Pacific International Lines (PTE) Ltd

Regional Head of Operations

Pacific International Lines (PTE) Ltd

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Office

Location: Accra • Ghana

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Job Level

Lead

Tech Stack

Tableau

About the role

  • Lead and oversee vessel operations: Spearhead all vessel operations across West and South Africa, ensuring schedules are executed reliably for both coastal and mainline routes in close collaboration with local agency teams, central vessel planning units, and the global marine operations desk to deliver best-in-class operational performance.
  • Oversee safe and compliant special cargo handling (e.g., project cargo, OOG) and ensure stowage planning meets IMDG and safety requirements.
  • Act as the senior escalation point for operational disruptions and vessel emergencies; coordinate with authorities and internal stakeholders to support rapid resolution.
  • Manage strategic operational relationships: Build and maintain strategic relationships with terminal operators, port authorities, pilotage and husbandry providers, and other key maritime stakeholders.
  • Work with terminals to optimize berthing plans, port productivity, and vessel turnaround time; drive Terminal Velocity improvements in order to ensure that vessel calls are conducted safely, efficiently, and in a cost-effective manner.
  • Lead contingency planning and execution: Oversee regional contingency planning and execution, ensuring prompt and clear decision-making and communication on port omissions, inducements, delays, deviations, and other operational exceptions.
  • Partner with Head Office Liner Operations on vessel call planning, schedule integrity, and network adjustments to minimize delays. Aligning actions with commercial and operational stakeholders to maintain service integrity.
  • Ensure operational reporting and team development: Own the delivery of OPPC related KPIs across agencies/branches, using disciplined monitoring, performance reviews, and timely corrective actions.
  • Provide functional leadership and operational oversight to country agencies to ensure consistent execution, timely system updates, and compliance with operating standards.
  • Lead, coach, and develop regional teams and supervisors to ensure consistent governance and high service quality across all operations.
  • Drive cost leadership: Monitor, control, and optimize terminal and marine costs, proactively identifying and minimizing inefficiencies such as delays, restows, deviations, and non-productive time to enhance operational performance and reduce expenses.
  • Drive cost-efficiency initiatives across liner operations, marine, terminal, agency, and third-party feeder (3PF) activities, in partnership with Head Office Procurement. Mobilize country business units to deliver efficiency targets.
  • Drive a high-performance culture: Cultivate a high-performance environment throughout the region, prioritizing port productivity, efficient vessel turnarounds, minimization of waste, and strict adherence to corporate operational KPIs and policies. Lead and embed a continuous-improvement culture across regional liner operations; identify bottlenecks, drive reliability, and improve performance.
  • Support HQ Procurement: Assist HQ Procurement in terminal tenders, vendor selection, and performance management, providing regional operational insights to ensure outcomes are both commercially viable and operationally suitable. Lead vendor performance management and support procurement activities (renewals, negotiations, benchmarking) for marine/terminal/3PF partners.
  • Partner with vessel and network planning teams: Work closely with central vessel planning and network teams (including headquarters) to manage berth window availability, vessel deployment, schedule integrity, and capacity utilization across the region.

Requirements

  • Master Mariner with at least 10 years’ shore-based experience in shipping operations (container liner) and transportation/logistics or commercial operations.
  • Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in Shipping or Maritime studies.
  • Degree in Logistics, Supply Chain Management or an MBA (General Management) is a plus.
  • Strong working knowledge of liner operations and ideally knowledge of logistics/supply chain exposure is an advantage.
  • Excellent written and spoken English; French proficiency is an advantage.
  • Strong analytical and communication skills; comfortable using Excel/PowerPoint and presenting operational insights to senior management (Power BI/Tableau exposure is a plus).
  • Ability to maintain high-level stakeholder engagement with terminals, marine vendors, and related partners.
  • Must demonstrate experience in influencing and working cross functionally and in a matrix group with HQ.
  • Strong leadership capabilities with the ability to coach and develop teams across multiple geographies and drive cross-functional initiatives.
Benefits
  • Opportunities for professional growth and development
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
vessel operationscargo handlingstowage planningoperational performancecontingency planningcost leadershipperformance managementlogisticssupply chain managementshipping operations
Soft Skills
leadershipcommunicationanalytical skillsstakeholder engagementcoachingcross-functional collaborationdecision-makingrelationship managementteam developmenthigh-performance culture
Certifications
Master Mariner