Chief of Staff – Africa Clients & Industries Leader

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Role Overview

The Chief of Staff supports the Africa Clients & Industries Leader by providing high-quality insight, structure, and execution support across priority accounts, industry and sector agendas, business development, alliances, and market initiatives. The role acts as a trusted advisor and integrator, enabling focus, informed decision-making, and effective follow-through on the firm’s most important commercial priorities across Africa.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Client Insight

• Support oversight of priority accounts through performance analysis, pipeline insights, and preparation of leadership materials.

• Analyse client demand trends and buying patterns to inform solution focus and go‑to‑market discussions.

• Support preparation for senior client engagements and strategic account conversations.

Industry & Sector Enablement

• Consolidate and track performance, priorities, and initiatives across industry and sector verticals.

• Collaborate with Industry Community Managers to ensure that strategic growth levers are embedded within the industry verticals.

• Identify growth themes, white‑space opportunities, and relevant market trends.

Business Development & Strategic Pursuits

• Enable the Clients & Industries Leader to support priority business development and proposal efforts, with a focus on quality, coherence, and strategic alignment.

• Collaborate with Clients & Industries Operations, Business Development, and BMC teams to ensure alignment in the execution of strategic priorities.

Technology Alliances

• Support oversight of key technology alliances.

• Assist with alliance planning, performance tracking, and internal coordination.

• Prepare materials and insights to support senior‑level alliance engagement.

Strategy, Execution & Communication

• Translate leadership priorities into clear plans, milestones, and reporting.

• Produce concise, executive‑ready analysis, dashboards, and presentations.

• Support leadership communications with strong structure and visual storytelling.

Candidate Profile

• Strong analytical capability with the ability to distil complex information into clear insights.

• Excellent written and verbal communicator with confidence engaging at senior levels.

• Professional presence, sound judgment, and strong relationship‑building skills.

• Highly organised, adaptable, and comfortable operating close to senior leadership.

• Advanced Microsoft PowerPoint skills (non‑negotiable); strong commercial and data acumen.

Qualifications & Experience

• While a commercial or quantitative undergraduate degree is preferred, it is not mandatory.

• A postgraduate degree such as an MBA would be advantageous. Professional qualifications such as CA(SA) or CIMA would also be advantageous.

• Minimum of 6 years’ experience at manager level in areas such as, but not limited to, strategy or tech consulting, sales and key account management, and commercial operations.

Why this role

This is a high-exposure role working closely with senior leadership on the firm’s most important clients, sectors and growth priorities across Africa, offering significant breadth, influence and development.