Education Portfolio Manager

<p style="text-align:left"><span class="emphasis-2"><b>Let&#39;s Write Africa&#39;s Story Together!</b></span></p><p style="text-align:left"><span class="emphasis-2">Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this. </span></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><b>Job Description</b></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p>Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of the Foundation’s Education portfolio, translating the strategy into measurable school-level impact. The role connects needs-led school support, high-quality implementation partnerships and supports employee volunteerism so that interventions are practical, evidence-informed, scalable and responsive to local context.</p><br /><p><b><u>Key Result Areas</u></b></p><br /><p><b>Strategy and portfolio leadership</b></p><ul><li>Own the Education portfolio implementation roadmap and translate strategic objectives into annual plans, priorities, milestones and measurable outcomes.</li><li>Guide the phased three-year rollout, ensuring implementation choices reflect provincial context, school need, feasibility, additionality and available resources.</li><li>Use clear selection and intervention criteria to prioritise support that addresses evidenced school and learner needs rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model.</li><li>Continuously review the portfolio against emerging evidence, implementation learning and the Foundation’s strategic intent, and recommend course corrections where required.</li></ul><br /><ul><li><b>Programme design and delivery</b></li><li>Lead end-to-end programme design and delivery, from needs assessment and solution design through contracting, implementation, handover and close-out.</li><li>Oversee education interventions that strengthen learning conditions and outcomes, including appropriate literacy, numeracy, teacher-support and enabling school interventions where these align to assessed need.</li><li>Coordinate school-level implementation so that partner activity, employee volunteerism opportunities and learner-facing engagements are sequenced effectively and do not disrupt teaching and learning.</li></ul><p><b> </b></p><p><b>Partnerships and stakeholder management</b></p><ul><li>Build and manage strategic relationships with schools, implementation partners, education stakeholders and relevant government structures, including the Department of Basic Education and provincial education authorities where appropriate.</li><li>Identify partnership opportunities that strengthen reach, quality, sustainability or system alignment.</li><li>Lead partner scoping and onboarding from a programme perspective, defining deliverables, roles, safeguards, reporting requirements and escalation pathways.</li><li>Represent the Education portfolio credibly in senior stakeholder engagements, sector forums and internal governance processes.</li></ul><p><b> </b></p><p><b>Measurement, learning and reporting</b></p><ul><li>Define programme-level outputs, outcomes and indicators aligned to the strategy and ensure reliable baseline, implementation and outcome data are available for decision-making.</li><li>Monitor delivery quality, learner and school reach, partner performance, implementation risks and progress against agreed milestones and budgets.</li><li>Turn monitoring insights into practical improvements and clearly communicate performance, lessons, risks and decisions required to leadership and governance forums.</li><li>Maintain a credible evidence base showing what was funded, who was reached, what changed and where the Foundation’s contribution added value.</li></ul><p><b> </b></p><ul><li><b>Governance, risk and financial management</b></li><li>Manage the Education portfolio within approved budgets, delegations, procurement requirements and finance and risk governance.</li><li>Ensure programme and partner decisions are supported by appropriate due diligence, contracting, safeguarding, evidence and approval processes.</li><li>Maintain oversight of delivery dependencies, reputational and implementation risks, and escalate material issues early with recommended mitigation actions.</li></ul><p><b> </b></p><ul><li><b>People and cross-functional leadership</b></li><li>Contribute to functional resource planning and coordinate internal and external resources required for successful delivery.</li><li>Provide clear direction, prioritisation and quality assurance to assigned staff and service providers, with accountability for performance and outputs.</li><li>Collaborate across Foundation, GSI and relevant business teams to align implementation, stakeholder engagement, communications and employee participation.</li></ul><br /><p><b><u>Qualifications, Skills and Experience:</u></b></p><br /><ul><li>Relevant degree in Education, Development Studies, Social Science, Community Development or a related field.</li><li>At least 5 years’ relevant experience managing education or social investment programmes, preferably within the South African education system.</li><li>Demonstrated programme and project management capability, including multi-site or multi-partner implementation.</li><li>Strategic planning experience with the ability to translate strategy into practical delivery plans and measurable outcomes.</li><li>Experience managing partners, senior stakeholders and service providers; people-management experience is advantageous as the role has direct reports.</li><li>Strong analytical capability, including interpretation of programme data, needs assessments, education evidence and policy.</li><li>Working knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning, budgeting, risk management, due diligence and governance in a social-investment environment.</li><li>Strong written, presentation and facilitation skills, with confidence engaging senior decisionmakers and public-sector stakeholders.</li><li>Experience in literacy, numeracy, teacher development or whole-school support is advantageous.</li><li>Proficiency in one or more South African languages in addition to English is advantageous.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li><b>Additional Requirements:</b></li><li>Regular travel to schools and partner sites, including rural and peri-urban locations.</li><li>Valid driver’s licence and access to reliable transport, in line with organisational travel requirements.</li></ul><br /><p> </p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><b>Skills</b></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><b>Competencies</b></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>Builds Effective Teams<h3></h3><h3></h3>Business Insight<h3></h3><h3></h3>Collaborates<h3></h3><h3></h3>Communicates Effectively<h3></h3><h3></h3>Develops Talent<h3></h3><h3></h3>Drives Engagement<h3></h3><h3></h3>Drives Results<h3></h3><h3></h3>Ensures Accountability<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><b>Education</b></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>NQF Level 7 - Degree, Advance Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate or equivalent (Required)<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><b>Closing Date</b></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p>12 November 2026 , 23:59<p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p><i><b>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.</b></i></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:inherit"></p><p style="text-align:left"><i><span class="emphasis-2"><b>The Old Mutual Story!</b></span></i></p>