Project Administrator - IF at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Infrastructure Fund (IF) announced by the President in September 2018 addresses the need for a dedicated blended financing facility for infrastructure programme projects. The aim of the IF is to transform public infrastructure financial provisioning using “blended” finance - combining capital from the public and private sectors and Development Finance
• Institutions (DFIs)/Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). This will be dedicated to meeting the financing requirements for hybrid projects.
• The mandate of the Infrastructure Fund has been captured in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the NationalTreasury, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), and the DBSA entered into on 17 August 2020.
• The purpose of the Project Administrator is to provide the Infrastructure Fund Division with project and team administration support.

Key Responsibilities    

• Project Administration
• Provide project administration and management support to the Infrastructure Fund Team.
• Support the project sponsor/owner/lead with the following tasks:
• Developing a project plan from concept to completion using an appropriate project methodology (PMBOK, Prince2).
• Preparing and updating project plan documents.
• Ensuring project activities and meetings are scheduled.
• Taking minutes and drafting action lists for each project.
• Following up on action lists to ensure delivery.
• Confirming commissioning, handover, and sign-off of the projects.
• Monitoring project progress in liaison with the project sponsor/owner/lead.
• Validating invoices/claims submitted by contractors/vendors for payment.
• Administering project accounting from the start to the finish of the project.
• Developing weekly and monthly feedback reports or as required.
• Creating and maintaining performance dashboards per project/programme.
• Preparing various presentations and reports on project/programme performance updates for the various
• Steering Committees, Exco, and Board.
• Updating the scope change request register and applicable project documentation and registers.
• Scheduling meetings, consolidating information for meetings, maintaining and disseminating minutes, and
• ensuring follow-up of actions as per the minutes.
• Liaise with the project sponsor/owner/lead and manage programme budgets and costs.
• Provide the project sponsor/owner/lead with monthly project cost reports, including project variances of actuals versus budgets, and update forecasts.
• Prepare project files for all projects according to best practice project management methodologies.
• Provide administrative support for supply chain requirements, i.e., preparing requests for tender, sole source
• motivations, quotes, etc. Process invoices through the supply chain processes and systems.
• Facilitate compliance with relevant standards, policies, and procedures for the relevant projects.
• Create a project information library and manage both ad-hoc and standard project information.
• Monitor the library to ensure required information and/or documentation are archived according to project requirements.
• Administer contracts under the guidance of the project sponsor/owner/lead (scheduling, project meetings, progress reporting).
• Assist with any project administration duties as assigned.

Team Administration

• Maintain and manage the diaries of the Chief Investment Officer Infrastructure Fund (CIO IF), Heads and
• Specialists. This would include scheduling appointments, arranging meetings, collecting visitors from reception and organizing refreshments.
• Attend to general queries made to the CIO (IF) / Heads and answer and screen incoming calls.
• Responsible for document flow in and out of the CIO (IF) and business unit offices.
• Develop and maintain advanced record-keeping (manual/electronic) and filing systems.
• Perform payment and disburemebts in line with internal control sand requirements.
• Performs high-level administrative and secretarial duties including typing, editing of reports and preparing presentations.
• Compile confidential correspondence and general documentation on behalf of the CIO (IF) and Heads.
• Undertakes all administrative duties (i.e. filing, photocopying and minute-taking).
• Arrange local and international travelling arrangements and the processing of claims.
• Arrange various events for the Infrastructure Fund Division (strategy sessions, functions, etc.)
• Undertake procurement administration on behalf of the CIO (IF) and Heads.
• Assist in the coordination/preparation and alignment of performance scorecard/s, track and monitor implementation thereof.
• Coordinate the preparation of the Infrastructure Fund budgets and monitor spending together with the CIO (IF) and relevant Head.
• Participate in meetings and interactions to ensure the recording of decisions and follow-up.
• Coordinate Infrastructure Fund Audits and follow up on action items.
• Coordinate Risk Management requests and follow up on action items.
• Coordinate and assist in the preparation of reports and submissions to Project Committees, Steering Committees,
• Business Reviews, Management Committees, and Ad hoc Resolutions from specific committees (secretariat).
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Manage secretarial function for advisory boards ensuring agendas are prepared and timeously shared, concise
• minutes are noted timeously shared, action logs prepared and manged.
• Establish relation with advisory board members and manage their meeting logistics as required.
• Assist the IF to maintain relationships, and networks with external stakeholders, partners, and clients.
• Build and maintain a stakeholder database and develop strong relationships with clients, and private businesses
• to facilitate the identification of opportunities to initiate viable projects.
• Develop annual client plans for key clients in a business unit, including business development forecasts and key
• initiatives.
• Develop and present IF reports in various forums governance and committees.
• Support the implementation of initiatives to increase the blended finance bankable programmes and projects to
• drive the highest impact development financing, whilst achieving financial sustainability.
• Provide administrative support to project pipeline acceptance and approval process by relevant governance
• structures.
• Engage with high-profile clients internally and externally.
• Perform any other project administration duties as assigned.
• Key Measurements of Outputs
• Successful project administration of agreed projects, programmes and assignments.
• Management of diaries and schedules.
• Effectively administered advisory board.
• Management of office administration (budget, payments, procurement, presentations, etc.)
• Accuracy and quality of minutes. Effective follow-up of action lists.
• Accurate record keeping.
• Quality of documents, presentations and reports.
• Clean audit.
• Expertise & Technical Competencies    
• Project Management
• Demonstrates a practical knowledge of project management principles and techniques.
• Plans, defines and manages projects within a department or area.
• Identifies resources required and their appropriate role and skills.
• Assists in the management of projects where the objectives, milestones and time scales have been defined.
• Solutions Focused
• Identifies standard problems based on a range of factors, most of which are clear.
• Identifies alternate solutions, considering applicable precedents.
• Identifies optimal solutions based on weighing the advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches.
• After implementation, evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of solutions.
• Planning and Organising
• Uses time management procedures effectively.
• Can exercise independent judgement regarding all planning and organising issues.
• Uses specialised software to plan and manage own time.
• Plans and manages multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Uses effectively advance time management processes to deal with high workload and tight deadlines.
• Organises, prioritises and schedules tasks so they can be performed within budget and with the efficient use of
• time and resources.
• Achieves goals in a timely manner, despite obstacles encountered, by organising, reprioritising and re-planning.
• Detailed Oriented
• Quickly identifies relevant and irrelevant information to support accurate decision making.
• Maps out all the logistics and details of a situation to ensure smooth and flawless implementation.
• Consistently identifies all relevant details that are not obvious in complex situations.
• Requires the highest standards for accuracy and quality for their work.
• Establishes processes to ensure accuracy and quality of services delivered by the team.

