Director of International Operations

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Employment: Full-time, permanent

Working arrangement: Office-based

Salary: R120,000–R150,000 per month CTC, depending on experience

Bonus: Up to 25% of salary, linked to group and South African objectives

Reporting to: Managing Director

Travel: Quarterly UK travel, fully funded

About the Company

Our client is a UK security technology distributor headquartered in Derbyshire, England.The business supplies CCTV and security products to more than 15,000 professional trade installers across the UK, alongside its own product brands and distribution partnerships.The business is now establishing its first international operation in Cape Town, with a team of up to nine covering technical support, inside sales, marketing and administration.The Cape Town operation will work closely with the UK business and will operate on UK-aligned working hours.

About the Role

This is the founding executive hire for the Cape Town operation.And importantly, this is not an Office Manager position.The Director of International Operations will build and lead the Cape Town operation from employee one, while also becoming a member of the group's senior leadership team and taking a significant operating role within the UK business.The immediate priority is to make the group's UK market penetration as successful as possible. The Cape Town team exists to support sales, technical support and marketing into the company's 15,000-strong UK installer base.The second priority is building and running the South African operation.The longer-term remit is to help develop the group's wider international strategy, including opportunities across South Africa, the USA and other territories.

Key Responsibilities

UK Market Growth

This will be the immediate priority.

You will:

• Direct the Cape Town sales, support and marketing functions towards UK commercial outcomes.
• Drive revenue growth, account reactivation, service quality and customer retention.
• Own the UK-facing operating rhythm, including targets, pipeline reviews, campaign calendars and service standards.
• Work closely with UK commercial leadership.
• Take ownership of group-wide operational programmes supporting UK growth.
• Drive CRM and systems adoption.
• Lead process improvement across the UK and South African teams.
• Deputise for the Managing Director on operational matters.
• Chair the weekly trading cadence.
• Prepare the monthly board pack.

Build and Lead the South African Operation

You will build the Cape Town operation from the ground up.

This will include:

• Recruiting the founding team alongside the Managing Director and EOR partner.
• Selecting and establishing the Cape Town office.
• Embedding the company's standards, systems and culture from day one.
• Leading a team of up to nine across technical support, inside sales, marketing and administration.
• Taking full accountability for performance, quality and retention.
• Establishing daily stand-ups and weekly performance reviews.
• Reporting monthly to the UK board.
• Managing local vendor relationships, including EOR, workspace and IT providers.
• Taking responsibility for the South African operating budget.
• Designing induction, training and career development programmes.
• Building an operation that becomes a durable capability rather than simply a satellite office.

International Strategy

As the South African operation develops, the international remit will expand.

You will:

• Serve on the group senior leadership team.
• Contribute to strategy, annual OKR planning and trading decisions.
• Assess international market opportunities and entry routes.
• Build business cases for potential expansion into South Africa, the USA and other territories.
• Make recommendations to the Managing Director.
• Lead agreed international initiatives.
• Build an operational playbook covering hiring, standards, systems and reporting that can be used to establish future territories.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a senior operator who has already demonstrated that they can build, lead and scale an operation.

Essential

• 8+ years of operations leadership experience.
• Experience managing multi-functional teams.
• Full P&L or significant budget accountability.
• A proven record of building something from scratch or through rapid scale-up.
• Experience working for, or closely with, UK or international companies.
• Excellent professional English.
• Strong stakeholder management skills at board level.
• Commercially sharp and comfortable with data.
• Experience owning targets and performance.
• Comfortable reading a P&L and working with CRM and reporting systems.
• Experience with market or territory development.
• Ability to build a business case for a new market and then execute it.
• Willingness and ability to travel to the UK quarterly.

The person

We're looking for a builder.

Someone who can operate strategically with the Managing Director and senior leadership team, but who is also prepared to get involved in the detail when required.

You should be:

• Commercially minded.
• Hands-on.
• Accountable.
• Decisive.
• Highly organised.
• Comfortable working with targets and data.
• Strong at building teams.
• Comfortable operating in an international environment.
• Able to challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
• Comfortable taking something from an idea to an operating business.

Desirable

Experience in any of the following would be advantageous:

• Technology
• Electronics
• Distribution
• E-commerce
• Security/CCTV
• UK-facing businesses
• Zoho or comparable CRM/ERP systems
• International expansion
• Building new country operations.

First 90 Days

The first 90 days will be particularly important.

Days 1–30: Immersion

• Work closely with the Managing Director and UK leadership.
• UK visit or intensive remote induction.
• Product and customer immersion.
• Understand the UK operation and commercial objectives.
• Take ownership of the Cape Town launch plan.

Days 31–60: Build

• Secure and establish the Cape Town office.
• Begin recruiting the first wave of employees.
• Establish the operating rhythm.
• Introduce daily stand-ups and weekly performance reviews.
• Establish monthly board reporting.
• Cascade the company's FY27 OKRs.

Days 61–90: Perform

• Begin delivering measurable UK commercial contribution.
• Improve response times and quote volumes.
• Drive campaign output.
• Continue recruitment of the wider team.
• Produce the first draft of the international strategy covering South African scale-up and USA entry options.

Package

• R120,000–R150,000 per month CTC, depending on experience.
• Annual performance bonus of up to 25% of salary.
• Private medical aid and retirement contributions within CTC.
• 20 days' annual leave plus public holidays.
• UK travel fully funded.
• Long-term UK visitor visa support.
• Quality equipment.
• UK-led training.
• Founding executive position with significant influence over the group's international expansion.

Working Arrangement

This is a Cape Town-based, office-based position.

The wider team will work UK-aligned hours because the primary purpose of the operation is to support the UK market.

The successful candidate will also travel to the UK approximately quarterly, generally for one to two weeks at a time, with travel fully funded by the company.

Recruitment Process

The process will involve:

1. Initial screening.
2. Video interview with the Managing Director.
3. Further discussions with the UK leadership team.
4. Final in-person interview in Cape Town with the Managing Director.
5. Offer and onboarding.

The position is available immediately, subject to the successful candidate's notice period.

This is not an Office Manager role

This is the person who will build the operation.

You'll be responsible for the people, performance and day-to-day running of the Cape Town team, while also contributing directly to the wider UK business and its international strategy.

If you want to build something from the ground up, have significant autonomy and work directly with senior leadership, this is a very unusual opportunity.

To apply, please submit your CV and a brief overview of why you believe you're suited to the role.