Project Manager at KPMG South Africa

Purpose of the role

• To provide project management skill and expertise for the efficient and effective delivery & execution of key projects forming part of the Audit’s Consumer, Industrial and Mining (CIM) Business Unit (BU)..
• The role will also include the development and enhancement of the BU’s project management framework and related toolkit, for purposes of delivering on key engagements taking the form of projects. In addition, the proposed framework needs to be specifically tailored as appropriate to the type and scale of projects of CIM projects.

The overall aim on current and future projects is to ensure that delivery takes place within the  agreed timescales, quality, and conforms with leading project management practices.

Responsibilities

• Assist in delivering project management services to various clients in the Audit sector.
• Provide leadership, guidance, support, and direction to team members
• Maintain efficient utilisation of staff and any associate third parties
• Manage and execute projects in line with the company’s quality management standards and processes
• Plan and manage assigned projects, keeping client stakeholders and senior management informed on project progress
• Drive and lead client workshops and steer conversations towards desired outcomes
• Manage all projects in accordance with the  agreed budgets, schedules, and client expectations
• Actively drive the formulation of the project plan (& associated supporting presentation type documentation) with the wider project team and client counterparts
• Ability to conceptualise and prepare a flight plan in conjunction with a detailed project plan along with the necessary socialization with client stakeholders for purposes of obtaining sign off
• Maintains the detailed project plan along with updates, forecast completion dates and careful management of inter-dependencies
• Monitors progress against project plan and budget, correcting and / or escalating abnormal situations, when necessary
• Drive the timely execution of assigned projects
• Tracking of actual costs vs planned and approved expenditure for each assigned project
• Execute effective risk management procedures by ensuring issues are correctly identified and recorded as well as drive the processes of assessment (with the assistance of wider team) and related reporting
• Maintain awareness of all ongoing problems & issues and actively define solutions to ensure that the envisaged project objectives are met
• Maintain the decision and action logs from the defined project governance meetings
• Ensure the change log is maintained, up-to-date and change control procedures in place to cover all requests
• Prepare status reports for review by both internal and external stakeholders – includes overall summary, workstream salient updates, risks and issues, interdependencies between functional areas and upkeep of the critical path
• Leads and participates in client reporting sessions, including as relevant, progress review meetings and (typically) Audit Committee and Steering Committee meetings
• Systematically monitor the completion and finalisation of the wider project deliverables, also making sure that they have been subject to the appropriate levels of review e.g., manager, partner, client etc.
• Addresses all project customer satisfaction issues, escalating feedback as necessary for further action

Skills and attributes required for the role:

• High level of drive and resilience.
• High attention to detail and a desire to drive quality.
• Strong organisation skills: a self-starter with initiative, ability to foster innovation and a common-    sense approach to problem-solving.
• Strong work ethic and positive attitude
• Excellent project management skills and experience.
• Ability to multi-task and reprioritise tasks as and when required.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Sound business writing skills, numerical skills, communication, and interpretation skills.
• Executes excellent “first review” skills.
• Business development skills.
• Client liaison with strong strategic relationship management skills.
• Presentation skills - excellent ability to compile PowerPoint decks and able to present with confidence and passion
• Analytical thinker and problem-solving ability
• Good interpersonal skills to build collaborative relationships and the ability to relate well to colleagues with differing levels of expertise and skills while championing inclusion and diversity
• The ability to adapt to a changing work environment and accommodate changing client demands
• Ability to coach and guide staff to perform their responsibilities and to provide fair feedback on their performance including sound conflict resolution skills
• Excellent time management, research, and communications skills
• Proven ability to multitask and ensure effective delivery of competing priorities to meet targets and objectives

Qualifications and Minimum Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in either engineering, built environment sciences, commerce, accounting, economics, development economics, finance, social science, business administration, or management or equivalent.
• An established Project/Programme Manager with a proven track record in delivering  large scale business projects
• Between 5-10 years’ experience in managing functional transformation projects e.g., finance transformation projects (process, people, technology, data, and control), and not only technology experience
• Previous experience in working within a consulting environment would be advantageous
• PMP
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills particularly with Microsoft Project, Excel, and PowerPoint