Background:

Horizon Group Ltd is a private Company established in 2007 by the Government of Rwanda to contribute to accelerated socio-economic transformation of Rwanda. The Group would focus on those critical sectors of the Rwandan Economy where local private players are less willing or unable to venture. Currently, Horizon Group consists of four (04) established subsidiary companies: Horizon Construction Ltd, Horizon Sopyrwa Ltd, Horizon Logistics, and Green Rock Iwacu Ltd. The company has also entered into strategic partnerships that have seen the creation of Joint Ventures Companies including AgroPy Ltd for value addition to pyrethrum, S&H Industries Ltd, and Afriprecast Ltd for Manufacturing of construction materials.

Horizon Group has recently concluded a strategic planning process that resulted in establishment of a 7-year strategy that will see the Group transform itself into a National Champion by 2025. As part of this strategy, Horizon Group is seeking to strengthen the Company’s Project Management practices by among others; establishing a centralized Project Management Office (PMO) for improved project planning, Resource & Quality control, Monitoring, reporting and overall technical support to Horizon Construction Projects.

The PMO will be headed by an experienced Projects Director, and supported by a team of Engineers, Multi-disciplinary Technicians, Quantity Surveyors, and Business Analysts.

2.0 Role of the Project Management Office:

The Project Management office will provide centralized project Management Support for all Horizon projects. The team will work directly with the subsidiaries to provide this direction and will develop sector expertise. The office will focus on project planning & Budgeting, Resource & Quality Control, Monitoring & Projects reporting as well as Project Talent Development and Management. The PMO will be a specific Department within Horizon Group that is responsible for maintaining the standards of Project Management across Horizon.

The PMO Director will be responsible for the following;

2.1 Project Support

The first and foremost role of the PMO shall be to provide necessary project management support in the form of guidance to project managers. The PMO will also be responsible for coaching new project managers on various ways of running projects.

2.2 Strategic Project Planning and Goal Setting.

The PMO shall play an integral role during the initial planning stages for new projects. The Office shall create structured schedules and project plans based on the project goals, resources needed, potential risks, time and budget constraints. By partnering with colleagues in the different roles, the PMO shall be able to identify dependences and possible issues across teams. During this planning process, the PMO will develop and communicate clear and actionable deliverables, or activities to be completed. Each of these activities should have an identified owner, the person who will carry this out, as well as a clear timeline and success criteria.

2.3 Project Execution and Governance.

This shall involve tracking deadlines, deliverables, resources and timelines throughout the project process. The PMO shall hold owners accountable for their commitments and will conduct project team meetings to provide status updates and identify and resolve issues. By managing the overall process of carrying out the project, the PMO will be able to adapt plans based on evolving needs, conditions or issues that may arise and ensure on-time, high-quality delivery in accordance with the stated project goals as articulated in the Contract.

2.4 Project Documentation and Archives.

The PMO shall, throughout the course of each project, work with project teams to ensure that documentation, supporting materials, and project plans are updated and readily available for internal teams and senior Horizon leaders. Upon completion of projects, the PMO shall work with the project management team to compile and document project information. Historical information on projects is used not only for reference for future projects but also to assess the project delivery, completeness, and alignment with stated financial objectives and other goals. Project documentation will also serve audit purposes. All information should be achieved in one place so it is accessible to the appropriate team members and senior leaders.

2.5 Project Prioritization and Portfolio Alignment.

At any given time, the PMO will be managing multiple projects for Horizon Group, each with varying priority, timelines and resource requirements. Given the abroad scope both in working with colleagues from different departments and across multiple projects, the Project Management Office will be responsible for balancing projects and communicating priorities internally. The PMO will be required to create a project dashboard, which outlines both the projects currently underway and those on the backlog, with their priority according to the over role business objectives. The Project Management Office shall make this information readily accessible within the organization, so that project teams and senior leaders are able to quickly see where attention and resources are currently being placed and adjust their workflows accordingly.

2.6 Process Improvement and Standards Development.

As they are involved from project inception through to completion and review, the PMO teams shall be able to identify processes and activities to be improved. Since the PMO team shall have a broader scope, understanding the basic processes and standards of different departments across Horizon, they will be better equipped to identify workable process standards and best practices for how teams should approach projects. Once it has identified a process improvement initiative, the PMO shall implement, document and communicate the new procedures to the rest of the organization.

2.7 Reusability:

The PMO shall enable team efficiency by facilitating collaborative knowledge transfers amongst project teams. The project Management Office shall help in establishing project plans, reviews, templates and documentation widely available to concerned members, saving time and costs that would have otherwise gone into rework.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, project teams will take this advantage to not only shorten their learning curve but can also get more off the ground from organizational knowledge being shared.

2.8 Oversee implementation of the Project Management system:

Horizon has recently acquired a project Management System. The PMO will oversee implementation of this system and facilitate the entire process. The responsibilities will include:

• Managing resource forecast or creating a resource capacity plan. This will help in understanding the availability of various resources for all projects
• Enable capture of project requests and ensure each of those requests have enough relevant information that can aid in the assessment of that project
• Maintaining an updated status of projects that are underway and those that have requests pending review
• Implement prioritization and scoring models for better assessment of the requests that should be approved

2.9 Training

The PMO will provide training to project managers and project team members. Since most projects are not run by professional project managers (trained in project management itself), the PMO will regularly make arrangements to pass on the training and knowledge it has developed.

Certification programs like the Project Management Professional (PMP) or PRINCE2 will be helpful, but the PMO’s knowledge base shall remain specific to the organization’s experience and that knowledge shall be passed on.

2.10 Maintain Lessons Learned:

It’s amazing how many companies make the same mistakes twice. It is not uncommon for major project issues to recur over and over, because lessons learned have not been well captured and communicated. Individual projects and project managers are generally concerned more with delivering a successful project to their own stakeholders rather than with understanding the company’s prior experiences. Hence, the PMO shall be a place where prior experience is conglomerated and analyzed to ensure the organization doesn’t make the same mistakes twice.

3.0 Required Qualifications, Knowledge, Experience and Qualities of the Projects Director

• § The PMO Director must have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with at least 7-years of Experience as a Senior Project Manager or Equivalent, with a proven track record of successful project delivery and ability to improve project management practices and substantial team leadership experience.
• § Knowledge of using Techniques for Planning, Monitoring, and controlling projects including budgets, time, change, and quality management.
• § Experience of working with project management softwares to monitor projects.
• § Experience of developing and providing insightful and concise reports for stakeholders including senior management and external stakeholders.
• § Experience in analyzing data, producing statistics, reports and recommendations.

• Expert-level knowledge of project management and associated methodologies, techniques, processes and approaches.
• Credibility as a senior-level project leader

3.1 Required Qualities:

• · Strong problem-solving skills
• · Ability to work independently and as a member of a team
• · Organized and able to prioritize effectively

4.0 Application Documents Required

• An Application Letter addressed to the CEO, Horizon Group Ltd
• A comprehensive CV with 03 Referees
• Copies of academic and professional certificates
• Photocopy of identity card/Passport

5.0 Dead line: Application documents should reach Horizon Group Ltd Head Office at M&M Plaza, KG8 Ave Gishushu, 4th Floor, no later than Friday 17th July 2020 at 4:00pm. Applications may also be sent via email to: [email protected].

6.0 Remuneration & Benefits Regime: Attractive and commensurate with Qualifications and professional Experience. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Fred MUZIRAGUHARARA

CEO, Horizon Group Ltd.