Underground Technical Competency & Skills Verification Lead - AME
Position Overview
Barrick’s Africa & Middle East Region are seeking to recruit an Underground Technical Competency & Skills Verification Lead - AME.
The Regional Underground Technical Competency & Skills Verification Lead will be responsible for designing, implementing, and governing a standardized underground technical competency verification framework across the AME underground operations.
The role will lead:
- The development of robust technical competency checklists for key roles across the UG operations;
- Assessment standards;
Accreditation processes for key underground mining roles ranging from frontline operators to supervisors and frontline leadership teams.
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The role will work closely with the steering committee consisting of the operational leadership, (CTO) technical teams, safety, HR, and Learning & Development functions to ensure technical capability standards align with operational excellence, safety performance, and sustainable workforce development objectives.
A key outcome of the role will be the successful implementation of a formal skills verification programme that categorises employees against defined competency standards as:
- Proficient
- Competent
Needs Development
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The role will also support the establishment and ongoing governance of a regional Steering Committee consisting of the CTO function, Vice President Underground Mining, Vice President Safety, Vice President HR, and AME L&D representatives.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Competency Framework Development:
- Design and implement a standardized and comprehensive underground technical competency verification framework/checklist for key underground mining roles.
- Develop detailed technical competency checklists and assessment tools for:
- Underground Supervisors
- Shift Bosses
- Foremen
- Jumbo Operators
- Loader Operators
- Truck Operators
- Charge-up Operators
- Development Crews
- Production Mining Crews
- Service Crew personnel
- Dewatering and Ventilation-related roles
- Shaft and Decline operational teams
- Ensure competency standards reflect:
- Safe work execution
- Technical operating capability
- Equipment proficiency
- Risk awareness
- Leadership capability for supervisory levels
- Critical control verification
- Contractor management requirements•
Develop role-specific assessment matrices aligned to operational risk profiles and mining methods.
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Skills Verification Programme Implementation:
- Lead implementation of the pilot skills verification programme at Kibali.
- Define competency rating criteria and calibration standards for assessors.
- Establish standardized verification methodologies including:
- Workplace observation
- Practical demonstration
- Task-based assessments
- Knowledge verification
- Safety-critical task assessments
- Ensure assessments are objective, auditable, and repeatable across all AME operations.
- Develop competency gap identification and development pathways for employees requiring improvement.
Support operations in integrating competency verification into workforce planning and succession planning processes.
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Assessor Accreditation & Capability Building:
- Design and implement an accreditation process for site-based assessors.
- Train and mentor operational personnel to conduct effective competency assessments.
- Ensure assessors understand:
- Minimum Technical standards
- Assessment consistency
- Behavioural observation techniques
- Safety-critical competency evaluation
- Documentation and evidence requirements•
Conduct periodic calibration sessions across operations to maintain consistency in assessment outcomes.
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Operational & Technical Engagement:
- Work closely with Underground Managers, Technical Services teams, Safety teams, and frontline supervisors to define critical competencies for each role.
- Engage directly with operational crews to understand practical requirements and operational realities in:
- Decline mining environments
- Shaft mining environments
- Development mining
- Production stoping operations
- Owner mining and contractor mining interfaces•
- Ensure competency standards reflect real operational requirements and productivity expectations.
Provide technical guidance to operations on workforce capability improvement strategies.
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Safety & Risk Integration:
- Ensure all competency standards are aligned with critical risk management principles and underground safety requirements.
- Integrate safety leadership and critical control verification into all supervisory competency standards.
- Work closely with Safety leadership to ensure assessments support:
- Effective hazard identification
- Fatality risk assessments and management thereof
- Critical control effectiveness
- Behaviour-based safety expectations
- Compliance with company standards and legal requirements•
Ensure the competency framework strengthens operational discipline and safe production practices.
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Governance & Stakeholder Management:
- Support the establishment and operation of the Underground Technical Competency Steering Committee.
- Prepare progress updates, implementation reports, and recommendations for senior leadership.
- Collaborate with:
- CTO teams
- Vice President Underground Mining
- Vice President Safety
- Vice President HR
- AME Learning & Development
- Site operational leadership teams
Ensure alignment between technical competency standards and regional strategic workforce capability objectives.
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Qualification Requirements
Degree or Diploma in Mining Engineering or related technical discipline.
Experience and Skills Requirements
- Minimum 15 years’ underground mining experience.
- Extensive practical experience in:
- Underground decline mining
- Shaft mining operations
- Underground development
- Underground production mining•
- Strong operational exposure to both:
- Owner-operated mining
- Contractor mining environments•
- Demonstrated frontline underground operational leadership experience.
- Proven experience in technical training, competency assessment, workforce capability development, or operational assurance programmes.
- Strong understanding of underground mining equipment, mining methods, operational systems, and safety-critical controls.
- Experience engaging with frontline management and operational crews in high-performance underground mining environments.
- Experience designing or implementing competency-based assessment systems.
- Assessor and/or training accreditation qualifications.
- Exposure to African underground mining operations.
- Experience in mechanized underground mining operations.
- Knowledge of adult learning principles and workforce capability development.
- Experience supporting organizational change and operational improvement programmes.
Extensive travel across AME underground operations with significant time spent on-site at Kibali during pilot implementation phases.
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Why Join Barrick:
- A comprehensive compensation package including bonuses and site-specific benefits
- The ability to make a difference and lasting impact
- Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team
- Opportunities to grow and learn with industry colleagues
Access to a variety of career opportunities across the organisation
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We are committed to a safe work environment sending every person home safe and healthy every day and leaving a sustainable legacy on our host communities.
Thank you for your application, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
