Vacant Position – Project Manager Level 1

Contract type: Permanent
Job Level: Skilled / Middle Management
Work Location: Cape Town, Western Cape
Closing Date: 31 August 2026

The National Research Foundation (NRF) supports and promotes research and human capital development through funding, the provision of National Research Facilities and science outreach platforms and programmes to the broader community in all fields of science and technology, including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities.

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) implements South Africa’s strategic investments in radio astronomy, including the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, which covers a broad range of engineering and scientific activities. SARAO is a National Facility of the National Research Foundation, and incorporates radio astronomy and space geodesy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng, the Africa Radio Astronomy Programme across nine African countries, as well as associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours.

This role is responsible for leading and facilitating Agile project and programme delivery services within SARAO’s Engineering and Technology Development environment. The Project Manager: Level I will enable multidisciplinary teams to deliver value iteratively through Agile, Scrum and hybrid project management approaches across the full project lifecycle. The role focuses on agile planning, team facilitation, stakeholder collaboration, delivery coordination, risk and dependency management, continuous improvement, and alignment with SARAO governance and engineering delivery processes to support the successful delivery of engineering, science and technology development initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:
* Facilitate project inception, discovery sessions and agile planning workshops to support the development of project or product vision, objectives, roadmaps, delivery priorities and high-level backlogs.
* Establish agile governance approaches, delivery cadence, team structures and ways of working in alignment with SARAO’s Project Management Framework and engineering delivery environment.
* Facilitate sprint planning, backlog refinement, release planning, estimation sessions and prioritisation of work with Product Owners, technical leads and multidisciplinary delivery teams.
* Support the development and maintenance of product backlogs, sprint goals, release schedules and delivery roadmaps to promote adaptive planning and incremental delivery.
* Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives, backlog refinement sessions and team workshops.
* Lead, coach and support cross-functional teams in Agile and Scrum practices, while promoting collaboration, accountability, transparency and servant leadership.Identify, manage and escalate delivery risks, dependencies, integration constraints and impediments impacting team delivery and project outcomes.
* Coordinate the execution of project deliverables and iterative releases, ensuring delivery alignment across multidisciplinary teams and with systems engineering processes.
* Monitor sprint, release and project performance using agile metrics and reporting tools, including team velocity, burn-down or burnup charts, risks, dependencies and delivery progress.
* Ensure transparent reporting to stakeholders and governance forums on delivery progress, team health, risks, impediments, quality and continuous improvement actions.
* Coordinate release readiness, transition and handover activities to operations, support teams or end-users.
* Facilitate lessons learned, project retrospectives and closure reporting to support organisational learning and agile maturity improvement
* Contribute to the continuous improvement of Agile, Scrum and Project Management Frameworks, standards, templates, tools and communities of practice.

Key Requirements:
Qualification:
* BTech in Engineering/Project Management or related Field
* At least 6 years􀂷􀀃experience in a project management role with demonstrated successful project delivery
* Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) or equivalent Agile certification (Advantageous)
* SAFe Agilist or equivalent Agile scaling certification (Advantageous)

Experience:
* Experience facilitating Agile/Scrum teams in complex technical or engineering environments
* Experience managing iterative and incremental delivery projects
* Experience using Agile delivery tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, Confluence or equivalent)
* Strong understanding of engineering or technical solution planning and delivery methodologies

Knowledge:
* Project Management theory, principles, standards and best practice (i.e. Agile and Scrum frameworks)
* System/Product Life Cycle Engineering
* Planning and Scheduling
* Agile metrics and reporting
* Coordination
* Procurement and Contract Management
* Public Finance Management Act

Additional Notes:
* Strong decision-making
* Excellent communication – both verbal and written – in English
* Good analytical and planning skills
* Efficiency in a high-pressure environment
* Willingness to work outside normal hours
* Proactive
* Capable of dealing with uncertain environments and reducing uncertainty
* Problem-solving
* Working in a Project Management Office environment
* No constraints on ability to travel within South Africa and Internationally

Information:
The website www.nrf.ac.za provides more details on the NRF initiatives and activities.

Applications:
Applicants should submit a comprehensive CV by logging to https://ess.nrf.ac.za/Account/Recruitment and apply online. Applications should be accompanied by a letter of motivation indicating the applicant’s suitability for the position. The names and contact details of at least three referees should be provided.

Closing Date: 31 August 2026

The NRF offers a challenging career and competitive remuneration package which is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The NRF is committed to employment equity and redress and the appointment to the position will be made in line with the NRF Employment Equity Plan.

The NRF reserves the right not to make an appointment.

Correspondence will be sent to short-listed candidates only