Director of Project Management at Arifu

We are looking to hire an experienced Director of Project Management to provide leadership in executing a growing portfolio of projects with multinational clients as we place a smart personal learning assistant in everyone’s hands across Africa and globally. This is a full-time position with equity participation based at Arifu’s headquarters in Nairobi.

Job Description:

The Director of Project Management will report directly to the COO. Working closely with the entire team, the Director of Project Management will be responsible for, but not limited to:

• Leading the entire project management function for Arifu and ensuring all projects are well-executed and on-time to strong learning outcomes for our learners and high satisfaction for institutional clients;
• Managing, hiring, and training all project managers and overseeing their development, delivery, and professional growth;
• Directly managing Arifu’s larger and more complex projects with multinational clients as our partnerships expand to reach millions of people across multiple countries;
• Providing strategic advice, perspective, and decision support on all aspects of company growth as a member of the extended leadership team;
• Tracking project analytics and conducting analysis to generate recommendations for improving client services and project implementation in terms of profit margins, quality, and timeliness;
• Completing and improving on all project management systems, processes, and tools for effective project implementation and delivery of products and services for our clients;
• Developing company-wide project management training materials that increase the project management capacity of all business functions and teams in collaboration with the Talent team;
• Developing, tracking, and updating workflows, workplans, and individual scorecards for the PM team;
• Providing day-to-day support to project teams and partners, ensuring compliance with partnership contracts as well as applicable regulations;
• Ensuring and maintaining effective communication both internally and with partners, including project status updates, progress reports, and risk tracking;
• Contributing to establishing company-wide information systems and database management, as well as all business function documentation and training;
• Maintaining project budgets, budget to actual (BTA) reports, and mapping them to project timelines to anticipate cash flow need;
• Support the Finance and Accounting Team in conducting financial analysis on projects and products to manage and understand cost of delivery, margins on each project and product, financial projections, and where to optimize efforts and leverage resources;
• Establish strong relationships with clients and partners and identify opportunities for new business growth that the Business Development team can pursue.

Qualifications:

A commitment to excellence and a desire to have real impact are essential qualities for everyone on the Arifu team. For this role, we’re also looking for someone with the following:

• Master-level degree in Business Administration or related category of study;
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in project management with at least 3 of those years actively managing teams;
• Recognised formal project management qualification, e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, etc.
• Work experience in Kenya is essential; work experience in other countries across Africa is preferred;
• Demonstrated project management results related to cost, quality, and timeliness of implementation;
• Ability to cope with uncertainty, change, and pressure in a low-resource, high-growth environment;
• Technical skills in software engineering and mobile application development will be an advantage;
• Fluency in English required; fliency in Swahili preferred.
• Ability to live and work full-time in Nairobi, Kenya.

Compensation and Benefits:

We aspire to be competitive on compensation although, as an early-stage social enterprise, many on the team work below market rate. To make up for that, staff are able to participate in the Arifu employee share program. We also offer a comprehensive health insurance package and will cover the cost of a work permit for foreign staff. Other benefits include monthly airtime allowance, extra leave, a stocked kitchen, and plenty of ping-pong and foosball.