Reporting & Communication

• Prepares both standard and non-standard reports to time and quality standards.
• Collate and analyses readily available data for inclusion in a report.
• Designs / customizes reports to meet user needs.
• Prepares complex or tailored reports, gathers information from a variety of sources, analyses and includes in a report.
• Keeps standard reports under review and proposes improvements to meet user needs.

Presentation Skills

• Can reinforce key presentation points with examples.
• Is able to translate technical terminology into language understandable to the audience.
• Has insight into the audience’s behavior and motivation and responds appropriately and professionally, adapting
• communication style as appropriate.
• Has knowledge of various feedback mechanisms to check levels of audience understanding.

Computer Skills

• Consistently uses relevant office software products such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Projects, Excel,
• Powerpoint presentations and email packages to an acceptable standard for the job.
• Has the ability to use standard and/or programme-specific the organisation databases, and merge / import data
• from one program to another.
• Adapts method of working to accommodate changes in the technological developments.

Minimum Requirements:

• A National Diploma in Administration/Project Management or an equivalent qualification with relevant experience in
• project administration and management support.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in project administration and management support as well as supporting senior
• managers and executives.
• Considerable knowledge of standard administration practices and procedures is a necessity for this position.
• Excellent knowledge of protocol and etiquette.
• Demonstrated experience in working in a multi-disciplinary team.
• An understanding of organisational processes and group dynamics.
• Experience in supply chain management processes (preparing project tender documents, etc.).
• Demonstrated knowledge and use of project methodology such as Project Management Body of Knowledge
• (PMBOK), Prince2 or similar.
• Demonstrable ability to use Microsoft Office (MS Projects, Excel, PowerPoint, Word & MS Outlook).
• Proven track record of preparing project/programme progress reports and presentations for various stakeholders
• (Programme Managers, Steering Committees, Exco and Board).

Desirable Requirements

• A Bachelors Degree in Commerce or Project Management disciplines.

Required Personal Attributes    

• Customer Service Orientation
• Tries to understand the underlying needs of customers and matches these needs to available or customized  products and services.
• Adapts processes and procedures to meet on-going customer needs.
• Utilises the feedback received by customers, in order to develop new and/or improve existing services/ products
• that relate to their on-going needs.
• Thinks of new ways to align offerings with future customer needs.

Self-Awareness and Self Control

• Withholds effects of strong emotions in difficult situations.
• Keeps functioning or responds constructively despite stress.
• May apply special techniques or plan of time to manage emotions or stress.
• Strategic and Innovative Thinking
• Experiments with new approaches, tests scenarios, questions assumptions and challenges conventional thinking.
• Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others, leveraging internal and external sources of information, to
• build incremental revenue and growth opportunities.

Driving Delivery of Results

• Sets challenging goals that will have a significant impact on the business or support the organisational strategy.
• Commits significant resources and/or time to ensure that challenging goals are achieved, while also taking action
• to mitigate risk.

Teamwork and Cooperation

• Acts to promote a friendly climate and good morale and resolves conflicts.
• Creates opportunities for cross-functional working.
• Encourages others to network outside of their own team/department and learn from their experience.