IT Technical Project Manager

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the planning, execution, monitoring and control of project activities, resource allocation and quality assurance throughout the project management life cycle, in accordance with the organisation’s policies, procedures and project management practices.

• Ensure projects are effectively governed, tracked and delivered within agreed scope, timelines, budgets and quality standards, and that outcomes meet business and stakeholder expectations.

• Develop the project approach and supporting business case, taking into account project dependencies, integration requirements, scope, schedule, resources and budget; communicate project direction, progress and approved changes to IT management and business stakeholders.

• Partner with business users and key stakeholders to identify opportunities and prioritise project activities or initiatives based on business needs, resource availability, return on investment, productivity and compliance considerations.

• Identify, assess and manage project risks, issues, dependencies and constraints; provide timely recommendations, escalate material concerns and review expected deliverables against actual outcomes to capture lessons learnt.

• Review and analyse business and technical requirements to ensure completeness, feasibility and alignment with short- and long-term business and technology needs; review solution architecture to ensure solutions are integrated, resilient, flexible, cost-effective and aligned with the organisation’s IT direction and standards.

• Plan and oversee system testing activities, including definition of test scope, preparation and application of appropriate test scripts, establishment of acceptance criteria and monitoring of test results.

• Manage project procurement activities from tender issuance and evaluation through award, contract negotiation, contract signing and ongoing contract tracking.

• Monitor project expenditure, forecast future costs, reconcile cost variances and obtain the necessary approvals for material deviations from the approved budget.

• Manage the performance of service providers and vendors in delivering IT projects and solutions, including compliance with contractual obligations, organisational standards, procedures and agreed service requirements.

• Coordinate with internal teams and vendors to prepare, maintain and file complete project and system documentation, including solution design documentation, operational manuals and project records.

• Establish service-level expectations and transition requirements to support an orderly handover of implemented solutions to IT operations, support and maintenance teams.

• Maintain awareness of relevant emerging technologies and professional practices, and cultivate relationships with external experts and industry peers to support continuous improvement of IT infrastructure, solutions, services and processes.

• Establish and maintain an integrated technical delivery plan covering milestones, critical dependencies, acceptance criteria, technical risks, decision points and governance checkpoints.

• Coordinate and critically review solution design with architecture, infrastructure, application, data and cybersecurity specialists to ensure non-functional requirements, including security, performance, resilience, scalability, recoverability and maintainability, are adequately addressed.

• Apply the most appropriate delivery approach - Agile, Waterfall or hybrid - and govern backlog or work-package planning, release planning, environment readiness, change control and configuration management accordingly.

• Lead readiness for system integration, data migration, cutover, production deployment and rollback, ensuring business continuity considerations are addressed and operational disruption is minimised.

• Establish project dashboards and delivery indicators covering schedule, cost, scope, quality, risk, issues, dependencies and benefits; provide concise management reporting and facilitate timely escalation and decision-making.

• Ensure vendors and implementation partners satisfy defined technical acceptance criteria and complete all required testing evidence, documentation, knowledge transfer, warranty/support arrangements and project-closure obligations.

JOB KNOWLEDGE:

• Project management principles, methodologies, tools and project life-cycle governance

• Business case development, dependency management, scope, schedule, resource and budget management

• Business and technical requirements analysis and solution architecture alignment

• IT infrastructure architecture, organisational technology standards and strategic IT direction

• Project risk, issue, quality and change management

• System testing planning, test execution approaches and quality measurement

• IT procurement, tendering, contract negotiation, contract administration and project cost control

• Vendor and service-provider performance management, including service-level agreements

• Project documentation, system design documentation and IT operations manuals

• Emerging technology trends relevant to IT infrastructure, solutions, services and processes

• Software/System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and practical application of Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery approaches

• Enterprise and solution architecture concepts, including application integration, APIs, cloud/on-premise infrastructure, data flows and migration considerations

• Cybersecurity, data protection, technology risk, resilience, disaster recovery and business continuity requirements relevant to solution delivery

• Release, change, configuration and environment management, including service transition and operational-readiness practices

• Project governance, delivery metrics, management dashboards, benefits realisation and post-implementation review practices

SKILLS / COMPETENCIES:

• Project planning, organisation, monitoring and delivery management

• Stakeholder engagement, facilitation and expectation management

• Analytical thinking and the ability to assess business and technical requirements

• Risk identification, issue resolution and development of sound recommendations

• Clear written and verbal communication, including communication of project direction, progress and change

• Budget management, cost forecasting and variance control

• Procurement, contract negotiation and vendor management

• Quality assurance, testing coordination and strong attention to detail

• Documentation, records management and transition-to-support coordination

• Collaboration and relationship management across internal and external stakeholders

• Technical leadership with the ability to understand, challenge and synthesise technical options, risks, dependencies and trade-offs without being the subject-matter expert in every technology domain

• Strong influencing, negotiation, facilitation and conflict-resolution capabilities across business, technical and vendor stakeholders

• Structured problem-solving, critical thinking and sound decision-making in complex or uncertain situations

• Executive-level communication with the ability to translate complex technical matters into clear business implications, options and decisions

• Data-driven project control, including interpretation of delivery metrics, trends, forecasts and exception reporting

EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum seven (7) years of progressive experience in information technology, including at least four (4) years managing complex IT projects, technical workstreams or enterprise solution implementations.

• Demonstrated experience delivering projects involving enterprise applications, infrastructure or cloud platforms, systems integration, cybersecurity, data migration or other technically complex solution components.

• Experience managing third-party implementation partners, technical deliverables, procurement and contractual obligations, production cutover and transition to operational support.

• Experience working with cross-functional stakeholders and governance forums in environments requiring structured project controls, risk management and executive reporting.

QUALIFICATION:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or a related discipline.

• Professional project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2 or an equivalent recognised certification is preferred; Agile/Scrum certification is an added advantage.

• ITIL Foundation and relevant cloud, cybersecurity or architecture certifications are advantageous where aligned with the organisation’s technology environment.