Finance and Projects Operations Manager

Role Overview

This position sits at the centre of a fast-moving consultancy practice, blending operational leadership, financial stewardship, and project coordination to keep the team running smoothly. Reporting directly to the Frontier Technologies Partner, you will own the behind-the-scenes systems that support client delivery — from budgets and bids to resource planning and recruitment — so consultants can stay focused on high-impact work. It is a hands-on, high-trust role for someone who thrives on variety and can move fluidly between detail-heavy tasks and strategic conversations with senior stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the practice's financial operations, including accurate orderbook maintenance, revenue and cost tracking, and preparation of monthly and quarterly reports for the Partner and broader firm.
• Handle the full client invoicing cycle, purchase orders, subcontractor payments, and end-of-project reconciliations, while ensuring all costs and revenues are correctly recognised in management accounts.
• Coordinate project administration within the ERP system (Sage Intacct / Genesis), including setting up project records, managing contractor onboarding, and overseeing procurement and contracting processes.
• Support project managers with budget tracking, expense monitoring, margin analysis, and resource allocation — tracking consultant hours and burn rates against defined budgets.
• Lead business development workflows by coordinating bid sprints from go/no-go decisions through to final submission, ensuring proposals meet corporate pricing and formatting standards.
• Maintain the practice's sales pipeline tracker, marketing collateral, consultant CVs, and independent contractor databases to support winning work.
• Drive capacity planning and utilisation by monitoring timesheet compliance, forecasting staffing needs a month ahead, and working with team leads to balance billable and non-billable work.
• Own daily practice administration, including team meeting coordination, social events, the annual strategy retreat, shared drive organisation, and executive support for the Partner.
• Manage the recruitment lifecycle through the applicant tracking system — from reviewing applications and scheduling interviews to supporting onboarding and maintaining leave records.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Five or more years of professional experience, including at least two years in an operations management role within a services or consulting environment.
• Bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management, project management, finance, accounting, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing financial administration, budgeting, and reporting, with familiarity using ERP or financial management systems (experience with Sage Intacct is highly valued).
• Strong track record of coordinating multi-stakeholder projects and supporting senior leadership with administrative and operational tasks.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities across finance, project delivery, business development, and people operations.
• High-energy, proactive work style with strong written and verbal communication skills — comfortable challenging processes and proposing better ways of working.
• Project management certification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is advantageous but not required.
• Legal eligibility to work in either South Africa or Kenya is essential.