Education Portfolio Manager

Old Mutual Limited; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual Limited in Johannesburg seeks an Education Portfolio Manager to design, implement and improve the Foundation’s Education portfolio. You will translate strategy into annual plans, lead a three-year rollout, and ensure interventions are practical, evidence-informed and scalable.

You will build partnerships with schools and education stakeholders, manage deliverables, monitor outcomes, and report to leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience managing education or social investment programmes.
• Experience managing partners and senior stakeholders; people management is advantageous.
• Ability to translate strategy into practical delivery plans and measurable outcomes.
• Strong analytical capability with interpretation of programme data and policy.
• Experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning, budgeting and governance in social investment.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end programme design and delivery from needs assessment through contracting and handover.
• Oversee education interventions that improve learning conditions and outcomes.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with schools, partners and government structures.
• Define programme outputs, outcomes and indicators aligned to strategy and report Progress.
• Governance, risk and financial management within approved budgets; due diligence and safeguards.
• Contribute to resource planning and collaborate across Foundation, GSI and business teams.

Skills

Programme management

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Monitoring & evaluation

Budgeting & governance

Communication with leadership

People management

Education

Education-related degree

Job description

## Education Portfolio ManagerApply: Johannesburg: Pinelands: Full time: Posted Today: JR-84999**Let's Write Africa's Story Together!**Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.**Job Description**Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of the Foundation’s Education portfolio, translating the strategy into measurable school-level impact. The role connects needs-led school support, high-quality implementation partnerships and supports employee volunteerism so that interventions are practical, evidence-informed, scalable and responsive to local context. **Key Result Areas** **Strategy and portfolio leadership*** Own the Education portfolio implementation roadmap and translate strategic objectives into annual plans, priorities, milestones and measurable outcomes.* Guide the phased three-year rollout, ensuring implementation choices reflect provincial context, school need, feasibility, additionality and available resources.* Use clear selection and intervention criteria to prioritise support that addresses evidenced school and learner needs rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model.* Continuously review the portfolio against emerging evidence, implementation learning and the Foundation’s strategic intent, and recommend course corrections where required. * **Programme design and delivery*** Lead end-to-end programme design and delivery, from needs assessment and solution design through contracting, implementation, handover and close-out.* Oversee education interventions that strengthen learning conditions and outcomes, including appropriate literacy, numeracy, teacher-support and enabling school interventions where these align to assessed need.* Coordinate school-level implementation so that partner activity, employee volunteerism opportunities and learner-facing engagements are sequenced effectively and do not disrupt teaching and learning.**Partnerships and stakeholder management*** Build and manage strategic relationships with schools, implementation partners, education stakeholders and relevant government structures, including the Department of Basic Education and provincial education authorities where appropriate.* Identify partnership opportunities that strengthen reach, quality, sustainability or system alignment.* Lead partner scoping and onboarding from a programme perspective, defining deliverables, roles, safeguards, reporting requirements and escalation pathways.* Represent the Education portfolio credibly in senior stakeholder engagements, sector forums and internal governance processes.**Measurement, learning and reporting*** Define programme-level outputs, outcomes and indicators aligned to the strategy and ensure reliable baseline, implementation and outcome data are available for decision-making.* Monitor delivery quality, learner and school reach, partner performance, implementation risks and progress against agreed milestones and budgets.* Turn monitoring insights into practical improvements and clearly communicate performance, lessons, risks and decisions required to leadership and governance forums.* Maintain a credible evidence base showing what was funded, who was reached, what changed and where the Foundation’s contribution added value.* **Governance, risk and financial management*** Manage the Education portfolio within approved budgets, delegations, procurement requirements and finance and risk governance.* Ensure programme and partner decisions are supported by appropriate due diligence, contracting, safeguarding, evidence and approval processes.* Maintain oversight of delivery dependencies, reputational and implementation risks, and escalate material issues early with recommended mitigation actions.* **People and cross-functional leadership*** Contribute to functional resource planning and coordinate internal and external resources required for successful delivery.* Provide clear direction, prioritisation and quality assurance to assigned staff and service providers, with accountability for performance and outputs.* Collaborate across Foundation, GSI and relevant business teams to align implementation, stakeholder engagement, communications and employee participation. **Qualifications, Skills and Experience:** * Relevant degree in Education, Development Studies, Social Science, Community Development or a related field.* At least 5 years’ relevant experience managing education or social investment programmes, preferably within the South African education system.* Demonstrated programme and project management capability, including multi-site or multi-partner implementation.* Strategic planning experience with the ability to translate strategy into practical delivery plans and measurable outcomes.* Experience managing partners, senior stakeholders and service providers; people-management experience is advantageous as the role has direct reports.* Strong analytical capability, including interpretation of programme data, needs assessments, education evidence and policy.* Working knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning, budgeting, risk management, due diligence and governance in a social-investment environment.* Strong written, presentation and facilitation skills, with confidence engaging senior decisionmakers and public-sector stakeholders.* Experience in literacy, numeracy, teacher development or whole-school support is advantageous.* Proficiency in one or more South African languages in addition to English is advantageous.* **Additional Requirements:*** Regular travel to schools and partner sites, including rural and peri-urban locations.* Valid driver’s licence and access to reliable transport, in line with organisational travel requirements. **Skills****Competencies**Builds Effective Teams### ### Business Insight### ### Collaborates### ### Communicates Effectively### ### Develops Talent### ### Drives Engagement### ### Drives Results### ### Ensures Accountability**Education**NQF Level 7 - Degree, Advance Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate or equivalent (Required)**Closing Date**12 November 2026 , 23:59***The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.***