Director of FTTH Planning & Operations

Recruiter:

PlaceTalent

Job Ref:

JHB000454/NC

Date posted:

Friday, March 27, 2026

Location:

Johannesburg, South Africa

Salary:

R80,000 Monthly

SUMMARY:
We are looking for a commercially minded, operationally disciplined leader to scale a high-performance FTTH Planning Division supporting US operations. The successful candidate will oversee rapid growth from 15 to 40–60 planners over the next 12 months.

Due to the work being delivered in the United States, the successful candidate will be required to work EST hours from South Africa.

POSITION INFO:

Role Description
This is a Managing Director-level position responsible for:

Leading a 40–60 person FTTH Planning division
Managing production output of 30,000+ HHP per month
Driving quality, SLA compliance, and margin protection
Implementing structured KPI dashboards and reporting
Integrating S197 planning teams
Managing pod-based team structures
Scaling capacity in line with US demand

Minimum Requirements

8+ years in FTTH / fibre planning
Experience managing large engineering teams (20+ preferred)
Strong understanding of US FTTH design standards
Commercially literate: margins, cost control, utilisation
Process-driven and KPI-focused
Experienced with operational systems (Smartsheet, BI tools)
Comfortable working EST hours
Proven ability to scale teams and implement structure
Comfortable working EST hours from South Africa

Key Responsibilities

Production & Operations

Lead a 40–60 person FTTH Planning division
Deliver 30,000+ HHP per month
Manage as-built and design teams
Implement PPU-based productivity model
Forecast output accurately
Maintain >95% on-time delivery

Quality & Compliance

Keep rework below 7%
Oversee QC team
Prevent client escalations
Enforce structured QA processes

Commercial Accountability

Run Planning as a profit centre
Protect and grow gross margins
Manage cost per PPU
Control headcount growth
Report margin per client/state

Leadership & Scale

Structure teams into pods
Develop team leads and succession depth
Integrate additional planning teams
Support US multi-state expansion

Work Schedule & Compensation Notes

This is a full-time, non-exempt position based on a 40-hour work week.
Primarily based in the office around Melrose Johannesburg.
Working hours:
- 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM (Monday to Friday) – From the 2nd Sunday of March until the 1st Sunday of November
- 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM (Monday to Friday) – From the 1st Sunday in November until the 2nd Sunday of March
- US public holidays will apply. South African public holidays will not apply

Please apply directly by clicking the apply button or visiting for more exciting opportunities.

If you have not received a response within one week, please consider your application unsuccessful. Your CV will be kept on file for any further suitable positions.

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