ECD Management Information Systems Project Manager: Ilifa

ECD Management Information Systems Project Manager: Ilifa

Ilifa Labantwana is committed to building a more prosperous and equitable South Africa by ensuring that every child has access to quality early childhood development. We use advocacy, evidence, and collaboration alongside our deep understanding of government systems to grow and nurture the early childhood development (ECD) ecosystem so that all children can reach their full potential and communities can thrive

Ilifa Labantwana seeks to attract a Project Manager who will be responsible for the planning, development, implementation and management of an Early Childhood Development Management Information System (ECD-MIS) in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

Reporting to the Director of Knowledge, Information and Data Solutions, the ideal candidate is passionate about technology and dedicated to service provisioning, value delivery and customer satisfaction. The PM would work both collaboratively and independently and display initiative in a complex public sector environment where accomplishments contribute directly to the success of Ilifa and DBE’s goals to improve the access to quality ECD services. The role is a challenging and rewarding one – to develop the MIS solution that the national and provincial DBE’s will use to routinely track and support the ±50,000 ECD service providers across the country.

Appointment to this position will require:

• At least an NQF Level 6 qualification in Information Systems, IT Management, Business Studies, or a related field;
• At least 6 years of relevant IT Project Management experience in an enterprise (large/complex) IT environment;
• At least 6 years’ experience in managing project teams / virtual teams of at least 5 people;
• A proven track record of effectively managing a portfolio of projects consisting of database development, systems roll-out and implementation, and relevant change-management processes (across the project lifecycle from initiation through to closure).
• Strong proficiency in Project Management disciplines such as Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Prince2 and both the Agile (SAFE) and Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
• A proven track record of managing third party technology partners / service providers;
• A proven track record of managing the roll-out of complex database software solutions, with deep understanding of change-management and capacity building to ensure successful utilisation of the solution;
• Solid knowledge of the ICT industry;
• A track record of effective leadership;
• Strong planning, organizing, coordinating and work management skills;
• Strong elicitation, facilitation and communication skills;
• Strong competence in project management software, project reporting and organizational change management;
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with diverse stakeholder groups (e.g. from executive management through to technical staff);
• Ability to work effectively within project governance structures and produce appropriate project artefacts;
• Business acumen and proven experience with project financial management and budgets;
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Energy, drive and enthusiasm.

The following would be to your advantage:

• A post-graduate diploma or formal certification in project management (at practitioner level);
• Familiarity with the general business processes within relevant public-sector departments, e.g. Early Childhood, Basic Education, Health, or Higher Education sectors
• Ability to mentor and train colleagues and contribute toward continual improvement;
• Experience with directly working with donors/funders beneficial
• Experience working with the public sector beneficial

Responsibilities:

• Develop project charters and plans that clearly define project goals, planned benefits, scope, time frames; funding requirements, staffing / resource requirements; risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints.
• Execute and direct project tasks to meet deliverables within agreed timelines.
• Effective monitoring and evaluation of project deliverables against planned quality, business, functional and technical requirements, and timeous interventions to rectify unacceptable deviations
• Have a deep understanding of the project’s production requirements (including the technologies) and work with the internal and/or external teams, and the Senior Business Analyst to contract service providers, schedule work, define production requirements and track progress against timelines and budget.
• Manage project resources including coordinating recruitment and assignment of project resources, producing and managing project budgets, reports and cashflow forecasts.
• Stakeholder management and engagement with all project stakeholders, including the activities and outputs of external, third-party resources, change management initiatives and plans, etc.
• In collaboration with counterparts at the DBE, ensure governance structures are effective and ensure the smooth implementation of project deliverables
• Work with project partners to ensure implementation and uptake of the technology solution across all provinces through the management of testing, piloting and training cycles.
• Lead on reporting to donors and government counterparts

Role Details:

• Level: Senior Manager
• Duration: 2-year contract; full time position;
• Location: Flexible - Pretoria, Johannesburg or Cape Town

Integration Resourcing will be managing the response to this advert. Please would you forward a CV and covering letter to -resourcing.co.za