efficiency and achieving organisational goals
- Ability to remain detail-oriented while thinking strategically and driving innovation
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Engineering, Business Administration, or a related discipline (advanced degrees preferred)
- Experience in a similar management role within the manufacturing or high-containment industry is an advantage
Why join AFMS
· Opportunity to lead the operational core of a growing business operating internationally
· Close working relationship with the Board on delivery, priorities, and performance
· Ability to shape systems, people capability, and operational discipline during a critical growth phase
· Purpose‑driven work delivering critical laboratory infrastructure solutions