About the position
Contract role : Project Manager - Special Projects (SaaS)
(Retail Financial Services)
Location: Cape Town (Kuils River)
Contract: 3-6 months
We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead strategic, high-impact, cross-functional initiatives in a retail financial services environment. This role focuses on complex, non-BAU projects that drive growth, operational efficiency, compliance readiness, and digital transformation. You will work across lending, payments, insurance, collections, customer experience, and retail channels.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead end-to-end delivery of strategic projects, ensuring milestones, dependencies, and regulatory requirements are clearly defined and achieved.
- Build structured project plans and manage multiple concurrent workstreams across business, operations, retail, technology, and external partners.
- Drive alignment across diverse teams and engage senior leadership, stakeholders, and external vendors with confidence.
- Facilitate workshops, steering committees, and cross-functional meetings; manage expectations and resolve conflicts.
- Produce executive-ready reporting, dashboards, and project scorecards.
- Maintain risk registers, decision logs, and compliance documentation.
Required Skills & Competencies:
Core Competencies:
- Strong project management skills (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid).
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a high-volume, regulated environment.
- Exceptional organisational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement across technical and non-technical teams.
Technical & Functional Skills:
- Experience in retail financial services: lending, payments, insurance, credit, or collections.
- Familiarity with digital product development, workflow automation, and operational systems.
- Proficiency with Jira, Asana, MS Project, Power BI, and Excel.
Leadership Behaviours:
- High accountability and ownership.
- Calm, structured, and decisive under pressure.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and bring clarity.
- Collaborative, influential, and able to drive alignment across diverse teams.
Experience Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Commerce (BCom), Business Management, Finance, or related field.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent preferred.
- 10-15 years' experience in project management within financial services, retail credit, fintech, or regulated environments.
- Proven track record delivering cross-functional or compliance-heavy projects.
- Experience with digital transformation, operational optimisation, or customer journey redesign.
- Exposure to retail environments (store operations, POS systems, customer support) is advantageous.
Success Measures:
- Delivery of special projects within agreed timelines, scope, and budget.
- Improved operational efficiency, customer experience, or financial performance.
- Adoption and sustainability of new processes, systems, or digital solutions.
- Strong stakeholder satisfaction and cross-functional alignment.
If you meet these requirements and are open to an independent contract opportunity, please mail a copy of your cv
Desired Skills:
- SaaS
- Project Manager
- SDLC
- Retail
Desired Work Experience:
Desired Qualification Level:
