Detail Project Manager – National Internship Placement Programme

GrowthArch; Johannesburg; Presencial; ZAR 700.000 - 900.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

GrowthArch is seeking a Project Manager to lead a national internship programme for TVET graduates. You will own end-to-end delivery, build the rollout across provinces, and ensure interns are placed near home with strong support and documentation. The role requires managing budgets, risks and stakeholder reporting.

The candidate will lead a delivery team, ensure compliance with funder requirements, and oversee vetting, onboarding, and completion of internships across multiple sites.

Formación

• Bachelor's degree or Diploma in a related field.
• A project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent) is strongly advantageous.
• Valid South African driver's licence and willingness to travel nationally.

Responsabilidades

• Own end-to-end delivery of a national internship placement programme.
• Build delivery team, systems and controls to run the programme across provinces.
• Manage placement with host employers and oversee internship progression.

Conocimientos

Project planning

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Problem solving

Educación

Bachelor's degree in Project Management, HR, Education & Training, or Business Management

Project management certification (PMP/PRINCE2)

Herramientas

Excel

BI tools

Descripción del empleo

The Project Manager owns end-to-end delivery of a national internship placement programme for TVET college graduates: from sourcing and screening candidates to placing them with host employers and overseeing their internship through to completion.

The successful candidate will build the delivery team, systems and controls needed to run the programme across all provinces, making sure interns are placed close to home, properly supported and well documented, on time and within budget.

Key responsibilities

Programme planning and delivery

• Develop and own the national rollout plan, including phasing by province, intake targets, milestones, budget and resourcing.
• Track progress against targets and report weekly to the COO and monthly to programme stakeholders and funders.
• Identify, log and manage risks and issues, escalating where needed.

Intern sourcing, screening and vetting

• Coordinate with TVET colleges nationally to obtain lists of eligible students and graduates.
• Oversee screening of qualifications against programme and host employer requirements.
• Manage vetting, including verification of IDs, qualifications, academic records and background checks.

Placement with host employers

• Map interns to host employers as close as possible to their homes, matching qualifications to available opportunities.
• Oversee the recruitment and onboarding of host employers, including signed host agreements and placement readiness.
• Ensure each intern has a signed internship agreement and a clear workplace induction before starting.

Internship oversight and monitoring

• Oversee interns for the full duration of their tenure, including attendance, conduct and progress.
• Monitor logbooks and workplace evidence to confirm interns are gaining relevant, structured experience.
• Conduct or coordinate site visits and check-ins with interns, mentors and host employers.
• Resolve placement issues, including disputes, absenteeism, early exits and replacements.
• Manage completion processes, including final logbook sign-off, close-out reports and certificates where applicable.

Stakeholder and partnership management

• Act as GrowthArch's day-to-day lead with TVET colleges, host employers, partners, funders and government stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with host employers to secure and retain placements.
• Represent the programme in meetings, site visits and reporting to funders.

Team leadership and compliance

• Recruit, lead and develop regional coordinators and support staff.
• Ensure compliance with funder, college outcome requirements, POPIA and labour legislation.
• Maintain accurate intern records and portfolios of evidence for audits and impact reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or National Diploma in Project Management, Human Resource Management, Education and Training, Business Management or a related field.
• A project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent) is strongly advantageous.
• Valid South African driver's licence (Code B or higher) and willingness to travel nationally.

Experience

• At least 5 years of project or programme management experience, including delivery of multi-site or national projects.
• At least 3 years of experience managing internships, learnerships, work-integrated learning or other skills development programmes.
• Proven experience placing and monitoring large numbers of participants with host employers.
• Experience managing budgets, reporting to funders and working with third-party service providers.

Advantageous

• Experience working with TVET colleges and SETAs.
• Knowledge of work-integrated learning requirements, logbooks and portfolio of evidence processes.
• Experience on enterprise development, job creation or socio-economic development programmes.
• Proficiency in one or more South African languages in addition to English.

Skills and competencies

• Strong planning and execution skills, with the ability to manage large intakes across many sites.
• Sound commercial and financial acumen, including budget control.
• Data-driven: comfortable with dashboards, trackers and advanced Excel or BI tools.
• Confident stakeholder manager who can engage colleges, employers, funders and government.
• Hands-on leader who builds and motivates distributed teams.
• Practical problem-solver who stays calm under pressure and resolves placement issues fast.
• High integrity and attention to detail, especially with personal information and funder compliance.
• Genuine commitment to youth development and job creation.

About GrowthArch

About Growtharch

Growtharch is a specialist socio-economic development partner that researches grant funding opportunities and the broader impact landscape to design sustainable, high-impact solutions for organisations and communities.

We are architects of socio-economic impact initiatives, transforming development needs into strategic programmes that deliver measurable and lasting outcomes. Our expertise includes originating, mobilising, managing, and reporting on funding, ensuring resources are effectively deployed to achieve stakeholder objectives and maximise impact.

Growtharch is also a trusted proposal writing and cost modelling expert, developing compelling funding applications, business cases, and financially sustainable project frameworks that increase the likelihood of funding success.

Our comprehensive project management capability spans the full project lifecycle, including planning, execution, provider management, grant compliance, risk management, data integrity management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), quality assurance, impact assessment, tracking, and reporting. Through robust governance and evidence-based methodologies, we ensure accountability, transparency, and measurable results.

More than a service provider, Growtharch positions itself as a preferred partner and implementing agent, working collaboratively with funders, corporates, government entities, NGOs, and development stakeholders to deliver meaningful socio-economic impact. Our approach combines strategic insight, technical expertise, and hands‑on implementation to bridge the gap between funding opportunities and sustainable development outcomes.

At Growtharch, we turn vision into funded initiatives, and initiatives into measurable impact.