GROUP AI SOLUTIONS & DECISION INTELLIGENCE LEAD

POSITION: GROUP AI SOLUTIONS & DECISION INTELLIGENCE LEAD

LOCATION: Durban or Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha

TRAVEL: Regular national travel required

INDUSTRY: Diversified Manufacturing Group

REPORTING TO: GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

REMUNERATION: Market related and negotiable according to experience, technical capability and proven delivery

CORE BUSINESS SYSTEM: SYSPRO ERP

ROLE PURPOSE

A large, listed consortium of manufacturing companies is seeking an exceptional and commercially astute AI professional to lead the identification, development and implementation of artificial-intelligence applications across the Group.

The Group currently uses SYSPRO as its core enterprise resource planning system. A central focus of this position will be unlocking greater value from SYSPRO and other approved business-data sources by developing secure AI applications, automated reports, analytical tools and executive decision-support solutions.

This is not a purely theoretical, research or advisory position. The successful incumbent must be able to understand complex business requirements, interrogate and structure data, develop practical applications and convert operational information into reliable executive insights.

The role will work directly with the Group CEO and senior leadership teams to identify opportunities where AI, automation, analytics and intelligent applications can improve decision-making, operational efficiency, market awareness and commercial performance.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

AI Strategy and Opportunity Identification

• Develop and implement a practical Group AI strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Assess the operations of the Group's various companies and identify high-value AI and automation opportunities.
• Translate business challenges into clearly defined AI, analytics and application-development projects.
• Prioritise initiatives according to commercial value, feasibility, risk, implementation time and expected return on investment.
• Develop an AI implementation roadmap covering short-, medium- and long-term opportunities.
• Distinguish genuine business applications from low-value or unsuitable AI use cases.

SYSPRO Data and Application Integration

• Work with the Group's SYSPRO environment as a primary source of financial, manufacturing, inventory, procurement, sales and operational data.
• Understand the Group's SYSPRO structure, modules, workflows, tables and reporting requirements.
• Develop AI-enabled applications and reporting tools that securely access approved SYSPRO data.
• Integrate SYSPRO information with other approved operational and external data sources.
• Automate the extraction, consolidation and analysis of SYSPRO information.
• Develop natural-language tools that allow authorised users to interrogate approved SYSPRO data.
• Build reports and alerts identifying exceptions, trends, risks and opportunities within SYSPRO data.
• Work with SYSPRO administrators, super users, IT teams and functional managers to ensure that integrations are accurate and controlled.
• Protect the integrity of the live SYSPRO environment and avoid unauthorised changes to source data.
• Ensure that all reports and AI-generated conclusions can be traced back to the relevant SYSPRO records.
• Maintain consistent definitions and calculation methodologies across Group companies.
• Identify gaps in SYSPRO data quality and coordinate corrective action with the responsible departments.

AI Application Development

• Design, develop, test and implement AI-enabled business applications.
• Build internal assistants, AI agents, dashboards and decision-support tools.
• Create applications that retrieve and interpret information from SYSPRO and other approved data sources.
• Develop automated workflows that collect, validate, analyse and distribute business information.
• Integrate AI solutions with SYSPRO, CRM, MES, quality, production and other enterprise systems where appropriate.
• Develop prototypes and minimum viable products before progressing approved solutions into production.
• Maintain appropriate documentation, version control, testing and deployment procedures.
• Determine whether solutions should be built internally, through low-code platforms or with specialist external providers.

Executive Reporting and Decision Intelligence

• Consolidate information from SYSPRO and other systems across companies, plants and departments.
• Develop executive dashboards, automated reports, exception alerts and predictive indicators.
• Reduce the time currently required to produce operational, financial and management reports.
• Provide decision-support information relating to profitability, margins, sales, production, costs, quality, inventory and procurement.
• Identify patterns, anomalies, risks and opportunities that may not be evident through conventional reporting.
• Ensure that AI-generated information is accurate, traceable and supported by source data.
• Establish human review and approval controls for material reports and recommendations.

Market, Competitor and Commercial Intelligence

• Develop systems that monitor and analyse markets, customers, competitors and industry trends.
• Combine approved external information with internal sales and commercial data from SYSPRO.
• Analyse performance by product, customer, region, market and business unit.
• Identify changes in demand, customer behaviour, pricing, market gaps and commercial opportunities.
• Develop forecasting and scenario-modelling tools to support strategic planning.
• Automate recurring competitor, market and pricing-analysis processes where legally and ethically appropriate.

Manufacturing and Operational Applications

Identify and develop applications supporting areas such as:

• Production performance and operational efficiency
• Overall equipment effectiveness and downtime
• Predictive and preventative maintenance
• Quality trends, defects, scrap and rework
• Root-cause analysis and corrective action
• Demand forecasting and production planning
• Inventory optimisation and slow-moving stock
• Procurement analysis and supplier performance
• Supply-chain visibility and logistics
• Cost analysis, margins and profitability
• Sales forecasting and customer performance
• Energy consumption and sustainability reporting
• Engineering and technical knowledge management
• Executive and board reporting

AI Governance, Risk and Security

• Develop and maintain a practical AI governance framework for the Group.
• Ensure compliance with POPIA, cybersecurity requirements and company policies.
• Protect confidential information contained within SYSPRO and other Group systems.
• Implement role-based access controls and ensure users only access authorised information.
• Prevent confidential company information from being uploaded to unauthorised public AI platforms.
• Maintain a register of AI applications, owners, users, data sources and approved purposes.
• Ensure that material AI outputs are explainable, traceable and subject to human review.
• Monitor applications for inaccurate outputs, data leakage, bias and security weaknesses.
• Establish testing, approval, change-control and incident-management procedures.
• Work with IT, legal, risk, internal audit and cybersecurity stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement and Adoption

