Project Leader (Finance & People)

Parvana; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Parvana in Cape Town seeks a Project Leader for Finance and Technology-Enabled Change to drive systems implementation from mobilisation to service transition. You will build cross-functional teams across Product, Architecture, Engineering and business functions, delivering changes in a regulated environment with strong cost and vendor oversight.

The role emphasizes pragmatic use of agile, waterfall or hybrid delivery, and leveraging AI tools to accelerate planning, RAID synthesis, and dependency

Qualifications

• 8-12 years in technology-enabled change within enterprise environments, with backgrounds in financial services, asset management, or professional services.
• Proven ability to pragmatically select and adapt agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Experience delivering technology change within regulated settings, maintaining controls, audit readiness, and operational readiness.

Responsibilities

• Translate outcomes into adaptable plans and independently lead systems implementation from mobilisation to service transition, accountable for scope, timeline, and cost.
• Build multidisciplinary teams and collaborate across Product, Architecture, Engineering, and business functions.
• Ensure process, role, control, and data changes are designed and delivered with underlying systems and integrations.
• Deliver in regulated environments meeting control and audit requirements while overseeing vendors and cost control.
• Build trusted relationships with senior executives, communicating progress and risks concisely and escalating early with clear recommendations.
• Leverage AI and automation to accelerate planning, reporting, and analysis while strengthening team standards.

Skills

Technology change leadership

AI tools experimentation

Stakeholder management

Regulated environments

Finance systems familiarity

Education

Tertiary qualification

Tools

Oracle

Kyriba

Coupa

Concur

Job description

Cape Town, South Africa | Posted on 30/10/2026

Location: Cape Town | Work Type: Hybrid | Job ID: J107287

About our client:

Our client is a global investment advisory firm focusing on long-term value creation through investment strategies. They work with a diverse group of institutional partners and pride themselves on their collaborative, sustainable, inclusive culture and performance. You are welcome to go into the office daily or to take advantage of their hybrid in-office / remote benefit. This company places significant investment in employee wellness, their benefits which are on top of generous basic salaries, are industry leading in their generosity. Our client is large, offering fantastic career development opportunities but also very dynamic, they track as many metrics as possible in order to continuously improve - they spare no expense on the tools to do so. Automation, AI and R&D are pillars of their business framework which ensures you should never be at risk of falling behind or getting stuck working with old legacy software. Culturally they are very cosmopolitan and diverse, you will be working with the best globally.

What you will be doing:

• Translate outcomes into adaptable plans and independently lead systems implementation from mobilisation to service transition, remaining accountable for scope, timeline, and cost.
  
• Build the right multidisciplinary teams and collaborate across Product, Architecture, Engineering, and business functions.
  
• Ensure that process, role, control, and data changes are designed and delivered together with underlying systems and integrations.
  
• Deliver safely in regulated environments meeting control and audit requirements while overseeing vendors, third-party performance, and cost control.
  
• Build trusted relationships with senior executives, communicating progress and risks concisely and escalating early with clear recommendations.
  
• Leverage AI and automation to accelerate planning, reporting, and analysis while strengthening team standards and ways of working.
  

What our client is looking for:

• A relevant tertiary qualification would be beneficial.
  
• Relevant certifications (PMP, PRINCE2, SAFe, Scrum, etc.) are advantageous, but not essential.
  
• 8 - 12 years in technology-enabled change within enterprise environments, with backgrounds in financial services, asset management, or professional services.
  
• Proven ability to pragmatically select and adapt agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery methodologies.
  
• Demonstrable, hands-on experience using and experimenting with AI tools (such as Copilot or Claude) to accelerate planning, RAID synthesis, and dependency analysis.
  
• Experience delivering technology change within regulated settings, maintaining controls, audit readiness, and operational readiness.
  
• Background in finance or people systems implementation and finance transformations, with familiarity in platforms like Oracle, Kyriba, Coupa, and Concur.
  
• Experience managing system integrators, third-party performance, statements of work, and cost control.
  
• Ability to direct mixed teams of permanent staff, contractors, and third parties without formal line authority.
  
• Exceptional communication skills with senior and executive-level stakeholders, earning trust through clarity, candour, and sound judgment.
  
• Self-directed approach focused on framing problems, managing ambiguity, making sound decisions under pressure, and adapting pragmatically to circumstances.
  
• Measures success by tangible results and adoption rather than by activity or documentation.
  

Project Leader, Finance, People, Systems Implementation, Technology-Enabled Change, AI, Automation, Financial Services, Oracle, Coupa, Concur, PMP, PRINCE2