The Ugandan Jobline

Job Title:    Project Management Lead

Organisation: Tugende

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Head of Business Support

Application Opens:  4th March 2024

Application Closes:  22nd March 2024

Job Grade: L4

 

About Tugende:

Tugende uses asset finance, technology, and a customer-centric model to help informal sector entrepreneurs dramatically increase their economic trajectory. Tugende’s core asset finance packages include medical and life insurance, training, safety equipment, and digital credit profiles in addition to affordable asset financing for SMEs. By helping clients grow economically and build digital track records of responsibility, we are creating a long-term ecosystem for MSMEs to grow and thrive.

 

Tugende is tackling the credit gap for small businesses in Africa by enabling informal entrepreneurs to 1) own income‑generating assets, 2) build a verifiable digital credit profile, and 3) earn future growth opportunities through the Tugende digital platform. This platform includes discounts, smartphones, e‑commerce opportunities, and on‑demand credit lines. Tugende has financed 70,000+ clients and has hundreds of employees serving clients across 23 branches in Uganda and 10 in Kenya.

 

Job Summary:   The Project Management Lead is an experienced project management professional, who is responsible for managing a small team of Project Management Officers and a selected number of special projects in Tugende. (S)he ensures that all projects under the Project Management Department are managed effectively from project definition and set-up, project planning (backtiming), project team selection and management, (financial) data analysis, internal collaboration with the respective department(s), external stakeholder management, ownership transfer to the respective department/team, defining and delivery upon KPIs, budgeting and financial management.

 

Projects managed under the Project Management Department are mainly focused on internal process improvement (LEAN) projects or new business development projects.

The Project Management Lead is responsible for monitoring the Project Management Officers team and reports on project progress to both the Head of Business Support as well as to the Senior Management Team (SMT). (S)he is responsible for ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within the scope of the budget allocated to each project, and that the set KPIs are attained.

 

The Project Management Lead reports directly to the Head of Business Support.

The successful candidate will exemplify and embrace Tugende’s Core Values of: Integrity, Empathy, Solutions Oriented, Work as a Team and Always Growing

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team management

• Align project management department objectives with the organisation’s strategy
• Manage Tugende’s project portfolio, prioritising internal process improvements, new business development, and partnerships projects based on strategic objectives and highest potential impact
• Provide strong leadership to the Project Management Team by effectively prioritising and allocating resources within the PM department, and ensure the project management officers can complete agreed KPIs within agreed timelines and budget
• Supporting and training project management officers on project management practices, proper planning, budgeting and stakeholder management, ensuring alignment with project management best practices and PMP certification standards, and integration of LEAN principles into project management processes.
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the project management department
• Document, implement and improve organisational project management department policies, procedures, and tools
• Develop and manage the project management department budget, ensuring cost-effective use of resources

Stakeholder Management

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with project sponsors and relevant stakeholders – both internal department heads and external partners – and ensure that each department/partner has what it needs to complete a project on time and within budget
• Facilitate project meetings and workshops and ensure that action items are documented and implemented in a structured way
• Coordinate project activities and identify project progress and risks and communicate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the project objectives are met

Project Management and Planning

• Support Project Management Team and Department Heads with defining issues, root causes, prioritising and developing projects
• Data analysis (both financial and non-financial), to make sure we tackle the right issue, to set goals and monitor progress on project KPIs
• Develop and manage the project’s budgets, risks, and resource allocation of assigned projects, monitor spending and ensure 100% accountability of all funds
• Oversee the development of projects and ensure that team members are carrying out their tasks efficiently and timely
• Ensure that each project comes with a roll out to cause a positive change

 Project Management Monitoring & Reporting

• Proactively identify problems and process inefficiencies to solve in the organisation and make recommendations to the supervisor on possible solutions
• Manage and track quarterly priority goals for the project portfolio
• Provide regular project (performance) status reports and budget management updates to senior management on project status and key performance indicators.
• Document the project’s creation, development, and execution (incl. project plan, SOP, status reports and deliverables) as well as the project’s scope, budget, justification, and evaluation (learnings) according to Project Management guidelines and templates
• Set up and monitoring project impact measurement framework ensure they are meeting company standards, adhere to budgets, meet deadlines and to track effectiveness of projects over time

New Business Development

• Collaborate with the marketing/customer insights department to conduct desk and in-field market research – including competition analysis – for new high-potential products and services aligning with the company’s priority goals, and generate a substantial pipeline for new products and services in high-potential areas/locations
• Develop cross departmental proposals to pilot new or improved products and services.
• Implement new product pilots in close cooperation with branches, including support on (field) vetting for potential clients, managing the credit and collection process for new products and services
• Cooperate with the credit department to implement the credit process for new products, establish accurate credit analyses, and recommend credit approvals
• Cooperate with procurement department to assess and recommend potential product suppliers, service providers and partners for products
• For products that will be mainstreamed i.e. post-pilot phase, develop new training materials and manage new product training with Project Management Officers for responsible (branch operations) staff, provide periodic evaluation, recommend improvement areas, and support implementation of recommendations

 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Administration, Project Management or related field
• A Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification or experience with process improvement (LEAN) is advantageous
• Proven work experience as a senior project manager or similar role for at least 5 years
• A minimum of three years’ experience in a supervisory position, good leadership and coaching skills
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills
• A seasoned project manager, with excellent organisational and planning skills
• Strong data analytical and financial skills
• Strong attention to details and technicalities
• Good written and verbal communication (and presentation) skills
• A proactive self-starter who can work independently
• Multi-tasker, who is practical, solution and target oriented
• Team player with good collaboration, active listening, and problem-solving skills

 

What will you gain?

• Career Trajectory: This is a role with potential growth and exposure to the different functions within business support and a person in this role could be promoted to Senior Project Manager, Head of Business Support, Business Support Manager etc
• Career Development: You will constantly develop skills and further your career while working with Tugende by understanding the business operations, staying abreast of innovations and financial services to better meet customer needs, participating with marketing initiatives and learning how to ride a motorcycle!
• Hours and compensation: This position is for a full-time employee who can take on additional responsibilities as new tasks and projects come up.
• Meaningful Work: Tugende’s work gives entrepreneurs the tools to earn a living for themselves and their families. We are changing the face of the boda- industry in East Africa, and proving that young entrepreneurs with little education can take on the responsibility of financing a significant asset and earning a livable wage. Help be part of this movement!
• Great Team: Tugende has a smart, fun, and growing team of hundreds Employees in Kenya and Uganda. We take our work seriously but love to joke and have fun.

 

More About Tugende:

Tugende means “let’s go” in Luganda and what you see when you get on the back of a motorcycle-taxi and it signifies the company’s mission. Tugende has been recognized as a 2012 Unreasonable Fellow, 2014 Echoing Green Global Fellow, 2016 GSBI Fellow, and received the MIT Zambezi prize in 2015 as one of the top 3 financial inclusion start-ups in Africa. We have appeared in The Guardian, BBC, Economist, and 2021 Inclusive Fintech50! Award Winner, African Banker 2022 Financial Inclusion Award, the lend a hand blog, and Reuters video. Beyond geographic growth, Tugende’s future includes multiple asset finance products and tools to help Tugende reach millions of clients across Africa without losing high-touch personal support.

 

How to Apply:

All interested candidates who meet the above requirements should follow the link below  and apply.

 

Click Here

 

Deadline: 22^nd March 2024

 

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