Dangote Group is one of Nigeria’s most diversified business conglomerates with a hard – earned reputation for excellent business practices and products’ quality with its operational headquarters in the bustling metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria in West Africa.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: General Manager, Technical / Operations
Location: Apapa, Lagos
Role Overview
- The position oversees all core refining processes including raw sugar handling, affination, melt clarification, filtration, evaporation, crystallization, centrifugation, drying, packaging, and storage, ensuring high yield recovery, product quality, operational efficiency, and cost optimization.
- The General Manager, Technical/Operations is responsible for the end?to?end leadership of all sugar refining and technical functions at DSR Apapa.
- The role has full accountability for Production, Engineering & Maintenance, Utilities, and Quality Control, ensuring optimal refinery performance across the entire sugar processing value chain.
Job Summary
- It also drives process optimization, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring sustainable and cost-effective refinery operations aligned with corporate objectives.
- The role is accountable for plant-wide performance, including throughput, recovery, energy efficiency, equipment reliability, and food safety compliance.
- The General Manager provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure efficient conversion of raw sugar into high-quality refined sugar in line with ICUMSA and regulatory standards.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
Sugar Refining Operations:
- Monitor and improve sucrose recovery, massecuite performance, and sugar losses across the refining cycle.
- Lead and optimize all stages of sugar refining:
affination, clarification, filtration, evaporation, crystallization, centrifugation, drying, and packaging. - Ensure efficient raw sugar melt and purification processes to achieve required colour and quality specifications.
Production & Yield Optimization:
- Drive initiatives to maximize refinery throughput and recovery rates while minimizing process losses (molasses, filter cake, moisture).
- Establish and monitor mass balance systems and process KPIs.
- Optimize steam consumption, energy use, and cycle times across operations.
Engineering, Utilities & Maintenance:
- Drive Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and predictive maintenance strategies.
- Ensure optimal performance of critical refinery assets such as evaporators, vacuum pans, centrifugals, dryers, and packaging systems.
- Oversee Engineering and Maintenance functions, ensuring high equipment uptime and reliability.
- Manage utilities including boilers, turbines, compressed air, and water treatment systems.
Quality Control & Food Safety:
- Ensure compliance with ICUMSA standards, food safety systems (HACCP, ISO 22000), and regulatory requirements.
- Maintain product specifications including colour, grain size, moisture, and purity.
- Provide oversight for Quality Control laboratories and processes.
Cost Control & Resource Management:
- Drive reduction in cost per tonne of refined sugar.
- Manage operational budgets with strong fiscal discipline.
- Optimize the use of energy, chemicals (lime, phosphoric acid), water, and raw materials.
Technology & Process Improvement:
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma) to enhance productivity and reduce waste.
- Champion automation (DCS/SCADA), digital monitoring, and process control systems.
- Drive refinery modernization and capacity expansion projects.
Leadership & Stakeholder Management:
- Provide integrated leadership across Production, Engineering, Utilities, and Quality Control teams.
- Manage relationships with regulators, vendors, consultants, and host communities.
- Develop a strong technical leadership pipeline and succession plans.
HSSE & Sustainability:
- Drive initiatives in energy efficiency, emissions reduction, and sustainable operations.
- Ensure strict adherence to Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental (HSSE) standards.
Educational Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering, or related discipline.
Work Experience:
- Minimum of 20 years’ experience in sugar refining or comparable continuous process industries.
- At least 5 years in a senior management or executive role overseeing plant operations.
Skills and Behaviours:
- Proven ability in plant optimization, yield improvement, and cost control.
- Strong analytical mindset with focus on efficiency and performance improvement.
- Excellent leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Strong expertise in sugar refining processes and process engineering.
- High adaptability to technology and automation systems.
Professional Qualifications:
- Membership of COREN, NSE, or relevant professional bodies is an advantage.
- PMP or equivalent certification (preferred).
