Field Operations Manager

About the Company

The mining industry has steadily become worse at finding new ore deposits, requiring >10X more capital to make discoveries compared to 30 years ago. The easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have largely been found, and the industry has chronically under-invested in new exploration technology, relying on the manual techniques of yesteryear – even as demand accelerates for copper, lithium, and other metals to build electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

KoBold builds AI models for mineral exploration and deploys those models—alongside our novel sensors—to guide decisions on KoBold-owned-and-operated exploration programs. In the six years since founding, KoBold has become by far both the largest independent mineral exploration company and the largest exploration technology developer. Our data scientists and software engineers, who come from leading technology companies, jointly lead exploration programs with our renowned exploration geologists.

KoBold has proven its first discovery with materially less capital than the industry average and found one of the best copper deposits ever discovered: the copper is far more concentrated than the global average of copper mines, and this asset alone is expected to generate meaningful revenue for decades. KoBold has a portfolio of more than 60 other projects, each of which has the potential for another high-quality discovery.

KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Rice and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, and Standard Investments; and natural resources companies Equinor, BHP, and Mitsubishi.

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