Field Operations Manager

About the Company

KoBold Metals Namibia is the Namibia affiliate of KoBold Metals, a U.S.-based company exploring around the world for battery metals using proprietary AI to guide exploration decisions. Our business is discovering, defining, expanding, and developing mineral resources, and our objective is to achieve a step-change improvement in exploration success resulting in more tier 1 resources discovered faster, with fewer failures, and with far less exploration capital.

KoBold is privately held and its investors include: institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Standard Investments, and Sam Altman’s Apollo Projects; and leading natural resources companies Equinor, Mitsubishi, and BHP.  KoBold Metals Namibia is building a rapidly growing team of geologists, operators, and executives to identify, acquire, explore, and develop exploration opportunities and mineral resources drawing upon KoBold’s technology and the expertise of colleagues worldwide.

Every member of our team is committed to creating and representing our company with ethical standards in health and safety, anti-corruption, community support, environmental protection, anti-discrimination and personal and corporate integrity.

About The Role:

This role will be responsible for:

• Operations Control Center: Maintain daily contact with and monitor the status of KoBold personnel and contractors while in the field. Maintain close communication with the Project Geologist, Project Data Scientist, and field operations leadership.
• Reporting: Execute and maintain KoBold’s system for tracking health, safety, and environmental  incidents and provide periodic reporting
• Compliance: Understand applicable local laws and regulations and the practices of our joint venture partners and ensure that we follow them in all our operations
• Field Service Contractors: Identify, evaluate, contract with, and manage contractors and vendors for a wide range of field operations, from camp construction to helicopter transport to emergency medical services ensuring alignment to regulatory and KoBold’s Ethic Standards. 
• Logistics: Arrange for the shipment of equipment and material to and from KoBold’s project sites
• Local Management: Deploy to remote project locations as required to implement and manage programs
• Process Improvement: Creating ways of working that allow us to continue to work more effectively and to be nimble so that we can support machine-learning-driven dynamic field programs, where we adapt our plan based on the data we collect at each stage
• Stakeholder Engagement: With leadership direction and support, help represent KoBold Metals with local stakeholders
• Land Access: Lead land access negotiations with farmers and landowners 

Reporting to the CEO - Africa

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate will have… 

• At least 5 years of experience conducting field operations in mineral exploration & mining, or a related industry
• Demonstrated commitment to and familiarity with developing and implementing high standards of health & safety in the workplace
• The ability to engage positively with farmers, land owners, and stakeholders to establish open and trusting relationships
• The ability to problem-solve in remote environments
• The ability to work in remote and isolated locations for extended periods of time
• Must speak, read, and write in English & Afrikaans; German is an asset 
• A high degree of independence and the ability to work effectively with limited supervision
• Familiarity with Project Management principles and managing projects remotely
• Interest in contributing broadly to the success of the company and eager to pitch in where needed
• Valid First Aid Certification (Level 3 or Wilderness First Aid is preferred) 

It is helpful to also have:

• Run programs in different countries and/or remote environments
• Worked in a small company or as a member of a very small team with a broad mandate working in a fast paced project environment. 
• Project Management Professional (PMP) designation, CRSP designation, Red Seal designation (electrical, carpentry, plumbing), trained or experience operating heavy equipment 

We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all people.

This position is a full-time contract role.

Location: Windhoek, Namibia

At this time we are only accepting applications from Namibian Nationals