The Project Manager is responsible for the successful delivery of assigned client projects from initiation through to go-live, closure and handover.
This is a delivery ownership role. It requires someone who can plan, execute, monitor and control complex software implementation projects in line with agreed scope, budget, timelines, technical requirements and client expectations. The Project Manager is accountable for maintaining a clear, accurate and evidence-based view of project status at all times. This means knowing what is complete, what is blocked, what is at risk, what is dependent on the client, what is dependent on internal teams and what decisions are required.
This is not a coordination-only role. The Project Manager must own the delivery truth, manage client communication proactively, maintain strong governance and reporting discipline, control scope and change, and ensure risks, issues and dependencies are identified and acted on early.
The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a fast-moving SaaS and technology delivery environment where priorities shift, technical dependencies matter, client confidence is critical and strong follow-through is essential.
1. Project Delivery Ownership
The Project Manager is accountable for the day-to-day delivery control of assigned projects. This includes developing and maintaining the project plan, project charter, delivery milestones, sprint cadence, scope assumptions, dependencies, risks, issues, decisions and acceptance criteria. The Project Manager must ensure that the project is properly mobilised, planned and controlled from initiation through to closure.
The Project Manager will initiate and lead internal and external kick-offs, ensure customer requirements are defined and estimated ahead of delivery, and coordinate internal teams to deliver against agreed scope, timelines and budget. They will lead or support backlog refinement, sprint planning, demos, retrospectives and other delivery ceremonies in line with the agreed project approach.
The Project Manager must maintain a clear view of resource requirements and work with relevant managers to secure the right capacity across Architecture, Core Development, Product, QA, Configuration, Data, Training, Finance, Customer Success and Operations. They are responsible for ensuring project team members understand priorities, responsibilities, due dates and dependencies.
The Project Manager is expected to identify problem areas early, drive resolution with relevant stakeholders and escalate only where a genuine decision or intervention is required. Escalations must be clear, evidence-based and accompanied by options and a recommendation.
The Project Manager will provide feedback to relevant line managers where team delivery, quality, time logging, behaviour or process adherence is impacting project outcomes. Where required, they may support HR and line management with project-related performance evidence.
The expected standard is that the Project Manager always knows the true delivery position: what is complete, what is in progress, what is blocked, what is at risk, what has changed, what depends on the client, what depends on internal teams and what decision is required.
2. Delivery Governance, Risk and Issue Management
The Project Manager is responsible for maintaining strong project governance throughout the lifecycle of the project. This includes managing time, cost, quality, change, risk, issue, dependency, communication and acceptance processes so that it supports delivery control rather than creating unnecessary administration.
Risks, issues and dependencies must be actively managed, not passively recorded. Each material risk or dependency should have an owner, due date, impact assessment and escalation route. The Project Manager must distinguish between issues that can be resolved within the project team and issues that require senior decision-making.
The Project Manager must ensure that risks, blockers and dependencies are surfaced early enough for the company to act before they become client escalations. They should bring options and recommendations, rather than simply raising problems for others to solve.
A strong escalation should clearly explain the issue, the impact, the options, the recommended course of action, the owner and the decision required. The Project Manager is expected to avoid upward delegation and to solve within the project team wherever possible
3. Jira, Tooling and Delivery Truth
The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that project tooling reflects delivery reality.
Jira must be kept current and must show accurate requirements, estimates, assignees, statuses, blockers, dependencies and actual progress. Project reporting, client updates, burn-downs and internal dashboards must align with the underlying delivery data.
The Project Manager is expected to use Jira and other delivery tools to manage control, not simply to produce status reports. They must be able to challenge unclear technical updates, ensure blockers are logged and owned, and work with technical teams to keep delivery information accurate.
The Project Manager must maintain clarity around project status definitions. Terms such as dev complete, QA complete, ready for UAT, client verified, business verified and accepted for go-live must be used consistently and must not be treated as interchangeable.
If the status of work changes, the relevant tooling and reporting must change with it. The Project Manager owns the integrity of the project view.
4. Client Communication and Stakeholder Management
The Project Manager is responsible for creating client confidence through clear, proactive and structured communication.
Clients should not need to chase the company for basic delivery status. The Project Manager must ensure that client stakeholders have a clear view of progress, risks, blockers, dependencies, decisions required and next steps. This includes leading client project meetings, sprint ceremonies, delivery updates and steering committee sessions where required. It also includes producing regular written client updates that are clear, professional and evidence based.
The Project Manager must manage client expectations constructively, particularly where scope, timing, dependencies or commercials are under pressure. Difficult messages should be communicated clearly, professionally and with evidence.
The Project Manager is expected to build trusted relationships with client stakeholders and to identify senior stakeholder risks early. Where client confidence may be at risk, this must be escalated internally before it becomes a formal client escalation.
The expected standard is that clients feel the company is in control because communication is proactive, accurate and transparent.
5. Scope, Commercial and Change Management
The Project Manager is responsible for maintaining control of scope, commercial exposure and change.
The Project Manager must understand the agreed scope, assumptions, exclusions, commercials and contractual obligations for each assigned project. They must identify scope movement early and ensure it is assessed, documented and managed through the correct change control process. Where scope, timeline or resource movement may affect cost, revenue recognition, invoicing, profitability or client expectation, the Project Manager must work with Finance, Commercial, Architecture and Delivery stakeholders to understand the impact and escalate appropriately.
The Project Manager may support initial scoping, timelines, costings, Statements of Work, project assumptions, milestones and delivery plans. They are also responsible for ensuring that commercial risks are not hidden inside delivery conversations. The expected standard is that project activity is always understood in terms of delivery impact, client impact and commercial impact.
6. Project Control and Documentation
The Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that project documentation is complete, current and useful. Documentation should not exist for its own sake. It should create clarity, support delivery control, evidence decisions and help the client and internal teams understand the true position of the project. This includes maintaining the core project plan, Jira view, RAID, dependencies, scope assumptions, change control, reporting and governance materials needed to manage the project effectively. The Project Manager must ensure that these materials are kept aligned with each other and reflect the current delivery reality.
Client-facing updates, internal status reporting and SteerCo materials must be clear, professional and evidence-based. They should explain progress, risks, blockers, dependencies, decisions required and any movement against scope, timeline or budget.
At project close, the Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that client sign-off, handover into support, project closure and lessons learned are completed to the required standard.
7. Financial Planning, Forecasting and Handover
The Project Manager is responsible for supporting the financial and operational control of assigned projects. This includes providing accurate inputs into financial project updates, forecasting, revenue recognition, invoicing and commercial reporting. The Project Manager must ensure that time logging is accurate and that project activity is visible for commercial and operational purposes.
The Project Manager is also responsible for ensuring that project handover is completed properly. This includes making sure the relevant support, SLA or operations teams have the information, documentation and training needed to support the client after go-live. A project is not complete simply because delivery activity has ended. It is complete when the client has signed off, operational handover has been completed, commercial and administrative closure has taken place, and lessons learned have been captured.
A strong Project Manager owns the delivery truth.
They keep Jira, project plans, reporting and client communication aligned. They know what is complete, what is blocked, what is at risk and what needs a decision. They create confidence through evidence rather than reassurance.
They communicate early, clearly and commercially. They do not wait for clients or senior leaders to chase for updates. They understand that technical dependencies are risks to be controlled, not excuses.
They maintain control of scope, change, milestones, RAID and client dependencies. They escalate early and in a decision-ready format. They protect client relationships by leading communication proactively and following through relentlessly.
The right candidate will balance process discipline with commercial pragmatism. They will be able to operate at pace without losing control of detail.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
- The successful candidate will have strong experience managing client-facing technology delivery projects, ideally within SaaS, software implementation, insurance technology, financial services or another complex delivery environment
- A relevant tertiary qualification and project management certification are desirable, but practical delivery experience, judgement and ownership are equally important
- The successful candidate should have a strong understanding of recognised project methodologies, including Agile, hybrid and waterfall delivery, and should be comfortable applying the right approach for the situation rather than following process mechanically
- The role requires experience in IT solution implementation, project governance, planning, dependency tracking, RAID, status reporting, change control, client communication and stakeholder management. Experience with Jira, Confluence or similar delivery management tools is essential. Experience with Proggio, MS Project or similar planning tools would be advantageous
- The ideal candidate will have experience managing multiple workstreams, competing priorities, cross-functional delivery teams and senior client stakeholders. Experience supporting Statements of Work, delivery estimates, assumptions, milestones or commercial planning would also be valuable
- Insurance, insurtech or regulated-sector experience would be a significant advantage, particularly where the candidate has delivered policy administration, claims, billing, migration, integrations, reporting, workflow or configuration projects
SKILLS AND BEHAVIOUR:
- The successful candidate will demonstrate strong delivery ownership, excellent communication and the ability to create confidence through clarity, evidence and follow-through
- They will be comfortable managing clients, challenging constructively and bringing structure to complex or ambiguous situations. They will understand that technical dependencies are risks to be managed, not excuses to be passed upwards
- The role requires commercial awareness, good judgement, strong planning discipline and the ability to escalate early in a decision-ready format. The successful candidate must be able to communicate clearly with diverse stakeholder groups, including client teams, technical teams, senior leadership and commercial stakeholders
- They will be calm under pressure, highly organised, professionally credible and solutions oriented. They will be able to balance process discipline with commercial pragmatism and will understand the difference between reporting activity and owning delivery
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
Success will be measured by the quality of delivery control and client confidence, not simply by activity.
Key indicators will include:
- Delivery against agreed milestones, scope and budget
- Accuracy and timeliness of project reporting
Quality of Jira hygiene - Strength of client communication
- Early identification and management of risks, issues and dependencies
- Quality of escalation
- Effectiveness of scope and change control
- Internal and client stakeholder confidence
- Accuracy of financial and commercial inputs
- Quality of handover into support
- Contribution to continuous improvement of the company delivery model
| KEY PERFORMANCE AREA (KPA) | TASK WITHIN DETERMINED KPA |
| Project Management | · Plan, develop and document the detailed Project plan and execute accordingly, aligned to timelines, requirements, and budget
· Follow the company Project delivery process (Agile) · Develop a detailed Project Charter o Critical / Success factors o Objectives o Exclusions o Inclusions o Financials o Executive Survey · Ensure customer requirements are defined and estimates by stakeholders ahead of project delivery commencing · Initiate Internal and external kick-offs · Deliver backlog refinement sessions, sprint planning, demo and retrospective meetings in line with the project delivery process · Responsible for change management process, including all escalation and documentation · Identify the required resources for the project post discovery phase and engage with the manager and other relevant stakeholders to acquire such resources · Ensure that required resources are assigned individual responsibilities and capacity is planned accordingly based on availability in each sprint · Implementing the following project processes: time / cost / quality / change / risk / issue / procurement / communication / acceptance management · Risk management through the Risk Matrix and Risk management toolkit · Identify project problem areas or potential blockers, identify possible solutions and engage the Head of PMO and other relevant stakeholders to remove such blockers · Financial planning and forecasting / Determine appropriate revenue recognition / Ensures timely and accurate invoicing · Maintain continuous team motivation and encouragement · Provide performance feedback for the project teams to their line managers · Assist line management in performance and disciplinary related matters |
| Customer Relationship | · Resolves day-to-day internal and external client operational related issues
· Communicates effectively with internal and external clients to keep them informed on the status of project progress, issues, and incidents · Work in conjunction with relevant stakeholder to ensure client satisfaction · Gives clients comfort and confidence in their Project management delivery as well as a company |
| Administration / Reporting | · Ensures project documents / procedures are complete, current and stored appropriately as per company standards. This will include, but not be limited to the following:
o Discovery documentation o Initial scoping documentation E.g. timelines and costings o Task lists o Update project plan based on agile sessions such as planning o Ensure Jira is updated with requirements, estimates, actual timings and assignees throughout the project o Internal and external project update meetings outside of sprint meetings if required o Financial Project updates – monthly o Contract Review o Change management escalation and Change request creation o Ensure sign-off is received from client at completion of project o Handover documentation and training sessions to be carried out to the Global Operations SLA team o Ensure accurate time keeping records are maintained at all times making use of Time logging System · Prepare of professional presentations for project updates and client meetings · Complete project post reviews both internal and external to identify continuous improvement goals. The process to be documented and a formal session to be held |
talent@afroant.com
021 461 1369
