Programme Manager at Standard Bank Group

JOB PURPOSE
To manage a portfolio of projects that deliver solutions in business or technology. To work as part of the change team to implement large scale organisational changes. Lead a team of project managers.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

1. Ensure alignment between business unit objectives and the portfolio of change. Enlist senior management commitment as sponsors for all of the changes.
2. Guide the prioritisation and categorisation of change initiatives in the portfolio.
3. Identify and leverage common goals between different change initiatives that have been planned, for the assigned portfolio. Provide guidance to the business on ensuring integration between the objectives and the coordination of timelines and change impacts.
4. Direct execution of deliverables of the project teams and ensure that change and project governance is adhered to.
5. Plan and monitor the utilisation of resources across the change portfolio including business resources, external consultants, contractors and other vendor resources. Work with the project teams to update resourcing forecasts on a monthly basis.
6. Develop portfolio dashboards that monitor the delivery of all the projects in the portfolio including showing the interdependencies and the consolidated change impacts. Together with change specialists, ensure that journey maps and change and communication plans are developed for all the projects.
7. Review the overall risk and issue logs for the portfolio. Identify systemic issues. Highlight key and common risks to the business owners of the changes. Engage with project and programme boards to ensure adequate understanding and participation in resolving risks and issues.
8. Conduct quality assurance with project managers at intervals during the projects to ensure quality of output in the planning, risk management and execution of projects.
9. Review and participate in the approval of project business cases to determine the adequacy of the resource forecast and the accuracy of assumptions used for the financial calculations on the cost and benefit sides.
10. Mobilise project business owners to help them understand their key roles in sponsoring the changes from a financial as well as people impact perspective. Support the efforts of the business owners to develop the business cases and provide expert input into the delivery planning and resource forecasting.
11. Call in support from colleagues in Finance for complex or expensive business cases to ensure that the benefits case is adequately challenged and sound. Monitor ongoing project spend against delivery milestones and highlight all key concerns of overshoot to the project owners.
12. Monitor benefits realisation across the change portfolio and develop corrective actions with the business owners where benefits are not realising as planned. Arrange for projects and business cases to be updated as more accurate information becomes available for benefits and costs.
13. Coordinate delivery with resources outside of the function (for example with Vendor Management or Group Technology Shared Services) and build relationships with these teams to ensure that project managers will have access to the right supporting resources to execute their projects effectively.
14. Support the business with the process of prioritising projects by contributing an expert view on the current demand on resources and the business rationale for the planned changes.
15. Monitor productivity of all the resources working on the projects across the portfolio and ensure a fair distribution of workload. Work with project managers to rebalance the workload if needed.
16. Review change plans developed for the projects and ensure that adequate planning and execution mechanisms are in place for communication, training, stakeholder engagement and monitoring of change impacts.
17. Work with project management offices across the bank to improve tools and methods and to share learning and best practices.
18. Lead a team of project managers
19. Work with managers in the team to achieve desired business results through continuous improvement and mentoring activities.
20. Monitor the implementation of the performance process in the team and apply it rigorously to direct reports.
21. Coach the management team on how to conduct effective performance discussions.
22. Analyse management and technical development needs of managers in the team. Inform the training budgeting process.
23. Maintain a succession plan for the management team using the Talent Management process for strategically critical roles and an informal process for the remaining roles.
24. Interview and hire direct reports, with support from Human Capital. Support managers with their recruitment decisions on request.
25. Review workforce and headcount plans for the team including requests for headcount changes.
26. Approve/decline headcount within overall mandate.
27. Ensure that managers have leave plans in place for their areas.
28. Review key people metrics - attrition, vacancy rates, reasons for leaving, absence rates, grievances etc. and define strategies to improve the working environment if the indicators show adverse trends.
29. Act as second level escalation point for grievances raised. Participate as decision maker in selected disciplinary processes.
30. Provide business management for the project management function
31. Coordinate the efforts of the different project teams to minimise duplication of effort, maximise efficiency and value for money.
32. Rebalance resources (people, budgets, equipment) between the different project teams within overall approved resources for the year.
33. Contribute to the development of 2-3 year strategic plans for the area by providing a view on potential improvements in existing products, processes and services.
34. Provide clear direction to project and programme managers on the strategic plan and ensure their understanding and buy-in.
35. Take accountability for the overall achievement of departmental goals related to people customer experience, financial performance, risk, compliance and governance.
36. Manage operational budgets within assigned mandates.
37. Analyse effectiveness of cross-functional processes and systems in place in the area and identify areas for improvement.
38. Review performance against scorecards, change operational targets and processes to address any gaps.
39. Agree and manage services levels with internal customers.
40. Review process control requirements at least annually to determine if they are still adequate to mitigate risk to the desired level.
41. Work with assurance teams and internal audit to scope assurance reviews, delivery assurance and audits. Own and agree remedial actions for audit findings related to project implementation.
42. Ensure that the teams understand compliance requirements. Call for support from the Compliance Officer when required.
43. Ensure that managers understand their responsibilities for physical and systems access control.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. 3 Year Degree in Sciences, Engineering, Commerce or Business Administration
2. A formal project management qualification such as PMBOK, Prince II or PMP
3. Project Management - More than 10 Years

Portfolio Managers require extensive experience in the field of delivering change programmes. It would be advantageous if the experience includes business project management and technology project management