Exploration Early Stage Special Projects, Manager

About Maaden

Maaden, established in 1997, is one of the fastest-growing mining companies in the world and the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East. We are leading the development of the mining industry to become the third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s economy by building a world-class, unique, and fully integrated mining value chain. We are pleased to share an exciting opportunity for the above-mentioned position. This role offers a chance to contribute to our ambitious growth and play a key part in shaping the future of mining in the Kingdom.

Job purpose

The Exploration Manager plays a pivotal role in driving discovery by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of exploration activities across single or multiple district-scale camps. This role requires a comprehensive understanding of the technical, financial, legal, commercial, economic, community, and corporate factors that influence value creation through mineral discovery.

Aligned with Maaden’s Exploration & Resource Development (ERD) strategy and the broader Strategy 2040, the Exploration Manager contributes to identifying and delivering resources in core commodities, focusing on regions with the highest geological potential.

Key Accountabilities

1. Promote a “Safety First” culture in exploration operations team and implement the Environment, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) management system to ensure team members fulfill standard EHSS processes and operating procedures. Proactively identify and mitigate current and emerging risks to maintain high operational standards.
2. Ensure and aim for excellence in exploration executions
3. Strategic Planning & Budgeting: Develop, manage, and optimize exploration budgets to ensure alignment with strategic priorities and cost-efficiency.
4. Technical Leadership: Oversee the application of advanced exploration techniques and technologies, including geophysics, geochemistry, remote sensing, sampling, drilling, and resource modeling. Ensure exploration programs are technically sound and deliver high-value outcomes
5. Talent Development: Build workforce capability by mentoring and developing talent to meet present and future operational needs. Implement effective staff management and development practices across all levels of responsibility.
6. Project Evaluation & Portfolio Optimization: Assess exploration programs based on potential reward, risk, and cost. Prioritize resources toward high-potential projects and decisively exit underperforming initiatives.
7. Business Development: Identify and pursue new business opportunities by targeting high-potential geological areas. Contribute to expanding Maaden’s resource base and strategic footprint.

Minimum Qualification, Experience and Competencies

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s and MSc Degree (or PhD preferable) in relevant Geoscience discipline from an accredited institution
• Exceptional skills and experience in target generation, grassroots exploration and project execution
• Proven success on mineral exploration and discovery cycle
• Extensive field experience across diverse geological settings and mineralization styles, particularly with porphyry and/or VHMS and/or IRG and/or Magmatic Ni-Cu and/or sediment-hosted copper
• Full range of exploration methods and processes known, chooses the most effective 
• A strong passion for discovery, with a deep commitment to advancing exploration success.
• Commercial acumen, with a clear understanding of the drivers of success in exploration and the ability to plan, evaluate, and manage work programs accordingly.
• Proven leadership capabilities, including the ability to build, inspire, and lead high-performing multidisciplinary teams across technical, professional, and corporate domains.
• Strategic and operational expertise, with a track record of delivering complex exploration programs effectively and efficiently.
• Innovative thinking, with the ability to foster creativity and translate new ideas into actionable business opportunities.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, capable of building and maintaining productive relationships with a broad range of external partners to support business growth.
• Collaborative mindset, with the ability to work across business units to share knowledge, resources, and expertise, driving value creation across product groups.

Minimum Experience:

• 15 years of experience in geology within the mining industry, with >5 years of experience across management roles. 
• Familiarity with KSA mining, minerals, and exploration sector (optional)

Maaden High Performance Competencies

• Leadership
• Achievement drive and results orientated
• Communication
• Developing others
• Teamwork & collaboration

• Analytical thinking

   

Skills

• Strong project management skills to manage numerous exploration sites & supervise licensing process with high-standard and non-compromise safety requirements.
• Leading and executing field operations, including logistics preparations 
• Highly skilled in field analysis, mapping, sampling, documentation, mentoring and reporting.
• Identifying and analyzing geoscientific and geophysics datasets across various scales.
• Presenting mineral projects clearly and compellingly to different audiences, including non-technical ones.
• Team management, goal, objective and time management
• Solid analytical skills to assess project feasibility
• Extensive knowledge of JORC and N143-401 standards for mineral sampling 
• Broad experience in Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)
• Exceptional technical skills across geosciences & deep expertise in explorational analyses 
• Strong communication skills to ensure strategy understanding throughout organization 
• Expertise in advanced exploration-related positions
• Become safety advocate - anywhere and everywhere and foster safety culture across team members