• Work across multiple Group companies, plants and functional departments.
• Engage with Finance, Manufacturing, Sales, Procurement, Inventory, Quality, Maintenance, Logistics and Human Resources.
• Facilitate workshops to understand operational challenges and reporting requirements.
• Communicate technical concepts in clear commercial language.
• Demonstrate solutions to executives, managers and end users.
• Train employees to use approved AI applications responsibly and effectively.
• Manage relationships with external technology providers and implementation partners.
• Transfer knowledge internally to reduce unnecessary supplier dependency.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Proven experience developing and implementing working AI, analytics, automation or intelligent business applications.
• Demonstrable ability to convert business requirements into deployed technical solutions.
• Strong experience working with databases, business information, reporting systems and system integrations.
• Experience developing executive dashboards, management reports or decision-support applications.
• Sound understanding of generative AI, large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, AI agents and workflow automation.
• Working knowledge of data security, access control, privacy and responsible AI.
• Ability to engage confidently with CEOs, executives, managers and technical teams.
• Willingness to travel nationally.
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, Durban or Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha.

SYSPRO REQUIREMENTS

• Direct SYSPRO experience would be highly advantageous.
• Experience extracting, interpreting or reporting on SYSPRO data would be a strong advantage.
• Exposure to SYSPRO manufacturing, inventory, procurement, sales, financial or reporting modules would be advantageous.
• SYSPRO certification or previous SYSPRO Super User experience would be advantageous but is not essential.
• Candidates without direct SYSPRO experience must demonstrate successful integration with another major ERP system and the ability to understand complex databases, workflows, APIs and reporting structures.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY

Candidates should demonstrate strong capability across several of the following:

• Python or another appropriate programming language
• SQL and relational databases
• Data extraction, transformation and integration
• APIs and enterprise-system integration
• SYSPRO data, reporting or integration
• Power BI, Tableau or comparable business-intelligence platforms
• Microsoft Power Platform and Copilot Studio
• Azure AI, Microsoft Foundry, AWS or comparable enterprise platforms
• Large language model application development
• Retrieval-augmented generation
• AI agents and workflow automation
• Model and application evaluation
• Cloud-based and on-premises application architecture
• Git, version control, testing and deployment
• Role-based access control, logging and monitoring
• ERP, MES, CRM and manufacturing-data integration

QUALIFICATIONS

A relevant qualification in one or more of the following fields would be advantageous:

• Computer Science
• Software Engineering
• Data Science
• Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning
• Information Systems
• Business Intelligence
• Industrial Engineering
• Electronic or Mechatronic Engineering
• Applied Mathematics or Statistics

Candidates with exceptional practical experience and a strong portfolio of successfully implemented applications may be considered without a directly aligned formal qualification.

KEY PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• A practical builder rather than merely an AI commentator or prompt user
• Commercially astute and focused on measurable business value
• Comfortable working with fragmented or inconsistent business data
• Able to challenge unsupported assumptions and AI-generated conclusions
• Capable of explaining complex solutions in plain business language
• Discreet and trustworthy when handling confidential Group information
• Able to work independently from concept through implementation
• Confident engaging with senior executives while remaining hands-on
• Disciplined regarding governance, security, testing and documentation

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• High-value AI opportunities identified and prioritised
• Approved ideas progressed into working prototypes
• Production-ready applications successfully implemented
• Adoption and usage of implemented solutions
• Reduction in manual SYSPRO reporting and analysis time
• Improvements in the speed and quality of management decisions
• Verified cost savings, productivity gains or revenue opportunities
• Accuracy and traceability of AI-generated reports
• Improvements in data quality
• Compliance with governance, privacy and security requirements
• Stakeholder satisfaction and internal capability development

EXPECTED INITIAL DELIVERABLES

During the first six months, the successful candidate will be expected to:

• Assess the Group's SYSPRO environment, data landscape and AI readiness.
• Identify the SYSPRO modules, tables and reports relevant to priority business requirements.
• Engage with executive and operational stakeholders across the Group.
• Develop a prioritised portfolio of high-value AI use cases.
• Establish minimum AI governance, security and approval standards.
• Deliver a small number of working prototypes using approved SYSPRO and business data.
• Develop a roadmap for scaling successful applications across the Group.
• Define measurable value and adoption indicators for each initiative.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants should submit:

• A comprehensive and updated CV
• Copies of relevant qualifications and certifications
• Details of SYSPRO or other ERP-system experience
• A portfolio or summary of AI, analytics and application-development projects
• Clear descriptions of the applicant's personal contribution to each project
• Examples of solutions that progressed into operational use
• Technologies, platforms and data sources used
• Measurable business outcomes achieved
• Current remuneration and benefits
• Salary expectations
• Notice period or earliest availability
• Confirmation of willingness to travel nationally
• Preferred base: Durban or Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha
• Professional head-and-shoulders photograph
• Links to GitHub, technical portfolios, demonstrations or professional profiles, where appropriate

SELECTION PROCESS

Shortlisted applicants should be prepared to:

• Present examples of previously delivered applications.
• Explain the business problem, technical approach and measurable outcome.
• Complete a practical case study or technical assessment.
• Design a proposed AI solution using a realistic SYSPRO or manufacturing-reporting scenario.
• Explain how SYSPRO data would be accessed without compromising the live ERP environment.
• Address data quality, security, access control, inaccurate AI outputs and human oversight.
• Undergo reference, qualification, criminal and other relevant background checks.

The ability to use consumer AI tools or write prompts, without evidence of application development, data integration and measurable business impact, will not be sufficient.