Specialist - Technical Project Lead.Regional Services Enterprise Services Western Cape. at MTN

JOB DESCRIPTION
Mission/ Core purpose of the Job

• The business requires a well experienced and highly professional Technical Project Manager to assist with managing the implementation of Fixed Line Projects within the region. The role of the Technical Project Manager is critical within the region and will work alongside the vendors, other ISPs, customer project managers and planning teams. The role requires a confident, energetic, and experienced individual to represent the TFLS department within the Region. The role is regional specific as the TFLS stakeholders are generally based locally and will be required to be engaged weekly. The role will report directly to the TFLS Regional Manager.

Context (Global influences, environmental / industry demands, organisational mission etc.)

• Brand strength and profitability in the segment in line with the monolithic brand
• Highly competitive market with increasing competition
• Converged ICT, Mobile, Fixed, Voice, Data although this role will be Fixed Line focused
• Rapidly moving technological field
• Ongoing research and knowledge acquisition
• Global and local market dynamics and development
• Client and technology demand and growth trends
• Trends within the industry as being experienced and embraced Internationally and locally
• Established market base and new markets to be explored
• Changes in Clients and organizations needs and behavior
• Shift in area of revenue generation and changing business models

Key Performance Areas: Core, essential responsibilities / outputs of the position (KPA's)

• The performance of the Technical Project Manager (TPL) will be assessed across several KPAs:
•  The Technical Project Manager works within the Technology division and is responsible for enabling EBU and    Wholesale customers through the successful delivery of fixed line projects. The TPL is expected to manage    the regional rollout of multiple projects in accordance with good governance and compliant with MTN    policies, processes and guidelines.
•  EBU and MNS customer projects will involve the implementation of customer solutions through the deployment    of fixed line infrastructure and the provisioning of ICT services. The Technical Project Manager will    support the customer projects by managing the Vendors who are deploying infrastructure within their    designated region. As such, the TPL will be directly responsible for coordinating the overall delivery    schedule across multiple vendors. Performance will be measured by conformance to schedules and guided by    regional rollout targets as well as SLAs and OLAs targets for individual projects.
•  In addition to managing the rollout of Self-Build infrastructure the TPL will also oversee and monitor the    ordering of fixed-line services from 3rd Party ISPs within the region. Orders will need to be placed    timeously and in accordance with project schedules.
•  The TPL role will require the successful candidate to be familiar with technical concepts and should have    the ability to communicate their understanding effectively. This is a desired attribute as the TPL will    need to support the Customer Project Manager by articulating complex technical concepts in a simplistic    way as well as providing general technical guidance.
•  The TPL will need to be well organised and very attentive to detail. A good TPL is expected to KNOW their    projects! The TPL will work alongside internal teams, regional-based vendors, OEMs and contractors to    closely monitor and control rollout.
•  Cost management is a key KPA for the TPL and will need to monitor and account for actual project    costs/spend.    The cost of implementing the overall solution will remain the responsibility of the    customer project manager however the TPL will be required to supply actual and relevant spend information    to the customer project manager.
•  Infrastructure projects are inherently complex with multiple dependencies. As such, the TPL will also need    to manage project related risks within the region. Risk identification and mitigation is therefore also    considered a primary KPA.
•  Stakeholder management and communication excellence are core competencies for the TPL. Multiple    stakeholders will be required to be informed and consulted daily and as such the TPL will need to be    efficient and effective in their communication style. This will be assessed through customer ratings and    scorecards.

Core responsibilities:

•  Project Milestone tracking incl. ownership from RFP (Release from Planning) to COC (Certificate of    Completion)
•  Vendor Management (regional level)
•  SLA & OLA tracking
•  Escalation management
•  Stakeholder management (internal & external)
•  Vendor payments – aligned to process & milestones up to and including Certificate of Acceptance (COA)
•  Process development and enhancement
•  Infrastructure & Service quality
•  Vendor conformance to MTN OHAS Policy
•  Tools & Platform eg., NMS, OSS, etc
•  Project planning – MS Projects
•  Reporting
•  Risk Management

Technical Competencies and minimum desired standard:

•  Network Planning – Sufficient understanding for WBS translation
•  Solution design - Interpretation and understanding
•  OSS understanding – Intermediate to good level
•  Communication skills – Professional standard
•  Financial management – Interpretation and understanding
•  Presentation skills – Professional standard
•  Contract management – Interpretation and understanding
•  Report writing – Professional standard
•  Core systems understanding – Intermediate to good

Planning:

•  Budgets – assisting Regional Manager by suppling necessary budget requirements and forecasts to support    regional rollout
•  Schedule Planning – assisting Customer Project Managers by coordinating and aligning fixed line    infrastructure project delivery
•  Risk Identification and Mitigation – contribute to overall project and business risk management by pro-   actively identifying threats to overall delivery.
•  Stakeholder planning – identify and prepare engagement approach toward the management of key stakeholders
•  Equipment – ensuring sufficient equipment is available and ordered to meet regional BOM requirements
•  Vendor readiness – work closely with head office teams and vendors to ensure vendors are adequately    capacitated and have the necessary system access and training.

