Strategic Enablement & Vendor Manager

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

Experience, knowledge & skills required

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent (NQF Level 7 qualification an added advantage)
• 8-10 years’ relevant experience
• Enterprise-level PMO environment experience, with exposure to scaling and federated delivery models.
• Strong track record in initiative shaping, process design, workflow mapping, and operationalisation.
• Contract negotiation experience
• End-to-end contract management experience
• Compliance / regulatory experience an advantage
• Ability to conduct objective assurance reviews and influence adoption across diverse business units.

To act as support to the Head of EPMO, providing leadership support, operational capacity, and independent strategic project reviews. The role bridges strategy and execution by shaping new initiatives, embedding delivery standards, drive first line quality reviews in strategic projects, and supporting under-resourced areas. This function is central to scaling the EPMO model, driving adoption, and strengthening enterprise-wide delivery confidence. Cultivate and maintain relationships with vendors and provide performance metrics across vendors and contractors for monthly reporting.

Vendor Management

• Monitor vendor performance from financial and operational perspectives, including monthly reporting dashboards for IT management committees.
• Maintain a vendor database with defined criteria and characteristics to enable rapid vendor assessment for new technology requirements.
• Facilitate and sustain strategic partnerships with key vendors.
• Oversee vendor management activities across IT owners to drive cost savings, improve vendor selection, negotiate stronger contracts, and reduce vendor-related risks.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise procurement standards and processes.
• Collaborate with the contract management team to optimise contractor costs and resource allocation.

Initiative Shaping & Incubation

• Serve as a point of engagement for new initiatives not yet formalised as projects.
• Guide business units through business case development, options analysis, and readiness assessments.
• Ensure initiatives are aligned with enterprise strategy and portfolio priorities before entry into the delivery pipeline.

Delivery Quality Management

• Conduct independent first-line health checks and reviews of high-risk or strategic initiatives (without duplicating Group Internal Audit functions).
• Provide objective feedback on delivery effectiveness, surfacing risks early.
• Ensure appropriate change management is applied within strategic projects to support business continuity, stakeholder involvement, and adoption.

Scaling & Maturity of the EPMO Value Proposition

• Design and formalise enterprise-level workflows and processes to drive consistency, scalability, and efficiency.
• Embed governance, reporting, and quality standards into supported initiatives.
• Capture and embed lessons learned into future delivery cycles.
• Act as a change agent to uplift maturity across federated units while respecting local contexts.

Adoption & Cross-Organisational Support

• Partner with business areas to embed EPMO frameworks and enable consistent adoption of standards.
• Provide additional capacity and expertise to under-resourced functions to advance key initiatives.
• Track adoption and performance of initiatives using both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Strategic Leadership & Support

• Act as support to the Head of EPMO, ensuring effective representation in forums, continuity, and divisional reporting.
• Partner with executives to align portfolio delivery with enterprise strategy and priorities.
• Drive expansion of EPMO practices beyond IT into the broader organisational ecosystem.

Governance & Reporting

• Support portfolio-level governance structures and ensure accurate, transparent reporting to executives, boards, and governance committees.

Skills

Adaptability, Agile Project Management, Backlog Management, Calendar Coordination, Change Management, Event Management, Executing Plans, Global Procurement, Multitasking, Occupational Safety and Health, Oral Communications, Policies & Procedures, Project Budget Management, Project Delivery Management, Resource Scheduling

Competencies

Business InsightCommunicates EffectivelyDrives ResultsEnsures AccountabilityFinancial AcumenManages ComplexityPersuadesPlans and Aligns

Education

NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

01 October 2025 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

The Old Mutual Story!