Junior Project Manager

This role is to manage assigned smaller projects and defined workstreams within the Experience department under the guidance of the Project Manager. Coordinate delivery from planning to implementation and handover, ensuring agreed scope, timelines, budget controls and quality standards are met and project benefits are tracked. Scope changes, additional expenditure and supplier commitments require approval by the designated authorised persons.

• Project planning and delivery: Define requirements, scope, deliverables, milestones, dependencies and resource needs with business owners; maintain delivery plans and manage assigned projects through to completion.

• Stakeholder coordination: Coordinate internal teams and service providers, lead project meetings, record decisions and actions, resolve routine delivery issues and escalate matters requiring senior decisions.

• Governance and reporting: Maintain risk, issue, dependency and change registers; prepare accurate progress reports, monitor expenditure against approved budgets and escalate material scope, cost or timeline changes for approval.

• Implementation and change: Coordinate process mapping, business requirements, user acceptance testing, defect resolution, training, readiness checks and business sign-off; arrange operational handover and post-implementation support.

• Quality, benefits and closure: Verify completed deliverables against acceptance criteria, track agreed service and efficiency measures, retain controlled documentation and approvals, record lessons learned and close projects with outstanding actions assigned.

• Delivery: Assigned milestones and deliverables completed within approved scope and agreed timelines; delays and dependencies escalated promptly.
• Governance and budget: Accurate risk, issue, dependency and change registers; expenditure tracked against approved budgets and changes approved before commitment.
• Reporting and coordination: Progress reports submitted as agreed; meetings, decisions, action owners and follow-ups documented and maintained.
• Implementation quality: Testing, defect resolution, readiness checks, training and business sign-off completed before operational handover.
• Benefits and closure: Agreed service and efficiency measures tracked; controlled documentation, lessons learned and closure actions completed or assigned.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Essential experience: At least 3 years in project coordination, project support or project management, including practical responsibility for delivering smaller projects or defined workstreams. Experience coordinating stakeholders, preparing management reports and supporting system or process implementations is required.

• Project planning, scheduling, risk and issue management, budget tracking and change control.

• Business requirements, process mapping, testing coordination and operational handover.

• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams; preparation of project trackers, dashboards and reports. Clear communication, meeting facilitation, stakeholder coordination and accurate documentation. Organisation, analytical problem solving, ownership and follow through; ability to prioritise and escalate appropriately.

• Advantageous: Experience in financial services, employee benefits or retirement fund administration. Exposure to CRM, workflow automation or administration system implementations, including Q-Contact, Everest, Benefit Counsellor or comparable platforms. Familiarity with Agile or Waterfall delivery.
  

• Matric or equivalent qualification.
• A relevant diploma, degree or project management qualification is preferred; relevant training and demonstrated project delivery experience may be considered.
• Advantageous: Project management certification or relevant further study.