Operational:

•  Rollout and SLA status monitoring
•  Daily project status updates with Vendors and Customer Project Managers
•  System updates – complete required actions in WFM
•  Processing and regional signoff of vendor documents
•  Facilitating and approving vendor POs and Invoices within the region
•  Reporting – sharing of regional trackers
•  KPI Dashboard monitoring – checking key YTD KPIs within region
•  Escalation management – aim to resolve all escalations within 48 hours

Report Management:

•  Providing regular updates to the customer project manager
•  Keeping the internal stakeholders appraised on rollout progress
•  Utilization of the provided reports and dashboards
•  Ensure reporting discrepancies are identified and resolved timeously

People and Culture:

•  Lead and influence internal and external resources to develop capable Fixed Line Project and Service    Delivery   teams
•  Drive a culture of high performance, accountability, and consequence management
•  Continuous assessment of delivery capabilities
•  Develop an understanding of delivery across an environment of highly skilled ICT and Converged specialists
•  Act as an ambassador and role model for supported Business Units by living the brand values and vital    behaviours
•  Help to make the TFLS environment the best place to work
•  Improve the employee engagement through the GCA related initiatives
•  Ensure the attraction and retention of talent toward the organisation
•  Help build a professional and differentiated TFLS service delivery team
•  Ensure a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement

Supervisory / Leadership / Managerial Complexity:

•  Performance management and identification of business needs
•  Responsible for contributing to a customer centric culture and shift to legendary service delivery    standards
•  Promote professionalism, loyalty, and commitment to the organization
•  Communicate actively and effectively resolving any potential conflicts that may arise
•  Living the MTN Brand – changing and positively influence employee behaviour
•  Display an understanding of the strategic nature of effective leadership in the organisation.
•  Creation of an ethos of excellence towards the continuous improvement of service delivery
•  Enabling service delivery within a VUCA environment due to external factors such as electrical grid    outages as   well as vandalism of network infrastructure
•  Management of fixed-line delivery activities toward implementation of complex solutions
•  Managing delivery within a matrix structure
•  Management of multiple Vendors

Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies)
Education:

•  Matric Certificate
•  Tertiary degree or diploma in Engineering/IT / related
•  Certification in Prince2 Practitioner and/or PMP (advantageous)

Experience:

•  Minimum of 5 years’ experience in the Telecommunications environment.
•  Experience in Fixed or ICT Project and Service Delivery Management
•  Experience in medium scale multi-site rollouts (> 100 services per month)
•  Experience working in a global/multinational enterprise (understanding emerging markets is advantageous)
•  Worked across diverse cultures and geographies

Training:

•  People Management & Development training 
•  Project Management training 
•  Service Delivery Management training 
•  Telecommunications/ICT Technology training

Head - Big Picture Focus (30)

• Conceptual Thinker  -  Executes tactical plans to achieve strategic requirements
• Problem Solver  -  Has the mental agility to identify and solve relevant business challenges
• Improvement  Driver -  Executes and identifies opportunities for commercial innovation and continuous    improvement

Heart – Emotionally Intelligent (30)

• Culture and Change Champion -  Role models ethical practices by living the MTN values and vital behaviours    for others to follow
• Supportive People Manager -  Is self-aware and supports team capability development through opportunity    creation for realising potential
• Relationship Manager  -  Builds professional networks across teams through collaboration and co-operation

Hands – Results Focused (40)

• Results Achiever - Produces sustainable business results through ethical practices
• Operationally Astute - Sets priorities, plans, organizes and co-ordinates the work of others

Skills / physical competencies:

• Excellent communication skills, both orally and in writing.
• Business acumen and financial literacy
• Rapid learning – ability to adapt to new processes, technologies and systems
• Negotiating skills related to service delivery enablement, SLAs, risk management.  Planning skills

Behavioural qualities:

•  Results-driven
•  Detail oriented
•  Exceptional Stakeholder Management
•  Resourcefulness, ability to multi-task and handle pressure
•  High energy levels and a sense of urgency, driven to succeed
•  Ability to interact at all levels, with a flair for ‘thinking on your feet’
•  Tenacity
•  Works well under pressure
•  Decisive

Authorities

• According to delegated levels of authority

Collaboration (Formal and Informal Relationships)

Responsibility towards:  

• Matrix and line reports – TFLS Regional Manager (direct), Regional SM and GM. TFLS HOD (indirect) 
• Key customers – Customer Project Management, TCOE Management, BRC Managers, MNS AMs 
• Key suppliers – Infrastructure Vendors, 3rd party SPs, OEMs, MTNSA Property, ILO Companies, Regional    Implementation, Managed Services,
• Other Relations – other operators, ISPs, regional government organisations, external parties incl.    Property Developers, Landlords, Malls, Office parks, Residential estates, etc.
• Direct Reports: none

QUALIFICATIONS
Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies)
Education:

•  Matric Certificate
•  Tertiary degree or diploma in Engineering/IT / related
•  Certification in Prince2 Practitioner and/or PMP (advantageous)