Project Manager

Dec 7, 2023

Responsibilities
The Project Manager will deliver the development and pre-financial close works for an anaerobic digestion plant to generate electricity for export on the national grid, using organic waste as a feedstock, including:

  • Draft, control, and deliver a project programme and project budget

  • Oversee technical, commercial, and E&S workstreams and engage with team members, service providers, contractors, and stakeholders to deliver various workstreams in the programme and budget

  • Prepare regular reporting for management and present this as required

  • Coordinate partner working groups for commercial, technical, and E&S workstreams
  • Support the BEH Feedstock Manager to secure the suitable quantities and types of feedstock for the plant, as well as assess the opportunities and risks of the plant digestate
  • Lead the appointment of service providers for development works, including site studies, feedstock assessments, technical advisory and engineering.
  • Engage with landowners and wayleave owners for securitisation of the plant location, including overseeing access and logistics studies
  • Engage with Eskom for necessary approvals, applications, budget quote negotiation, and
  • agreement for export of power from the plant
  • Together with the HSSE Manager, prioritise HSSE within the project culture and integrate within all development activities
  • Coordinate and oversee tenders for the construction and operation works, including engagement with successful bidders for closing of contracts and agreements, as well as all front-end engineering design (FEED) necessary to be completed prior to financial close
  • Oversee and participate in all permitting and licensing required for the construction and operation for the plant.
  • All other project management and development tasks as may be assigned by the COO and Project Executive

Management

  • Develop the project charter with the project sponsor;
  • Determine project goals and priorities;
  • Advise on the selection of project team members;
  • Represent the client’s or organisation’s interests;
  • Organise the various professional people working on a project;
  • Ensure that all project related IT systems and tools used to keep track of people and progress is effective;
  • Monitor sub-contractors to ensure guidelines are maintained;
  • Manage and communicate a clear vision of the project’s objectives and motivate the project team to achieve them.
  • Create a project environment that enables peak performance by team members;
  • Manage relationships with project stakeholders, including internal and external clients and vendors.

  • Keep the stakeholders informed of progress and issues to manage expectations on all project requirements and deliverables;

  • Involve functional expertise and specialist staff design reviews and key decisions;

  • Resolve conflict and interface problems within the project;
  • Manage the financial aspects of the project: budgeting, estimate to actual variance, capital project management, etc.;

  • Liaise with the project client and co-ordinate any input from operational staff towards project decisions such as;

  • Scope, schedule, cost, resource, and quality change requisitions

  • Technical queries
  • Design reviews
  • Ensure that the project’s business case is continuously reviewed during the project execution and handover phases;
  • During the project execution, liaise with the project steering committee on project business case threats;
  • Liaise with an assurance team within the Project Support Office (PSO);
  • Effectively co-ordinate the activities of the team to meet project milestones;
  • Adhere to safety regulations, standards, procedures and practices and report non-compliance;
  • Participate in regular safety meetings and make recommendations to ensure overall safety;
  • Project facilitation to ensure alignment amongst stakeholders;
  • Ensure that lessons learned are captured by the project team;
  • Perform regular inspections in the work area and report hazards to ensure environment is safety and hazard free.
  • Recommend remedial action where necessary.

Administration

  • Accept the role of the project manager as designated by the project sponsor;
  • Gather stakeholder input and rank the top project risks in terms of total impact;
  • Contribute to the lessons learned database;
  • Manage change to preserve the business plan to the original estimate commitments.
  • Initiate a review if objectives must change.

Technical

  • Co-create a project charter with the team, including the definition of completion criteria;
  • Organise the work into manageable activity clusters (phases) and determine an effective approach to completing the work;
  • With an estimator, compile a complete and accurate estimate of a project. Use reserves appropriately;
  • With the project planner(s), prepare a project plan and schedule and obtain management approval;
  • Analyse risk, establish contingency plans and identify trigger events and responsibility for initiating
  • mitigating action;
  • Work with a planner/cost controller in tracking and reporting on progress to plan, cost and schedule reporting, and change control;
  • Analyse the actual performance against the plan and make adjustments consistent with plan objectives;
  • Establish and publish clear priorities amongst the project activities;
  • Provide input/justification for project costs and budget impact;

  • Represent the project at meetings with external consultants and departmental and senior management, in order to assure that priorities are communicated and understood, and that progress delays / issues are reported;

  • Determine what constitutes successful closure for all parties. Gain acceptance and sign-off by all parties when project closure is attained;

  • Identify and recommend initiatives that increases project success rates;
  • Manage vendor relations and procurement related to the project(s).

Qualifications & education of the Project Manager

  • Relevant degree in BSc Engineering or similar NQF-level technical qualification
  • Project Management Professional (or equivalent)
  • Has in-depth knowledge and skill in the energy sector and built environment.

Experience & aptitude

  • At least 8 to 10 years’ experience of managing infrastructure projects of minimum budget of circa R300 million each through concept, feasibility and execution phases;
  • Experience as a project manager within an Owner’s Team as well as within an EPCM and/or EPC service provider is an added advantage;
  • Approaches a problem by using a logical, systematic and sequential approach;
  • Anticipates the implications and consequences of situations and takes appropriate action in preparation for possible contingencies;
  • Finds effective solutions by taking a holistic, abstract or theoretical perspective;
  • Analyses the competitive position using a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis, if required;
  • Identifies what needs to be done and addresses it before being asked to or required by the circumstances;
  • Focuses on the desired end result of one’s own or one’s unit’s work.
  • Sets challenging goals, focuses effort on the goals and meets or exceeds them;
  • Ensures that one’s own and other’s work (within the project team) and information are complete and accurate.

  • Thorough preparation for meetings and presentations. Follows up with others to ensure that agreements and commitments have been fulfilled;

  • Willingness to make difficult decisions in a timely manner;

  • Ability to perform with insight, acuteness, and intelligence in the areas of commerce and / or industry.
  • High EQ and the ability to effectively to engage and communicate with project stakeholders.

Personal Characteristics

  • Has faith in one’s own ideas and ability to be successful.
  • A willingness to take an independent position in the face of opposition;
  • Ability to keep functioning effectively when under pressure and maintains self-control in the face of hostility or provocation;
  • Demonstrates concern that one be perceived as responsible, reliable and trustworthy;
  • Openness to different and new ways of doing things.
  • Willingness to modify one’s preferred way of doing things.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory.

Desired Skills:

  • Managing Project Budgets
  • Project plan

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