Project Manager – Enterprise Development Programme

Purpose of the role

The Project Manager owns end-to-end delivery of the programme: from recruiting, onboarding and training drivers to managing the programme partners.

This is an oversight role: fleet, vehicle and lease-to-own operations are run by delivery partners, and the Project Manager's fleet and logistics background is used to hold them to plan. The successful candidate will build the delivery team, systems and controls needed to scale the programme nationally, on time and within budget.

Key responsibilities

Programme planning and delivery

• Develop and own the national rollout plan, including phasing by province, milestones, budget and resourcing.
• Track progress against targets and report weekly to the COO and monthly to programme stakeholders and funders.
• Identify, log and manage risks and issues, escalating where needed.

Driver recruitment, onboarding, support and training

• Manage the pipeline for sourcing, screening and onboarding unemployed participants.
• Ensure drivers meet regulatory requirements, including PrDP, operating licences and vetting.
• Oversee driver training, performance monitoring and ongoing support to maximise earnings and retention.

Stakeholder and partnership management

• Act as GrowthArch's day-to-day lead with partners and government stakeholders, holding delivery partners to agreed service levels.
• Represent the programme in meetings, site visits and reporting to funders.

Team leadership and compliance

• Recruit, lead and develop regional coordinators and support staff.
• Ensure compliance with the National Land Transport Act, POPIA, labour legislation and funder requirements.
• Maintain accurate records and evidence for audits and impact reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or National Diploma in Logistics, Transport Management, Project Management, Business Management or a related field.
• A project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent) is strongly advantageous.
• Valid South African driver's licence (Code B or higher) and willingness to travel nationally.

Experience

• At least 5 years of project or programme management experience, including delivery of multi-site or national projects.
• At least 3 years of fleet management or logistics experience, ideally managing 100+ vehicles.
• Working knowledge of fleet tracking and telematics reporting, enough to interpret partner data and challenge performance.
• Experience managing budgets, suppliers and third-party service providers.

Advantageous

• Experience in e-hailing, taxi, car rental, vehicle finance or asset-based lending.
• Experience on enterprise development, job creation or socio-economic development programmes.
• Working knowledge of the National Land Transport Act and operating licence processes.
• Proficiency in isiZulu or another South African language in addition to English.

Skills and competencies

• Strong planning and execution skills, with the ability to scale operations quickly.
• Sound commercial and financial acumen, including budget control and cost-per-unit thinking.
• Data-driven: comfortable with dashboards, KPIs and advanced Excel or BI tools.
• Confident stakeholder manager who can engage corporate partners, funders and communities.
• Hands-on leader who builds and motivates distributed teams.
• Practical problem-solver who stays calm under pressure and resolves operational issues fast.
• High integrity and attention to detail, especially with funder compliance.
• Genuine commitment to job creation and economic inclusion.