Program Manager

Program Manager (Cloud Contact Center Software)

Cape Town

Permanent

A global organisation with offices in Cape Town guide their clients businesses in the creation of exceptional end-to-end digital customer experiences through a unique combination of expertise, technology, and insight.

The organisation works across industry verticals, with some of the worlds largest organisations, to transform their customer experience, reduce operational costs and improve customer and employee engagement.

Combining their own unique products and deep sector knowledge with award-winning technologies, the company is one of Europes fastest growing providers of digital CX transformation solutions, supporting clients in over 50 countries.

At our company, we take customer satisfaction seriously; we aim to provide the best possible experience to our customers throughout the project delivery journey. We do this through building strong and enduring relationships with our customers and by providing industry leading project management services that are the envy of our competitors.

The role

As a program manager you will have full control of your projects supported by a talented team of highly skilled and experienced engineers and consultants who are all specialists in their field. You will lead and manage projects through their entire project lifecycle from project inception, through design, delivery and testing to live deployment and handover to the customer and the Support team.

Your projects will be delivered to the satisfaction of your customers by being on time and of high quality, and you will also ensure that the project is delivered profitably and within cost.

You will be part of a highly motivated team who will support you and help you grow and develop your skills. We take continuous improvement seriously, whether thats improving our internal processes, project management systems/ software, contribution to other areas of the organisation or just being better at what we do. Thats why we commit 5% of everybodys time each week to personal development. There are always opportunities to gain new skills or to attend internal or external training programmes.

Key Responsibilities:

What are the core responsibilities of the role?

We are looking for an experienced project manager with a track record of delivering complex technical projects using Waterfall and/or Agile delivery methodologies.

• Develop comprehensive program plans, including project scope, schedule, budget, and resource requirements, with a focus on attention to detail.
• You will lead and manage projects through their entire project lifecycle, from gaining a thorough understanding of the solution through to successful project planning, deployment, business/service acceptance and project completion, all to time, cost and quality.
• You will be expected to manage multiple projects with high levels of complexity based on a range of different technology applications and platforms.
• There will be a strong focus on financial and commercial management therefore a solid understanding of cost management processes will be required, such as understanding cost baselines, project revenue forecasting and project profitability. As a Program Manager you will also have a basic appreciation and understanding of Benefits Management and Benefit Realisation to ensure client business cases are understood and realised.
• Act as the primary point of contact between program stakeholders, including customers, vendors, and internal teams, and communicate project progress and status with a high level of detail.
• Facilitate program-level meetings, including status updates, problem-solving sessions, and progress reporting, with a focus on providing detailed and accurate information.
• Proactively identify and manage program risks and issues, and develop contingency plans as needed, with a focus on considering all details and potential impacts
• Ensure that project deliverables meet customer expectations and are of the highest quality, with a focus on attention to detail and thorough quality assurance processes.
• Manage program budget, including tracking and reporting on project spending, with a focus on accuracy and detail.
• Ensure all program documentation is complete, up-to-date, and easily accessible to project team members and stakeholders, with a focus on attention to detail and organization.
• The relationship with the client during project delivery must be supported by strong and frequent communication between the client and the project team. You will always ensure that the agreed deployment schedule is met and that business acceptance and handover to Support is successful. This role will also be required to collate work packages, project plans and presentations in support of pre-sales activities by the commercial management teams.
• This is a challenging role that requires strong support from key internal and external stakeholders at many levels across the business. You will need to demonstrate strong leadership and team building skills and be able to balance these with the structure and discipline needed to manage and control project risks and costs.
• The role requires excellent communication and strong customer relationship skills. As an organisation which continually seeks to improve, you will be expected to contribute to the development of project and programme processes such that the business can be responsive to changing customer and business needs.

Essential

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• 5+ years of experience managing complex, technology-focused programs, with a focus on cloud contact center customer experience.
• Strong experience of Waterfall and Agile project delivery methodologies
• Proficient in program management tools and software, such as Microsoft Project and JIRA
• Strong commercial acumen with experience of project accounting, e.g. cost control, revenue forecasting and project profitability
• Experience of virtual project team management (e.g. matrix management across technical teams)
• Experience of managing complex technical projects
• Excellent verbal, leadership, and interpersonal skills and versed in the art of explaining issues clearly and in detail.
• Ability to develop operational relationships with the customer and demonstrate the right level of empathy and understanding

Beneficial

• Proven project management experience within a professional services, consultancy, or systems integrator environment
• Experience of working in a professional services or customer facing role
• Current PRINCE2 (or equivalent) Waterfall and/ or Agile Project Management Practitioner level Accreditation