Commercial Director
KoBold Metals · Remote
Commercial Director
About the company:
In the coming decades, demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, and cobalt will continue to grow. These minerals are needed to build electric infrastructure, vehicles, data centers, and electronics. However, the mining industry is making 10x fewer discoveries per dollar spent on exploration compared to 30 years ago because the easy-to-find, near surface deposits have largely been discovered.
KoBold was founded to be the first AI native mineral exploration, mine development, and technology development company. Our goal is to turn mineral exploration into a repeatable science to discover the minerals the world needs—by integrating artificial intelligence, human intelligence, and new technology. Our multidisciplinary teams of data scientists, engineers, and geologists work together to build data systems, design new sensors, and establish industry-leading workflows to develop and test subsurface predictions on our exploration projects.
Our first discovery, Mingomba, is a high-grade copper deposit in Zambia, found after spending materially less than industry average. We are developing Mingomba with the same technical rigor that we apply to exploration. The Mingomba team brings together mine and processing engineers, geologists, data scientists, software engineers, and community, health & safety, construction, and operations specialists. By combining industry knowledge and cutting edge technology, we are developing Mingomba into a world class project that has safer and more predictable outcomes for ourselves, partners, and communities. It is expected to create thousands of good jobs for generations.
KoBold runs exploration programs in eight countries, all with the potential for another discovery.
KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and strategic natural resources companies BHP and Mitsubishi.
About the role
This is a senior commercial leadership role for the development of a significant Copper mining complex in Zambia. The Mingomba deposit contains over 10 million tonnes of copper more than half of which exceeds 6% grade. This role will help turn that world class deposit into a world class mine.
The Commercial Director establishes the commercial strategy, contracting approach, procurement and market engagement plan, and contractor management disciplines required to deliver the Mingomba project safely, competitively, and predictably. The role owns the commercial pathway from PFS and engineering delivery through package strategy, tendering, negotiation, award, contract administration, contractor performance, transition to operations and commercial close out. The Mingomba project is expected to require capital expenditure of more than US$2 billion, so the role requires a commercial leader who has built and run major-project commercial functions before.
What this role is accountable for delivering
This role provides the strategic commercial leadership for a significant greenfield project by setting the commercial direction, developing and implementing the strategies that flow from it and building and directing the team that delivers them. The successful candidate will be measured on:
- A commercial strategy — delivery model, contracting approach, market engagement, and packaging — approved through project governance, delivered on schedule, and updated as conditions change.
- A capable, high performing contracting, procurement and supply chain team built, developed and directed to deliver the targets with clear accountabilities and growing local capability
- Major packages tendered and awarded to the baseline schedule with no critical path slippage attributable to procurement or contract formulation
- Final contract outlays within the agreed band of the approved estimate, with commitments, cost exposure and forecasts visible to the project and finance at all times.
- Claims and variation exposure quantified, contained and actively managed with no material unresolved disputes at handover to operations
- Local content targets met with auditable evidence of local supplier participation and capability development
- A procurement and contracting function that passes independent commercial audits and stage gate review without material qualification
- A clean integrity record with no sanctions, bribery or conflict of interest findings in the supply chain and contracting workflows.
Responsibilities
- Commercial governance and routines: Establish the commercial policies, approval thresholds, procurement gates, contract governance, tender review cadence, award recommendations, change controls, claims controls, and vendor management routines needed to support safe, competitive, and predictable project delivery.
- Project delivery model and contracting options: Develop the project delivery model and contracting strategy (EPC, EPCM, design-and-build, owner-managed, or hybrid), assessing each option against risk, cost, schedule, market capacity, local content, and value for money
- Commercial leadership and decision support: Lead commercial inputs into the project, executive forums and technical committees ensuring that contracting and procurement status, market intelligence and feedback, contractor risks, cost exposure, and package readiness are visible and early enough for management action.
- Interface with engineering: Partner with the Senior Engineering & Integration Manager under a defined split of authority (engineering responsible for design authority and technical bid evaluation). The Commercial Director is responsible for commercial evaluation, contract formation and administration, with a single joint change control process spanning technical and commercial impacts.
- Commercial roadmap and readiness: Develop the commercial plan for engineering, construction, and transition to operations. Lead contractor intelligence and prequalification activities, establish commercial and procurement delivery plans, and identify long-lead commitments and critical award milestones to support efficient project delivery.
- Procurement, sourcing and contracting: Lead market engagement and package strategy implementation inclusive of tendering, negotiation, award, and contract formation for major packages, including engineering, construction management and delivery services, long-lead equipment, logistics, and site services.
- Supply chain and logistics: Oversee supply chain execution and logistics strategy, including cross-border movement into Zambia, customs interfaces, freight forwarding, expediting, critical-path equipment delivery, logistics contractor performance, and contingency planning for high-risk routes and packages.
- Local contractor engagement and local content: Own the local contractor engagement and local content strategy, including supplier mapping, capability assessment, package design, tender access, mentoring, joint-venture pathways, performance expectations, and reporting.
- Cost control & forecasting: Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, commitments, and cost discipline.
- Risk & performance management: Provide systematic oversight of contractor performance management and commercial risk (market, forex movement, geopolitical, contractor claims, variations, and disputes), including the implementation of integrated, cross-functional frameworks alongside project management and controls to provide comprehensive oversight and ability proactively flag and mitigate any deviation to plans.
- Insurance and risk transfer: Shape and place the project insurance program (construction all risks, marine cargo, delay in start up) in accordance with corporate insurance and align contractual risk allocation with insurance coverage.
- Team & partner management: Lead the contracting, procurement and supply chain team and build ethical, values aligned supplier partnerships.
Qualifications
- 15+ years of commercial leadership experience on multi-billion dollar mining, oil and gas, infrastructure, or large industrial projects, including direct accountability for commercial strategy, market engagement, procurement, contracting, contractor management, and project outcomes.
- Demonstrated success forming and implementing high-value EPC, EPCM, design-and-build, engineering services, drilling, construction, logistics, and long-lead equipment contracts on major capital projects, including experience in Africa and direct involvement from package strategy through negotiation, award, administration, claims, variations, and close-out.
- Deep working knowledge of major construction contract structures (including FIDIC and NEC forms), contracting models, risk allocation, payment mechanisms, incentives, securities, warranties, limits of liability, change management, claims, dispute resolution, and contractor performance remedies.
- Track record developing local supplier and contractor capability in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, with evidence of measurable outcomes such as increased local participation, improved contractor performance, stronger compliance, safer execution, or reduced delivery risk.
- Experience working with Chinese suppliers, contractors, and equipment manufacturers will be advantageous, including market engagement, tendering, negotiation, contract formation, technical-commercial alignment, expediting, performance management, and executive-level issue resolution.
- Proven ability to design and implement commercial systems, governance, and reporting for major projects.
- Strong business judgement, ethical leadership, and a commitment to transparency.
- Experience building and leading multi-disciplinary teams.
- Recognized qualifications in Quantity Surveying, Construction Law, Business, engineering, supply chain, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
- Ability and willingness to travel internationally to Zambia, with anticipated travel of 90+ days per year.
KoBold Metals is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative-action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for people of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, citizenship, or disability.
Location: Global with Africa or Europe (preferred) otherwise North America.