Project Manager

Wsp In Africa; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A professional services firm is seeking a Mid-Senior Level Project Manager based in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. This role involves managing the complete project life cycle, overseeing budgets, and ensuring effective stakeholder communication. Candidates should have seven years of experience with a focus on project management in consulting engineering. The position is full-time, ideally suited for those with strong organizational and analytical skills who can balance project demands with operational needs.

Qualifications

• Seven years of work experience, including five years in project management.
• Experience with operational support functions like resource planning.
• Consulting engineering experience is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Manage all stages of project life cycle including initiation and closure.
• Oversee project scope, deliverables, and financials.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external clients.

Skills

Organisational skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Undergraduate degree in Project Management, Engineering, Science, Environmental, or Business

Job description

Join to apply for the Project Manager role at WSP in Africa.

Job Description

Key responsibilities, accountabilities, areas of focus & metrics.

Project Management

The successful candidate will be involved in all stages of a project's life cycle (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Control, and Closure) for consulting specific projects.

The role focuses on mine engineering design, permitting, field investigations, desktop analyses, numerical modeling, studies and research.

The role will work closely with technical managers and ensure correct delivery of projects within the assigned business.

Responsible for assembling project teams, assigning responsibilities, identifying needed resources, developing schedules, and monitoring progress against plans.

General

Can manage a low-complexity project independently or oversee a phase of a larger project with functional leadership.

Assemble small project/task teams and assign responsibilities.

Understand the project scope, objectives, and team roles to coordinate effectively.

Work for a known client aware of most project risk and seek support when risks exceed their understanding.

Operate under a Master Service Agreement (MSA) or WSP standard Terms and Conditions with minor client-added clauses.

Consultation

Act as primary (or secondary) client contact depending on project needs.

Provide timely guidance and communication on project-level issues.

Liaise regularly with Technical Managers, Project Directors, internal accounting teams, and external clients.

Address quality management of the project and deliverables with Discipline Reviewers and the Approved Reviewer.

Consider stakeholder quality requirements in the project.

Report project status regularly to the Project Director.

Work with stakeholders to continually reassess the project and motivate and lead the team for successful completion.

Integration

Occupy a key position in proposal development, including ROA, with Technical Leads.

Set up and manage the project per the outlined approach.

Oversee the Project Coordinator's execution plan preparation.

Plan the execution and monitor performance against the project execution plan and contract terms.

Manage project closure, ensure documentation, facilitate lessons-learned workshops, and obtain client feedback and subcontractor evaluations.

Ensure the team understands and reassesses HSSE requirements; mitigate typical low-complexity project risks.

Manage up to five team members and three subcontractors.

Coordinate projects involving two WSP offices and operating companies with minimal time-zone differences.

Develop delegation skills to manage workload.

Scope and Schedule

Manage local or regional projects within own discipline or up to two others.

Collect requirements, define scope, develop work breakdown structure, and manage scope variations.

Develop the project scope statement and WBS for low-complexity projects.

Identify and implement controls for scope variations and pursue scope expansion opportunities.

Initiate client communications related to change orders.

Develop the project schedule and maintain schedule baseline with recovery plans as needed.

Outline Earned Value Management method and communicate with client and stakeholders.

Implement corrective actions to realign schedule and deliverables.

Cost

Responsible for project budgets and expenditures, typically for scopes <$.

Manage time‑and‑materials or small lump‑sum budgets and handle billing requirements and payment terms.

Respond skillfully to budget amendments.

Ensure WSP's project profitability and cash‑management objectives are met.

Communicate cost changes to client and team promptly.

Maintain compliance with client invoicing requirements and timely payment.

Meet Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) targets per WSP requirements.

Procurement

Manage contracts and documentation for sub‑consultants, contractors and vendors.

Actively manage procurement contracts, reducing risk for a small number of subcontractors and suppliers.

Handle internal work under Intercompany Work Agreements (ICAs).

Conduct timely review and approval or resolution of vendor/subcontractor invoices.

Project Documentation

Oversee production of regular progress reports for client, team and stakeholders.

Establish protocol for the document control system and reassess requirements.

Assist with deliverable submission or be responsible for deliverables on low‑complexity projects.

Identify project risks and manage them continuously.

Project Health

Monitor key project performance indicators and flag variances or trends.

Support WIP and Debt/AR processes through follow‑ups and consolidation.

Coordinate and schedule project reviews, ensuring data preparation and documentation.

Track governance compliance: scope approvals, contract documentation, risk registers and change controls.

Escalate at‑risk projects to Operations Manager and Project Leaders.

Resource and Utilisation Management

Track and maintain divisional utilisation and resourcing data in enterprise planning tools.

Support Team Leads with utilisation reviews, planned vs. actual analysis, and conflict identification.

Maintain and update resourcing tools: capacity planning, revenue forecasting, backlog/pipeline alignment and load planning.

Monitor backlog build and pipeline conversion across the division, highlighting potential revenue or capacity risks.

Project Tools and Operational Readiness

Drive adoption and correct use of project management tools, enterprise systems and BI dashboards.

Identify system and data gaps, validate data and coordinate remediation.

Provide user support and informal training on system functionality and data entry standards.

Collaborate with Operations, BI and IT on tool enhancements, system integrations and continuous improvement.

Contribute to development of standardised templates, workflows and reporting packs to improve governance.

Education, Certifications, & Essential Experience Required For The Job

Education/Certifications

Undergraduate degree in Project Management, Engineering, Science, Environmental, or Business.

Experience

Seven years of work experience, including five years in project management (engineering/sciences consulting environment preferred).

Experience with operational support functions (WIP/Debt, utilisation, resource planning and revenue forecasting, or similar).

Demonstrated experience in project financials, reporting, scheduling, and risk.

Consulting engineering experience advantageous.

Competencies

Strong organisational and analytical skills.

Ability to work across multiple systems and consolidate operational data.

Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

Strong commercial awareness and ability to interpret financial data.

Ability to balance project duties with divisional operational demands.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Project Management and Information Technology

Industry

Professional Services

Location

Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.