Project Specialist

JOB PURPOSE/SUMMARY:

The Project Specialist is responsible for supporting the Project Manager in coordinating project activities, maintaining project governance standards, and ensuring accurate tracking, reporting, and communication across all project workstreams. The role supports the effective execution of Center of Excellence projects by applying structured project management practices, coordinating stakeholders, monitoring deliverables, and maintaining visibility of project progress, risks, issues, dependencies, and milestones.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Project Workstream Coordination and Monitoring

• Coordinate and monitor all project workstreams and team activities to ensure alignment with project objectives, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Coordinate activities across multiple project workstreams and functional teams.
• Follow up with task owners to ensure timely completion of actions, deliverables, and milestones.
• Identify and monitor interdependencies between functions, workstreams, and stakeholders.

2. Project Schedule Management and Microsoft Project Administration

• Develop, maintain, and update the integrated project schedule using Microsoft Project and other approved project planning tools.
• Ensure project schedule accuracy, baseline integrity, milestone tracking, and dependency management.
• Monitor critical paths, dependencies, task progress, and schedule updates.
• Ensure project planning methodologies and governance standards are applied consistently across the project.

3. Project Governance Reporting and Management Updates

• Prepare project governance materials including dashboards, status reports, presentations, and management update packs.
• Consolidate project updates from all workstreams and functional stakeholders.
• Prepare weekly and monthly project reporting packs, as required.
• Develop KPI dashboards, progress trackers, and project performance reports.
• Support management reviews, steering committee reporting, and project governance meetings by providing accurate and timely project information.

4. Cross-functional Coordination and Communication

• Facilitate cross-functional coordination and communication between project stakeholders.
• Schedule, organize, and coordinate project meetings across departments and external stakeholders.
• Prepare meeting agendas, document meeting minutes, and track decisions and action items.
• Follow up on closure of actions, decisions, and pending inputs from stakeholders.

5. Project Documentation and Governance Compliance

• Maintain centralized project records, documentation, trackers, meeting records, and governance files.
• Ensure project governance documentation is current, properly controlled, and aligned with organizational standards.
• Support audit readiness, document traceability, and retrieval of required project records.
• Maintain accurate records of project decisions, approvals, action logs, risks, issues, and project updates.
• Ensure project documentation provides clear evidence that the approved project management methodology, governance process, reporting cycle, and control requirements are being followed.

6. Risk, Issue and Change Tracking Support

1. Maintain project risk and issue registers and ensure they are regularly updated.
2. Track mitigation actions, escalation items, and issue resolution progress.
3. Support the identification of risks, issues, blockers, and project dependencies.
4. Support change tracking and impact assessment activities.
5. Monitor risks, issues, changes, and dependencies in relation to the approved project methodology, governance requirements, schedule, scope, and execution plan.
6. Escalate methodology deviations, unresolved risks, critical issues, or change impacts to the Project Manager for guidance and decision-making.

7. Procurement, Vendor Coordination and Administrative Support

• Support procurement-related documentation, follow-ups, and coordination activities.
• Coordinate with vendors, contractors, and suppliers regarding deliverables, schedules, and required information.
• Support vendor engagement activities, documentation tracking, and delivery follow-up.
• Liaise with finance, procurement, IT, operations, and other support teams as required.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

Minimum Qualifications:(Education/Certification/Licensure/Professional Membership)

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Project Management, Business Administration of a related technical/project-based field.
• Project management certification and/or project management coursework is preferred.
• Training or coursework in project planning, project controls, PMI fundamentals, or project governance is an advantage.
• Certification or formal training in PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2 Foundation, Microsoft Project, project scheduling, project controls, or similar project management discipline is an advantage.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in project coordination, PMO support, project administration, project controls, project management methodology support, project governance, or technical project execution support roles.
• Experience should include practical exposure to structured project management methodologies, project lifecycle execution, project governance, schedule tracking, reporting, risk and issue monitoring, action tracking, and stakeholder coordination.

Job Specific Competencies:

1-Project Coordination and Follow-up

• Demonstrates intermediate proficiency in coordinating project activities, following up with task owners, monitoring deliverables, and supporting completion of project actions and milestones in line with the approved project execution plan and methodology.

2-Project Management Methodologies and Governance

• Demonstrates intermediate proficiency in applying structured project management practices, PMI fundamentals, governance standards, project controls, and reporting disciplines to ensure that project methodology is consistently followed during project execution.

3-Microsoft Project and Schedule Management

• Demonstrates intermediate to advanced proficiency in using Microsoft Project to develop, maintain, and update project schedules, monitor dependencies, track milestones, and support schedule integrity throughout the project lifecycle.

4-Project Reporting and Dashboard Preparation

• Demonstrates intermediate to advanced proficiency in preparing dashboards, progress reports, KPI trackers, management updates, and project reporting packs using relevant tools such as Excel, Planner, and Microsoft Office applications to support governance reviews, project control, and management decision-making.

5-Stakeholder Coordination and Communication

• Demonstrates intermediate to advanced proficiency in coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, facilitating communication, following up on actions, and supporting alignment across project workstreams in accordance with the agreed project governance structure and execution methodology.

6-Meeting Management and Action Tracking

• Demonstrates intermediate to advanced proficiency in organizing project meetings, preparing agendas, documenting minutes, tracking decisions, and ensuring timely closure of action items to maintain project discipline, accountability, and proper governance follow-through.

7-Project Documentation and Records Management

• Demonstrates intermediate to advanced proficiency in maintaining centralized project documentation, ensuring document control, supporting audit readiness, and maintaining traceability of project records as evidence of compliance with approved project management methodology and governance requirements.

8-Risk and Issue Tracking

• Demonstrates intermediate proficiency in maintaining risk and issue logs, tracking mitigation actions, identifying blockers, and escalating matters that may affect project progress, methodology compliance, project controls, or delivery timelines.

9-Procurement and Vendor Coordination Support

• Demonstrates foundational to intermediate proficiency in supporting procurement followups, vendor coordination, supplier documentation tracking, and coordination with procurement, finance, IT, and operations teams to support project execution and timely closure of vendor-related actions

10-Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Demonstrates intermediate proficiency in reviewing project information, identifying gaps or delays, assessing implications, and supporting practical solutions to maintain project progress, governance compliance, and execution discipline.