Senior Project Management Officer at La Fayette Microfinance Bank Limited, Advans Nigeria

The Senior PMO Officer supports the planning, coordination, and monitoring of strategic and digital projects within the bank (yearly Project Roadmap). The role ensures that projects are properly tracked, documented, and delivered according to agreed scope, timelines, budgets and standards, and that the necessary Change Management activities are well carried out.
The PMO Officer will work closely with business units, IT teams, RUN team, the various department Heads, project sponsors and external partners to facilitate the implementation of the portfolio of strategic projects aimed at improving operational efficiency, financial inclusion, and customer experience.

Required profile

Project Process and Governance

• Establish and maintain the PMO governance framework, project management standards, methodologies, templates and tools across the bank, in line with Group standards.
• Ensure adherence and promote standard and best project management practices across teams.
• Ensure alignment of projects with the bank’s strategic objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure project documentation (project plans, charters, risk logs, status reports) is properly maintained.
• Ensure the RUN processes are followed and documented, and the 10 RUN Golden rules are respected in coordination with the RUN manager. It involves the coordination of all RUN activities in close collaboration with the RUN manager on the following:
  • Change Requests,
  • Specifications,
  • Projects scoping, execution and closeout and performance assessment,
  • Solutions management: acquisition of new solutions, discontinuation or replacement, annual review of the Solutions portfolio,
  • Incidents,
  • Release management,
  • Testing, non-regression testing and deployment in production, including Set up and maintain testing tools and processes (test plan, incident backlog, test reporting in Smartsheet), coordinate testing activities with relevant teams and ensure proper tracking of issues identified during testing and relevant stakeholders for production deployment, covering projects, change requests, and Solutions releases.
  • Documentation,
  • Communication, etc.
• Support the planning and execution of projects across different departments.
• Coordinate project timelines, deliverables, and internal resources.
• Organize and coordinate project meetings, prepare minutes, and track action items.

Project Monitoring and Support

• Manage and monitor the bank’s portfolio of strategic and digital transformation projects.
• Track project performance and progress, milestones, timelines, budgets, and deliverables (including quality).
• Maintain project dashboards, monitor key performance indicators and produce status reports according to agreed frequency for each project.
• Provide updates to senior management and project sponsors.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the central coordination point between senior management, business units, technology teams, risk, legal and compliance departments, Group teams and external partners.
• Provide regular progress updates to the Executive Committee and Board when required.
• Facilitate decision-making and escalation for critical project issues.
• Engage with top management to prioritize initiatives based on strategic value, risk, and available resources.
• Facilitate communication between project teams and management.
• Prepare presentations and reports for senior management meetings.
• Ensure clear documentation of decisions and action items.
• Ensure proper coordination and collaboration with Group counterparts.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identify and monitor project risks, delays, dependencies, potential bottlenecks, and mitigation plans.
• Support project managers and teams in resolving operational and delivery challenges.
• Maintain risk and issue logs and escalate critical matters to Management and governance bodies.
• Support the implementation of mitigation actions. Capacity Building
• Train and coach internal teams on project management Group standards, methodologies and tools.
• Promote the adoption of agile and hybrid delivery approaches for digital initiatives.
• Promote the culture of change and innovation across the company.

KEY SKILLS REQUIRED

Technical & Functional

• Project management, coordination and organization
• Knowledge of digital banking and fintech ecosystems
• Understanding of financial inclusion initiatives in Nigeria
• Data analysis and reporting

Tools

• Excel and PowerPoint (advanced level)
• Project management and reporting tools

Soft Skills

• Strong organizational skills
• Strong Stakeholder communication & management
• Problem solving
• Attention to detail & Data-driven decision making
• Leadership and team coordination
• Ability to work in fast-paced and multi-cultural environments