Project Manager

Alaris Group; Centurion; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Alaris Antennas in Centurion, South Africa, seeks an experienced Project Manager to lead end-to-end delivery of engineering products within the Programme Office. You will coordinate cross-functional teams, manage timelines, risks, and stakeholder expectations for local and international customers.

The role requires strong leadership, excellent communication, and a proven ability to deliver complex projects on time, within scope and within budget. On-site at Centurion office is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; MBA or PMP preferred.
• 5 to 7 years of experience managing complex projects.
• Experience in defence, aerospace, RF, microwave, or related engineering industries.
• Delivering hardware products to customers in electronics related fields involving electromagnetics or microwave/RF engineering.
• Managing customer facing projects, documentation, reporting and deliverables; multi-project management.
• Exposure to international customers, particularly European clients.

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive project plans with scope, objectives, and deliverables; create timelines, budgets, and resource plans.
• Lead, motivate, and manage project teams to deliver cohesively and efficiently.
• Maintain relationships with customers and provide regular status updates, including financial tracking.
• Ensure accurate customer-facing documentation and governance in line with contractual and quality requirements.
• Identify risks and implement mitigation strategies; monitor issues to keep projects on track.
• Set quality standards and ensure compliance with industry standards and processes.
• Coordinate with Engineering Manager on resources and budgets; optimise allocation.
• Address project issues quickly with analytical problem solving and decisive action.
• Ensure smooth project closure with client acceptance and knowledge transfer.
• Align project outcomes with organisational objectives and governance requirements.
• Support international customer projects, including European clients.

Skills

Project planning

Leadership

Budget management

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Negotiation

Problem solving

Organisational skills

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

MBA or PMP certification

Electronic or Mechanical Engineering degree

Tools

Trello

ClickUp

MS Project

Job description

From its roots in 1990, Alaris Antennas has grown to become a substantial supplier of advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) antennas. For the global defence and security markets, Alaris Antennas’ mission is to deliver high quality antenna Solutions, on time, through technical and service excellence.

This position requires full-time presence at our Centurion, South Africa office.

We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Project Manager to lead and manage the end-to-end product delivery process in our Programme Office. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership, organisational, skills, and will be responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of engineering products on time, within scope, and within budget. This role will require effective coordination between cross-functional teams, managing project timelines, risks, and stakeholder expectations..

In addition to project delivery responsibilities, the role requires effective management of customer interactions, customer documentation and project governance processes. The Project Manager will support the successful execution of projects for local and international customers, including exposure to European clients where applicable, while ensuring compliance with customer requirements, qualification activities, applicable standards, and quality processes.

Requirements

Minimum education (essential)
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; MBA or PMP certification preferred.

Minimum education (suggested)
Electronic or Mechanical Engineering degree advantageous.

Minimum applicable work experience
5 to 7 years, with a proven track record of successfully managing complex projects.

Industry experience (essential)

Managing complex projects within the defence, aerospace, RF, microwave, or related engineering industries

Delivering technical products and solutions to customers within highly regulated, standards driven, and quality controlled environments

Required nature of applicable experience

Design and project experience delivering hardware products to customers in an electronics related field, specifically involving electromagnetics or microwave/RF engineering

Managing customer facing projects, customer documentation, project reporting, and deliverables; ability to manage multiple projects concurrently

Exposure to international customers, particularly European customers, advantageous

MS Excel (Expert)

MS Word (Expert)

MS PowerPoint (Expert)

Proficient in project management tools such as Trello, ClickUp, or MS Project

Other characteristics

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Strong interpersonal, stakeholder, and customer relationship management skills

Customer and people focused approach

Self driven, proactive, and able to work independently with a high level of responsibility

Strong analytical, problem solving, and decision making skills

Logical thinker with excellent planning and organisational skills

High attention to detail, accuracy, and documentation quality

Process oriented with a strong focus on compliance and confidentiality

Flexible, adaptable, and able to perform effectively under pressure while meeting deadlines

Assertive and professional in dealing with internal and external stakeholders

Ability to engage effectively with international customers and multidisciplinary teams

Skills

Project planning, coordination, and management

Leadership and team management

Budget, resource, and risk management

Strong stakeholder, customer, and international relationship management

Excellent communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills

Strong analytical, problem solving, and decision making skills

Excellent organisational and time management skills with strong attention to detail

Quality assurance, standards, compliance, and governance awareness

Customer documentation, reporting, deliverable, qualification, and acceptance process management

Process management and continuous improvement

Project closure, evaluation, and lessons learned management

Responsibilities

Develop comprehensive project plans, defining scope, objectives, and deliverables. Create timelines, budgets, and resource allocation strategies.

Lead, motivate, and manage project teams, ensuring they work cohesively and efficiently. Provide direction and support to team members.

Establish and maintain effective relationships with customers, team members, and senior leadership. Provide regular project status updates, including financial tracking, manage expectations effectively, and ensure customer requirements and commitments are understood and communicated.

Maintain accurate customer facing project documentation, including meeting minutes, project plans, action registers, progress reports, contractual deliverables, and project records. Ensure documentation is maintained in accordance with contractual, quality, and organisational requirements, and that agreed actions and decisions are communicated effectively to customers and internal stakeholders.

Identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. Monitor and address issues as they arise to keep the project on track.

Set and maintain quality standards for project deliverables. Conduct regular quality checks to ensure compliance with customer requirements, applicable industry standards, qualification requirements, and company quality processes.

Work with the Engineering Manager to allocate and manage project resources, including personnel, equipment, and budgets. Optimise resource allocation to achieve project goals.

Quickly identify and address project related issues and obstacles. Use critical thinking and problem solving skills to find effective solutions.

Adapt to changing project requirements and scope. Implement changes effectively while minimising disruptions to the project's progress.

Ensure a smooth project closure process, including client acceptance, documentation, and knowledge transfer. Conduct post project evaluations to identify lessons learned.

Align project goals and outcomes with the organisation's strategic objectives.

Coordinate customer reviews, project governance meetings, acceptance activities, and project reporting requirements.

Support qualification, verification, validation, and customer acceptance activities associated with project deliverables.

Support projects involving international customers, including European clients where applicable, and facilitate effective communication across customer and internal stakeholder groups.

Take note before applying

This position is based on-siteat ourCenturion office (in South Africa) and requiresin-person attendance. Candidates should be prepared to work from this location,as remote or hybrid arrangements are not available at this stage.