Babalwa Damane

Director, Mining and Metals, South Africa

Each transition in my career has been a strategic step for me, as I have considered the unique challenges and opportunities each role may bring for my personal and professional growth.

In my role as Director, I oversee the day-to-day operational delivery of our mining and metals project team in South Africa, where my responsibilities include leading on talent acquisition and team development. My focus is working closely with our clients to identify and address their specific project challenges and ensure we are building diverse, highly capable project teams providing project controls capabilities which support a sustainable future for their businesses.

I am a professional quantity surveyor with two decades of experience, having worked in both the private and public sector providing cost and commercial management and project controls capabilities. My range of project experience includes offices, retail and hospitality developments, public provision for government institutions, railway upgrades, port expansion and mining infrastructure.

Career highlights

Promoted to Director, Mining and Metals, South Africa
2023
Rejoined Turner & Townsend at Associate Director level in the mining and metals team
2018
Led the cost management on a multi-billion Rand programme at the Port of Saldanha, Cape Town
2015
Joined state-owned company as Regional Quantity Surveying Lead
2012
Joined a quantity surveying firm in Johannesburg as a cost controller in mining and metals
2011
Moved to the mining and metals team in Turner & Townsend
2010
Joined Turner & Townsend in our Johannesburg office as a Cost Manager, starting in the real estate sector
2007

Q. What attracted you to join Turner & Townsend?

A. Turner & Townsend stood out for me because of its status as a global industry leader and for its commitment to inclusion and diversity. This aligned perfectly with my professional ethos to contribute towards a shared goal of growing diversity across our industry and business.

Q. How has your career at Turner and Townsend developed?

A. My career has gone through different phases, both inside and outside of our business. I first joined our Johannesburg office in 2007 as a Cost Manager in our real estate team. This was a great introduction to our business, and I was afforded the opportunity to work with a diverse range of clients on hospitality, offices and retail developments in South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia.

After three years in real estate, I made a move to our mining and metals team in 2010, which was a decision that has significantly shaped my career since then. It led me to specialise in energy and natural resources roles, including in the public sector for a few years as Regional Quantity Surveying Lead for South Africa’s state-owned rail, port and pipeline company in the Western Cape, before returning to our business in 2018 as an Associate Director with valuable insights gained from consulting for a government company.

My second stint with our business from 2018 onwards is where I’ve grown the most. In 2023, I was promoted to Director in our mining and metals team. I am exceptionally proud to be part of our energy and natural resources offering, leading our business towards becoming a partner of choice for consultancy services across South Africa.

Q. Which project are you most proud of being involved in at Turner & Townsend?

A. A bulk stormwater management project that I worked on is one that I’m most proud of because it speaks to our purpose as a business of transforming performance of projects for a more green, inclusive and productive world.

The project focused on water conservation and improved water security, and we had a very diverse team together in terms of gender, ethnicity and age. I’m glad that talented people in our business were given an opportunity to advance their careers on this challenging scheme as we collaborated to bring out our best work.