Hybrid Head of Project Management

at Online Education Services (OES)

• Job title: Head of Project Management
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Lead
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Cape Town, South Africa

About the role

• Head of Project Management leading project delivery and overseeing quality control. Focused on enhancing client satisfaction while scaling project capabilities in a global ed-tech environment.

Responsibilities

• **Role Summary:**
• The **Head of Project Management** is accountable for the overall effectiveness, consistency, and performance of project delivery across the organisation. This role leads the Project Management function, and oversees the Quality Control team, ensuring projects are scoped, planned, governed, and delivered in a manner that meets client expectations, protects commercial outcomes, and supports the company’s growth as a fee-for-service ed-tech provider.
• The role focuses on strong execution through clear processes, capable teams, and practical delivery frameworks. The Head of Project Management works with stakeholders to manage risks, resolve client issues, improve processes, and develop the team, balancing delivery discipline with client satisfaction.
• **This role requires a commercially astute leader who can balance client satisfaction with operational discipline, motivate project teams, and scale project delivery capability in a fast-paced, global environment.**
• **Reports to: **Director, Learning and Operations (International)
• **Key Responsibilities **
• Leadership & Stakeholder Management
• **Lead and develop the Project Management function,** ensuring the right team structure, capability, and capacity to meet current and future delivery demands.
• **Set and uphold **clear standards for project management practices, behaviours, and performance to enable consistent, high-quality delivery across all projects.
• **Build and sustain** a high-performing, motivated, and collaborative team culture that supports professional growth, accountability, and alignment with company values.
• **Provide ongoing coaching and performance leadership** to the team, proactively addressing capability gaps and contributing to cross-functional alignment and continuous improvement.
• **Oversee **the Quality Control team, ensuring quality standards are maintained across all projects and continuous improvement initiatives are embedded into delivery practices.
• Project & Client Delivery
• **Oversee the successful delivery of projects** across a global client base, ensuring work is delivered on time, within scope and budget.
• **Ensure **effective project planning, risk management, dependency management, and delivery governance are consistently applied across all engagements.
• **Support the team** in managing client relationships, particularly on complex or high-risk engagements, to drive strong outcomes and repeat business.
• **Own and lead** the resolution of significant project and client escalations, balancing client expectations, delivery constraints, and commercial considerations.
• **Provide clear visibility** into delivery status, risks, and mitigation plans to senior stakeholders and executives.
• Commercial& Operational Performance
• **Demonstrate advanced commercial acumen and strategic thinking** with respect to clients and financial performance of projects
• **Collaborate** with Finance and teams to track project profitability, ensuring projects remain within scope and budget, and that financial targets are met.
• **Optimize resource allocation**, balancing workloads to maximize efficiency and prevent under- or over-utilization.
• **Implement and refine **systems and processes that enhance efficiency, ensure adherence to standards, and promote continuous improvement through innovation and collaboration.
• **What does success look like?**
• A high-performing, motivated, and capable Project Management team that consistently meets delivery expectations and contributes to a positive, collaborative culture.
• Projects are delivered on time, within scope and on budget, to a high-quality standard, supporting both client satisfaction and commercial objectives.
• Proactive management of risks and client issues, with escalations resolved effectively and strategically when they occur.
• Strong client relationships and stakeholder engagement that drive repeat business, growth opportunities, and confidence in the organisation’s delivery capability.

Requirements

• **Experience **
• 7-10+ years in project management leadership roles, ideally within consulting, digital services, or technology-enabled learning environments.
• Proven experience leading and developing project managers or large project teams.
• Demonstrated success in driving operational efficiency, improving team performance, and delivering complex, high-value projects across multiple geographies or clients.
• Strong experience in client engagement, financial management, and project budgeting.
• Experience in ed-tech, digital learning, or technology-driven service delivery is highly desirable.
• **Skills & Competencies**
• Leadership & People Management: Ability to motivate, mentor, and scale teams while maintaining high performance and a positive, collaborative culture.
• Strategic Thinking & Decision-Making: Align delivery operations with business goals and make informed, data-driven decisions.
• Stakeholder & Client Management: Build strong relationships with executives and clients, ensuring high satisfaction and repeat business.
• Project & Resource Management: Expertise in planning, executing, and delivering projects on time, within scope, and on budget, while optimising team capacity and utilisation.
• Financial & Commercial Acumen: Understanding of profitability, budgeting, and strategies that drive sustainable business growth.
• Process Improvement & Innovation: Ability to implement best practices, optimise workflows, and leverage technology (including AI) to improve efficiency and quality.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify risks and implement effective mitigation strategies to ensure successful project outcomes.
• Strategic Thinking & GenAi (Advantageous): Exposure to strategic initiatives GenAI, that support improved delivery outcomes and ways of working.

Benefits

• **About OES **
• OES is a vibrant and values-led organisation, and we are passionate about enhancing lives through education. We work with university partners, training institutes, and professional bodies worldwide, to develop and enable immersive and engaging learning experiences. We empower our teams to be student-focused, innovative, and embrace change with a growth mindset to ensure we achieve our vision of being the world’s most impactful enabler of education. We encourage our people to grow and develop through teamwork and a diverse range of projects, programs and challenging work. We trust our people to deliver, so when you work with OES, you will join a team who are empowered to impact every day.
• **Company Culture & Values **
• We are a people-focused organization with a culture built around collaboration, connection, and working together toward one common goal. Our vibrant, values-led culture is grounded in four core principles that guide everything we do:
• **Passion and Perseverance:** We love what we do (even though it’s not always easy) and take pride in creating transformative learning experiences. We bring a ‘can-do’ attitude to our work, tackling challenges and inspiring others.
• **Teamwork:** We operate as cross-functional teams globally with trust and respect, celebrating success. We have fun while we work and enjoy collaborating with each other and OES partners.
• **Agility and Innovation:** We are innovative, lateral thinkers who use our skills to do things better for our students. We thrive in ambiguity, embrace change and challenge conventional thinking.
• **Integrity:** We do what’s right, and what we say we will do, every time. We value a culture of respectful feedback and believe that respect trumps harmony.
• **These are some of the perks* you can expect when you join the team:**
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Medical allowance
• Commute allowance
• Flexible work for genuine career-life fit
• A healthy and supportive company culture
• Generous annual leave
• Paid maternity and paternity benefits
• Study leave
• Professional development and mentoring
• Culture Club events
• Company funded lunch and drinks every 6 weeks
• **Policy T&Cs apply for certain benefits*