Senior Project Manager

Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (SA) Ltd; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (SA) Ltd seeks a senior Project Manager to lead large-scale, multi-team technology and business change initiatives. You will own project vision, planning, and governance, ensuring delivery on time, within budget and to scope.

You will oversee stakeholder engagement, risk management, and end-to-end testing, while guiding teams to exceptional performance and continuous improvement across complex programs.

Qualifications

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Information Technology, Project Management or related field is advantageous.
• Minimum 6 years’ project management experience on large technology or business change initiatives.
• Minimum 5 years’ managerial/leadership experience in a delivery environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee project planning, ensure plans align with governance and budget.
• Coordinate end-to-end testing and production readiness.
• Define scope and deliverables; engage stakeholders and manage requirements.
• Manage risks, issues, dependencies, and resource capacity across teams.
• Lead a project team; mentor and develop team capability and performance.
• Drive continuous improvement and governance throughout the project lifecycle.

Skills

Agile Project Management

Change Management

Budget Management

Stakeholder Management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Business/IT

Job description

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 Accountable for one or more large-sized projects of moderate to high complexity with a medium- to large-sized team. Focuses on the creation of the project vision and planning documents and manages the implementation, reporting, and performance of the overall project with the expectation of delivering on time, within budget, and to scope

Key responsibilities will include amongst others the following:

• Project Planning Oversee the production of project plans and approve them, ensuring that all activities are identified, are appropriately organized to deliver program and project objectives, and comply both with the organization's project and program management framework and with the organization's wider governance structure and processes.
• Coordination and oversight of end-to-end testing, ensuring plans are compiled and aligned across all testing phases, with progress, dependencies, defects and readiness tracked through to successful production implementation.
• Project Scope Definition Plan and lead the delivery of a range of information gathering, analysis, and stakeholder consultation activities and specify, negotiate, and agree on project deliverables.
• Stakeholder Management Develop and implement stakeholder engagement plans for projects to identify relevant stakeholders, to develop positive stakeholder relationships, and to ensure that each stakeholder has an appropriate share of voice.
• Requirements Management Plan and coordinate the identification and elicitation of requirements; conduct analysis of those requirements for completion and alignment. Document and manage requirements throughout the life of the project; and coordinate the verification of the end deliverable. Generally done at the project level.
• Project Risk and Issue Management Manage identification of risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints associated with the project, escalating these matters where appropriate. Where necessary, develop, agree on, and implement solutions to overcome these concerns.
• Project Reporting and Review Manage the project review process. Provide stakeholders with accurate and relevant information and key recommendations at established review points to enable them to evaluate progress and agree on change.
• Project Team Management Lead a small- to medium-sized project team; communicate the project vision and the necessary outcomes, along with guidance to achieve these outcomes. Coordinate team actions on project activities. Coordinate the flow of additional team members on and off the team, as needed. Identify areas of improvement to build the capability of the team through training, coaching, and mentoring.
• Continuous Improvement Review existing operations in a major area of work and implement innovation processes to generate new ideas and ensure the required continuous improvement outcomes are delivered.
• Project Resource Management Negotiate and manage deployment of project resource budgets, providing forecasts and presenting variances with narrative at appropriate review points to ensure effective utilization.
• Work Scheduling and Capacity Management Oversee team ceremonies and delivery events, proactively managing capacity and work allocation to ensure delivery commitments remain realistic and achievable.
• Cross-Team Dependency Management: Coordinate delivery across multiple teams; identify, track and resolve dependencies and elevate conflicts in priority or capacity to senior stakeholders.
• Document Preparation Edit document in line with organizational style guidelines and prepare information for publication.
• Project Closeout and Handover Provide appropriate documentation and training to enable successful transition to business as usual. Identify and record lessons learned to inform future project activity.
• Project Assurance Manage the delivery of assurance reviews within a project, enable the delivery of assurance reviews by independent third parties, and take appropriate action to resolve any issues identified, to give senior stakeholders confidence that the project can deliver according to time, budget, and quality.
• undefined Personal Capability BuildingDevelop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training and coaching, gain or maintain external professional accreditation, where relevant, to improve performance and fulfill personal potential.
• Maintain an in-depth understanding of technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.

Qualifications and Experience required:

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Information Technology, Project Management or a related field would be advantageous.
• Minimum 6 years’ relevant project management experience, with experience managing complex technology and/or business change initiatives.
• Minimum 5 years’ managerial/leadership experience within a project or delivery environment.
• Strong experience in Agile delivery, including delivery across multiple teams.
• Proven experience managing scope, budgets, schedules, risks, issues and cross-team dependencies.
• Experience coordinating end-to-end testing and production readiness.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including engagement with senior stakeholders.
• Experience in project governance, reporting and resource/capacity management.
• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile/SAFe or equivalent certification would be advantageous.
• Experience within financial services, wealth or investment management would be advantageous.

Skills Agile Project Management, Change Management, Prioritization, Project Budget Management, Project Communications Management, Project Estimations, Project Management Governance, Project Organization, Project Quality Assurance, Project Quality Management, Project Reporting, Project Scope Management, Requirements Management

Competencies Balances Stakeholders Communicates Effectively Cultivates Innovation Customer Focus Decision Quality Develops Talent Drives Results Ensures Accountability Education NQF Level 7 - Degree, Advance Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate or equivalent Closing Date 03 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.

The Old Mutual Story!

Old Mutual is a premium African financial services organisation that offers a broad spectrum of financial solutions to retail and corporate customers across key market segments in 14 countries. The lines of business include Life and Savings, Property and Casualty, Asset Management and Banking and Lending. We are rooted in our purpose of Championing Mutually Positive Futures Every Day and believe that a great customer experience is anchored in a great employee experience.