Project Manager (ICT PMO)
Prescient · Cape Town, Western Cape
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Start free — we apply for you →Job Description All applications include the following mandatory supporting documents:
- CV highlighting project delivery experience within fund services, asset management, or financial services ICT, with measurable outcomes.
- One-page project summary describing a complex or high-stakes project you led — including scope, methodology applied, key challenges encountered, and quantifiable results achieved.
Duties and responsibilities
- Project Delivery & Lifecycle Management - Own and drive full project lifecycle from initiation and planning through execution, go-live, and closure across technical, operational and regulatory programmes.
- Technical Project Coordination & SDLC Oversight - Manage software procurement, vendor implementations, system integrations, and in-house development projects; coordinate Business Analysts, Developers/Engineers, and System Architects through structured SDLC delivery.
- Stakeholder Management & Governance - Manage relationships across business operations, ICT/PMO leadership, and external vendors; facilitate steering committees, workshops, and regular project meetings.
- Scope & RAID Management - Manage scope change rigorously, and own RAID Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies logs with proactive mitigation and escalation.
- Vendor & Third-Party Management - Coordinate external software vendors, system integrators, and service providers; hold third parties accountable to contractual deliverables, SLAs, and quality standards.
- BAU Enhancement & Incident Oversight - Manage structured intake and prioritisation of BAU enhancement requests and significant incidents escalated from operations teams.
- Regulatory & Compliance Programme Execution - Lead delivery of regulatory change projects, working closely with Compliance, Legal, and ICT teams to ensure obligations are met within prescribed timelines.
- PMO Reporting & Governance - Produce accurate and timely project status reports, executive dashboards, and portfolio-level MI for the Head of PMO, CTO and CIO.
- Risk, Issue & Dependency Management - Identify and actively manage project and cross-project risks, flagging interdependencies across the ICT portfolio in a structured and timely manner.
- Continuous Improvement & Lessons Learned - Embed structured lessons-learned processes at project closure; contribute to the ongoing development of PMO standards, templates and delivery practices.
Required experience
- 8+ years' experience as a Project Manager within ICT supporting fund services, asset management, wealth management, or broader financial services operations in a technical capacity.
- Demonstrable track record of delivering technology-driven, operational and regulatory projects through full lifecycle - initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure.
- Practical, working understanding of fund services processes including fund accounting, transfer agency, settlements, custody, corporate actions, NAV calculation and fee billing.
- Experience managing SDLC projects - software procurement and selection, vendor implementations, system integrations, application development and post-implementation support transitions.
- Sufficient technical literacy to coordinate engineering teams, engage credibly with System Architects, review integration specifications, and proactively identify and manage technical risk; familiarity with APIs, middleware and ETL pipelines is advantageous.
- Solid experience managing projects, resource planning across multidisciplinary teams and structured RAID Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies management.
- Proven ability to produce high-quality project governance artefacts: project and delivery plans, RAID logs, status reports, change requests, steering committee packs and lessons-learned documentation.
- Experience working within regulated financial services environments; hands-on exposure to regulatory change programmes is an advantage.
- Proven track record engaging and managing stakeholders at all levels, including operational and technical teams as well as external vendors.
- Experience working alongside Business Analysts, Developers/Engineers, and System Architects within a structured ICT function or PMO.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.
- Formal project management certification: PRINCE2 Practitioner or PMP, and Agile/Scrum — a minimum of one active certification is required; a combination of methodologies is preferred.
Key competencies
- Operational Expertise - Solid, credible understanding of fund administration operations and the domain systems that support them; able to engage meaningfully with business operations teams on process, workflow impact and system dependencies.
- Technical Fluency - Sufficient understanding of ICT infrastructure, application development, SDLC, and integration concepts to manage technical projects, coordinate engineering resources and identify risk without requiring close direction.
- Analytical - Strong structured thinking and root-cause problem-solving; data-driven approach to decision-making; ability to cut through ambiguity, prioritise competing demands and drive evidence-based recommendations under pressure.
- AI Literacy - Uses AI tools to streamline personal workflow and day-to-day tasks, and to support project delivery reporting, documentation, risk analysis; applies critical judgement to AI outputs rather than accepting them at face value.
- Communication - Clear, concise written and verbal communication across technical and non-technical audiences; capable of producing executive-level reporting and steering committee packs and facilitating cross-functional workshops effectively.
- Stakeholder Management & Persuasion - Skilled at building trust and relationships across business, ICT, and vendor ecosystems; persuasive and confident in driving alignment across competing priorities and influencing outcomes without direct authority.
- Delivery-Oriented - Pragmatic, driven, and unwaveringly focused on measurable outcomes; comfortable managing complexity, removing blockers and holding teams accountable while maintaining productive working relationships.
- Self-Sufficient & Proactive - Takes initiative, anticipates issues before they escalate, and manages workload autonomously; exercises sound judgement and escalates appropriately without requiring hand-holding or close direction.
- Structured & Disciplined - Rigorous approach to planning, documentation, RAID management and governance; comfortable operating within regulated, audit-conscious environments and maintaining standards under delivery pressure.
- Team Player - Collaborative and constructive; contributes positively to a small, high-performing PMO and the broader ICT team culture; willing to roll up sleeves and support colleagues when the situation demands it.
Why this role
- This is a compelling opportunity for an experienced project manager to join a dynamic and growing PMO/ICT team at Prescient Fund Services during a period of significant organisational expansion.