Senior Project Manager – Insurance & Investments

Senior Project Manager – Insurance & Investments

1. Role Summary

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for leading the planning, execution, monitoring, and successful delivery of complex projects across the organization. The role ensures that projects are completed within approved scope, timelines, budgets, and quality standards while achieving defined business objectives.

Within the Insurance & Investments sector, the incumbent manages projects involving business transformation, technology implementation, digitalization, regulatory compliance, operational improvement, product development, and customer experience enhancement.

The role requires strong project leadership, stakeholder management, financial oversight, risk management, and cross-functional coordination to ensure successful project outcomes and alignment with organizational strategy.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. Project Planning & Initiation

- Lead project initiation, feasibility assessments, scope definition, and business case development.

- Develop comprehensive project plans, schedules, budgets, resource requirements, and delivery strategies.

- Define project objectives, milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and success criteria.

- Establish project governance structures, communication plans, and reporting procedures.

- Ensure project plans align with organizational priorities and business requirements.

B. Project Execution & Delivery Management

- Manage end-to-end project delivery from initiation through implementation and closure.

- Coordinate project activities, workstreams, and deliverables to ensure timely execution.

- Monitor project progress against approved schedules, budgets, and quality standards.

- Manage project dependencies, critical paths, and resource constraints.

- Identify delivery challenges and implement corrective actions to maintain project performance.

C. Financial & Resource Management

- Develop and manage project budgets, cost estimates, forecasts, and expenditure reports.

- Monitor financial performance and ensure projects remain within approved budgets.

- Allocate and manage project resources effectively.

- Coordinate internal teams, consultants, contractors, and external vendors.

- Support procurement, contract administration, and vendor performance management.

D. Stakeholder & Team Management

- Collaborate with project sponsors, senior management, department heads, and business stakeholders.

- Lead cross-functional project teams across finance, operations, technology, compliance, risk, and customer service.

- Conduct project meetings, progress reviews, and stakeholder updates.

- Manage stakeholder expectations and resolve conflicts affecting project delivery.

- Provide guidance and direction to project coordinators, analysts, and team members.

E. Risk, Issue & Compliance Management

- Identify, assess, and manage project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies.

- Develop risk mitigation and contingency plans.

- Monitor project compliance with applicable insurance, investment, financial services, and regulatory requirements.

- Maintain project documentation, decision logs, risk registers, and issue trackers.

- Escalate critical risks and delivery challenges to project sponsors and senior leadership.

F. Quality Assurance & Performance Monitoring

- Establish project KPIs, performance indicators, and reporting mechanisms.

- Ensure project deliverables meet agreed specifications and quality requirements.

- Monitor implementation progress and conduct project performance reviews.

- Coordinate testing, validation, and acceptance activities where applicable.

- Ensure appropriate project documentation and quality control procedures are maintained.

G. Project Closure & Benefits Realization

- Manage project completion, handover, and transition to operational teams.

- Evaluate project outcomes against approved objectives and business cases.

- Track benefits realization and assess project effectiveness.

- Conduct post-implementation reviews and document lessons learned.

- Recommend improvements to project management processes and delivery practices.

3. Required Qualifications & Experience

- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Project Management, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related discipline.

- Master's degree or MBA is an advantage.

- 8–12+ years of progressive experience in project management, business transformation, or project delivery.

- At least 3–5 years of experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.

- Experience in insurance, banking, investment management, or financial services is preferred.

- Strong understanding of project planning, budgeting, scheduling, governance, risk management, and quality assurance.

- Demonstrated experience managing project teams, vendors, consultants, and external stakeholders.

- Proficiency in project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet, Monday.com, or equivalent.

- Professional certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, or equivalent are preferred.

4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Percentage of projects delivered within approved timelines and budgets.

- Achievement of project milestones, objectives, and deliverables.

- Project budget variance and cost management effectiveness.

- Project quality and stakeholder acceptance rates.

- Risk identification, mitigation, and issue resolution effectiveness.

- Stakeholder satisfaction and project sponsor feedback.

- Resource utilization and project team productivity.

- Compliance with project governance and reporting requirements.

- Successful project handover and benefits realization.