Analytics Centre Operations Delivery Manager

Job title\: Analytics Centre Operations Delivery Manager

Location\: Johannesburg, South Africa (Hybrid)

Reporting to\: Head of Analytics Centre

Shape the Future of Analytics Delivery

We are seeking an experienced Analytics Centre Operations & Delivery Manager to play a critical role in the continued growth and success of our Analytics Centre.

The Analytics Centre supports audit teams across multiple countries by delivering data analytics, technology-enabled audit procedures, AI-driven audit solutions, and analytics advisory support.

As demand continues to grow, we are looking for a highly organised and proactive manager to strengthen operational delivery, resource planning, governance, stakeholder communication, and overall delivery effectiveness.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys creating structure, solving operational challenges, improving ways of working, and ensuring teams can deliver consistently and effectively at scale.

This is not primarily a technical analytics role. While exposure to analytics or technology-enabled services would be beneficial, the primary focus is operational leadership, delivery management, planning, coordination, and enabling a high-performing delivery function.

Role Purpose

The Analytics Centre Operations & Delivery Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth, efficient, and scalable delivery of services provided by the Analytics Centre.

The role acts as the operational backbone of the function, coordinating demand, capacity, delivery oversight, stakeholder communication, governance, and continuous improvement activities to enable consistent and predictable service delivery.

The successful candidate will help build a scalable operating model that allows the Analytics Centre to grow while maintaining high levels of service and stakeholder satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

Delivery Management

• Oversee the delivery portfolio across the Analytics Centre.
• Monitor project progress, commitments, and delivery timelines.
• Identify delivery risks, bottlenecks, and dependencies and coordinate mitigation activities.
• Ensure effective prioritisation of work across competing demands.
• Track delivery performance and provide operational reporting to leadership.
• Help ensure work moves efficiently through the Analytics Centre from request to delivery.

Resource Planning and Workload Management

• Manage resource allocation across the Analytics Centre.
• Monitor team capacity, utilisation, and workload distribution.
• Support demand forecasting and delivery planning activities.
• Coordinate staffing decisions across multiple engagements and jurisdictions.
• Provide visibility of current and future resource requirements.
• Balance competing priorities to maximise delivery effectiveness and sustainability.

Operational Governance

• Establish and maintain effective delivery governance processes.
• Drive consistency in operational processes and ways of working.
• Monitor action items, commitments, risks, and delivery obligations.
• Maintain operational dashboards, reporting, and management information.
• Support leadership in tracking strategic and operational objectives.
• Facilitate operational reviews and follow-through on agreed actions.

Process Improvement and Operational Excellence

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, and service delivery.
• Design and implement sustainable operational processes and workflows.
• Support automation and standardisation initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement across planning, delivery, and reporting processes.
• Promote operational best practices and knowledge sharing across the team.
• Help embed scalable ways of working that reduce operational friction and improve delivery predictability.

Operational Leadership Responsibilities

• Act as the central coordination point for operational delivery across the Analytics Centre.
• Drive accountability for delivery commitments, milestones, and operational objectives.
• Facilitate effective planning and prioritisation across multiple engagements and stakeholders.
• Escalate and coordinate the resolution of operational risks, conflicts, and capacity constraints.
• Support the implementation of scalable operating practices that enable sustainable growth.
• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.
• Provide leadership with meaningful operational insights to support decision-making.

Stakeholder Management Responsibilities

• Build strong working relationships with audit engagement teams, senior leadership, and key stakeholders.
• Manage stakeholder expectations regarding capacity, timelines, priorities, and delivery commitments.
• Facilitate regular delivery and operational reviews.
• Provide clear and timely communication regarding delivery status, risks, and dependencies.
• Support the resolution of operational issues and escalations.
• Collaborate across multiple countries and business units to support successful delivery outcomes.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, Project Management, Commerce, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in professional services, consulting, operations management, project delivery, shared services, analytics support, or a similar environment.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multiple projects, workstreams, or delivery portfolios.
• Strong project and delivery management capabilities.
• Experience in resource planning, workforce management, capacity planning, or operational coordination.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Strong organisational, planning, and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience developing and implementing operational processes and governance frameworks.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

Preferred Experience

• Experience within a professional services, consulting, audit, or advisory environment.
• Exposure to analytics, technology-enabled services, data-related engagements, or AI-enabled solutions.
• Experience supporting geographically distributed teams.
• Experience within a PMO, operations management, delivery management, or service management function.
• Project management certification or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience helping teams scale and improve operational maturity.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

The successful candidate will\:

• Establish clear delivery planning and governance processes across the Analytics Centre.
• Improve visibility of workload, capacity, and demand.
• Create a more predictable and scalable delivery model.
• Improve coordination across engagements and stakeholders.
• Reduce delivery bottlenecks and operational inefficiencies.
• Strengthen accountability for delivery commitments and action items.
• Introduce meaningful operational improvements that increase efficiency and transparency.
• Improve stakeholder confidence through proactive communication and delivery oversight.
• Enable the Analytics Centre to support increasing demand while maintaining a high level of service.