Manager - Strategy And Strategy And Transformation

Mtn Group; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1 200 000 - 1 600 000; Full time

Job summary

A telecommunications company in South Africa is seeking a skilled program manager to lead complex workstreams and drive transformation initiatives. The ideal candidate will have 5–8 years of experience, including at least a year in the telecommunications sector, and strong leadership and problem-solving skills. This role focuses on delivering strategic programs across diverse environments, fostering collaboration, and managing stakeholder expectations.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of experience delivering complex programs and highly analytical, multi-stakeholder workstreams.
• At least 1 year of telecommunications industry experience preferred.
• Proven track record of delivery across diverse cultures and geographies.

Responsibilities

• Define workstream scope to achieve program objectives.
• Translate program objectives into actionable deliverables.
• Lead and support the delivery of workstream from inception to handover.
• Manage risks impacting program delivery and communicate to stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership skills

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Persuasion and negotiation skills

Execution and implementation skills

Resilience and agility

Holistic view and attention to detail

Education

Minimum 3-year academic degree

Postgraduate qualification (MBA / CA / Masters) advantageous

Job description

Job Description MTN is entering a new phase in its lifecycle where operational and commercial excellence has become critical for success.

The urgency for change has become more heightened amidst increased competitive intensity across all markets in which MTN operates.

The Group's transformation programme must therefore ensure the successful delivery of the transformation in context of : Alignment of the Programme objectives with the overall MTN strategy; Rapidly changing ICT environment; The geographic complexity of MTN's foot print across Africa and the Middle East; Management of executive and shareholder expectations across all 16 OpCos throughout the transformation; Management of customer and supplier expectations; Constant dynamics and local challenges in the economic, regulatory and legal environments; Focus on key strategic programs which require cross functional, cross market collaboration and top management visibility.

Organisation Values : At MTN we believe that understanding our people's needs and aspirations is key to creating experiences that delight you at work, every day.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every member of our Y'ello Family is heard, understood, and empowered to live an inspired life.

Our values keep us grounded and moving in the right direction.

Most importantly, they keep us honest.

It is not something we claim to be.

It is in our DNA. As an organisation, we consider it our mission to create an exciting and rewarding place to work, where our people can be themselves, thrive in positivity and ignite their full potential.

A workplace that boosts creativity and innovation, improves productivity, and ultimately drives meaningful results.

A workplace that is built on relationships and achieving a purpose that is bigger than us.

This is what we want you to experience with us. Our commitments go beyond an organisational promise.

It is in our leadership and managerial ethos to meaningfully partner with our employees, customers, and stakeholders with a vision to realise our shared goals.

Our values dubbed, LIVE Y'ello, are the cornerstone of our culture.

Responsibilities

• Define the workstream scope required to achieve a given set of program objectives.
• Translate program objectives and milestones into actionable deliverables in consultation with the relevant business unit subject matter experts.
• Create the plan to deliver the scope of the workstream.
• Achieve buy-in for the scope and plans developed from key stakeholders to secure the resources and funds to deliver with the support of the Senior and General Manager.
• Work within and contribute to the governance framework of the program.
• Lead and support the delivery of the workstream from inception until the point of handover to business units responsible for business as usual ownership, facilitating the required change management and capability building needed in the handover process.
• Define the measures of success and ensure all reporting during delivery and post-implementation performance and sustainability management is completed as per the applicable performance management framework.
• Ensure adherence to project budgets and schedules.
• Identify and manage risks which impact program delivery and communicate risks to all relevant stakeholders.
• Develop subject matter expertise on workstream topics and be able to succinctly drive and articulate key insights in a structured manner both verbally and in writing.
• Plan workstreams to deliver effectively, while adhering to program budgets and creatively engage resources to manage resource constraints that may arise in the course of workstream delivery.
• Effectively allocate the scope of work between oneself, external contractors and business line talent as needed.
• Develop the program delivery, technical and soft skills of the program team members and oneself.
• Build MTN's overall program execution capability.
• Contribute to the knowledge repository for cross functional and cross market knowledge share - compile and constantly refine the MTN delivery playbook.
• Perform post mortems of strategic workstreams and related programs to enable continuous improvement.
• Improve and standardise the quality and effectiveness of relevant key projects' performance management processes.
• Uphold the MTN values in the performance of one's duties and role model the values for colleagues.
• Implement and improve tools, processes and people management techniques to build the overall capacity to deliver, the ability to track progress and manage risks.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on workstreams within one's portfolio and share best practices learned with other program leads and teams.
• Build a culture and capability of continuous improvement in the Group Transformation Team and in the organisation more broadly.
• Accountable for controlling and managing Capex and Opex spend for the Group Strategy and Transformation Office.

Qualifications

• Education: Minimum 3-year academic degree; Postgraduate qualification (MBA / CA / Masters) advantageous.
• Experience: 5–8 years of experience delivering complex programs and highly analytical, multi-stakeholder workstreams; ideally in a leading consulting or multinational organisation. At least 1 year of telecommunications industry experience preferred. Work across diverse cultures and geographies. Proven track record of delivery.
• Competencies:
  • Resilience and agility: Ability to lead complex, ambiguous, high‑profile programmes and deal with the volatile nature of a programme environment.
  • Strong tenacity and ability to quickly ramp up on content areas.
  • Leadership skills: Ability to get along with, listen to, speak to, and manage people's expectations.
  • Strong communication skills at all levels and the ability to collaborate with teams, internal/external stakeholders without formal reporting relationships.
  • Problem‑solving skills: Analytical and critical thinking essential to evaluate problems and reach solutions; logical methodical approach and creativity/lateral thinking as required.
  • Persuasion and negotiation skills.
  • Execution and implementation skills: Reliability, results‑oriented, proven track record of delivery, can‑do attitude.
  • Challenger mindset: Ability to engage with senior business stakeholders and challenge the status quo using data analytics and problem‑solving capabilities.
  • Holistic view and attention to detail: Balancing the big picture and detail to build trust with stakeholders at all levels.
  • Developing strategies and producing error‑free deliverables: Demonstrates the Transformation office is thorough and recommendations are solid.
  • Prioritisation management: Ability to make best use of allocated time and resources.