Project Manager
ALUABOUT ALU
ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now. Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.
We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities.
HOW WE WORK
The ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.
The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.
ABOUT THE ROLE
ALU runs an ambitious portfolio of strategic and operational projects — from an institution-wide work management rollout to admissions redesign and accreditation delivery. The PMO exists to make sure that portfolio actually delivers: on scope, on time, with risks surfaced early and decisions closed, not carried.
Your mission is to run projects across this portfolio to a professional standard and to hold delivery discipline across the institution — independently. You will chase the status that hasn't been reported, challenge the request that bypassed the process, and keep multiple workstreams moving at once without letting anything drop. The PMO must be able to track any project honestly, including those run by the people you work for. If you need a comfortable room, this is not the right role for you.
Key responsibilities
Project delivery
- Manage multiple concurrent projects end-to-end: scoping, planning, milestones, dependencies, risks, and closure.
- Keep the strategic project portfolio status accurate and current in Asana, with high-priority items flagged for Senior Leadership visibility by the 10th–12th of every month.
- Run project governance to standard: RAID logs, decision logs, action tracking, and structured escalation when delivery stalls.
Delivery discipline & accountability
- Chase down statuses, data points, and overdue actions across all levels of the organisation — directors and VPs included — and do it without getting frazzled.
- Enforce intake discipline: work enters the PMO through the request process, not through side doors. Hold that line.
- Report delivery performance honestly, including on projects owned within the PMO and Governance teams.
Tooling & automation
- Build and maintain workflows and automations in Asana (rules, forms, templates, integrations) that reduce manual chasing.
- Proactively identify tools — free before paid — that improve scheduling, follow-up and communication, and bring them as proposals.
Communication & coaching
- Communicate project status clearly and simply, in writing and in rooms with directors and VPs.
- Support and develop the PMO Senior Associate through structured delegation and standards.
Ensure the safety and well-being of all young persons and vulnerable adults with whom we deal, by adhering to ALU’s comprehensive safeguarding policy, maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to any violations of safeguarding standards
Skills & competencies
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Multi-project delivery |
Juggles several projects at once; nothing falls. Prioritises deliberately, not reactively. |
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Boldness with tact |
Comfortable chasing anyone at any level; challenges non-compliant requests directly; stays professional doing it. |
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Calm under pressure |
Reporting weeks, board cycles and escalations do not change the person's temperament or the quality of their communication. |
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Tools & automation fluency |
Strong on Asana (or equivalent: ClickUp, Monday, Jira) including automation; competent across Google Workspace including Sheets; hands-on with AI tools; finds and evaluates new tools independently. |
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Clear, simple communication |
Writes and speaks plainly. Status updates a Senior Leader can absorb in one read; no jargon walls. |
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Technical PM grounding |
Knows the full project lifecycle — methodologies, risk management, stakeholder mapping — from real delivery, not just theory. |
Experience & requirements
- 5+ years of project management experience with demonstrated application of technical PM expertise on real delivery — the full lifecycle, more than once, with evidence.
- Track record of managing multiple concurrent projects with cross-functional stakeholders up to senior leadership level.
- Hands-on experience configuring and automating a work management platform (Asana strongly preferred).
- PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent certification is an asset — demonstrated field application matters more than the certificate.
- Sector experience in education is not required.
Application requirements
Alongside a CV and cover letter, applicants must submit a response to the following (video, max 3 minutes, or written, max 500 words):
“Describe a project where delivery stalled because people weren't doing what they had committed to. What exactly did you do to get it moving, what tools or mechanisms did you put in place so it didn't stall again, and what was the outcome?”
Applications without this response will not be screened.