Project Accelerator Manager

At PwC, our people in project portfolio management focus on optimising project portfolios to drive strategic business outcomes. These individuals oversee project selection, prioritisation, and resource allocation to facilitate successful project delivery.

In project management at PwC, you will oversee and coordinate various projects to facilitate successful delivery within budget and timeline. You will leverage strong organisational and communication skills to effectively manage teams and stakeholders.

Enhancing your leadership style, you motivate, develop and inspire others to deliver quality. You are responsible for coaching, leveraging team member’s unique strengths, and managing performance to deliver on client expectations. With your growing knowledge of how business works, you play an important role in identifying opportunities that contribute to the success of our Firm. You are expected to lead with integrity and authenticity, articulating our purpose and values in a meaningful way. You embrace technology and innovation to enhance your delivery and encourage others to do the same.

Examples of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need to lead and deliver value at this level include but are not limited to:

• Analyse and identify the linkages and interactions between the component parts of an entire system.

• Take ownership of projects, ensuring their successful planning, budgeting, execution, and completion.

• Partner with team leadership to ensure collective ownership of quality, timelines, and deliverables.

• Develop skills outside your comfort zone, and encourage others to do the same.

• Effectively mentor others.

• Use the review of work as an opportunity to deepen the expertise of team members.

• Address conflicts or issues, engaging in difficult conversations with clients, team members and other stakeholders, escalating where appropriate.

• Uphold and reinforce professional and technical standards (e.g. refer to specific PwC tax and audit guidance), the Firm's code of conduct, and independence requirements.

To really stand out and make us fit for the future in a constantly changing world, each and every one of us at PwC needs to be a purpose-led and values-driven leader at every level. To help us achieve this we have the PwC Professional; our global leadership development framework. It gives us a single set of expectations across our lines, geographies and career paths, and provides transparency on the skills we need as individuals to be successful and progress in our careers, now and in the future.

As a Manager, you'll work as part of a team of problem solvers, helping to solve complex business issues from strategy to execution. PwC Professional skills and responsibilities for this management level include but are not limited to:

• Develop new skills outside of your comfort zone.

• Act to resolve issues which prevent the team from working effectively.

• Coach others, recognise their strengths, and encourage them to take ownership of their personal development.

• Analyze complex ideas or proposals and build a range of meaningful recommendations.

• Use multiple sources of information including broader stakeholder views to develop solutions and recommendations.

• Address sub-standard work or work that does not meet firm's/client's expectations.

• Use data and insights to inform conclusions and support decision-making.

• Develop a point of view on key global trends, and how they impact clients. Manage a variety of viewpoints to build consensus and create positive outcomes for all parties.

• Simplify complex messages, highlighting and summarizing key points.

• Uphold the firm's code of ethics and business conduct.

Background

Audit engagements are an iterative process and having a Project Accelerator responsible for the project plan which considers the upcoming internal and external deadlines associated with the audit will allow the team to anticipate issues related to deadlines and timing and recommend appropriate actions, thus exceeding the client's expectations for responsiveness.The Project Accelerator(s) focuses on the planning and execution of the project tasks, monitoring progress and highlighting where there are project issues, rather than audit issues.The Project Accelerator is involved from the beginning (planning) to the end (completion) of the engagement.The Project Accelerator also is responsible for administrative responsibilities such as ensuring team member’s access to all tools, sites, Google drives, etc.

PwC’s Acceleration Center Assurance Solutions Team is looking to add value to Assurance engagement teams by providing standardized project management processes and deliverables, optimization of tools, and centralization of the project management efforts via integration of a “Project Accelerator” in order to improve engagement efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately quality for our Trust Assurance engagements.

The Project Accelerator Manager will work closely with the US engagement team (ET) and will manage the relationship with the US ET management team, ensuring customer satisfaction and identifying additional project management areas where PAs can support the US engagement teams, including identifying opportunities for automation of project management processes. The Project Accelerator Manager supervises and coaches the Project Accelerator Senior Associates and Associates to deliver exceptional service to our US/RTM engagement team.

The Acceleration Center is the Demand-side strategy and execution partner to the Lines of Service for centralized client service work. We provide the specialization, capabilities and operations to automate and scale differentiated services with quality, enhanced productivity and profitability. The Acceleration Centers will seamlessly connect with the engagement teams and professionals in the practice to innovate, automate and digitally deliver work.

Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Accounting, Management Information Systems & Accounting, Computer and Information Science & Accounting, Accounting & Technology, preferably a Chartered Accountant or have an equivalent qualification such as ICAEW, ACCA, MICPA-CAANZ and CPA Australia.

At least 7 years of experience, preferably in the Audit line.

Preferred Certifications: Relevant professional qualifications such as PMI Certification (or similar Project Management certification)

Preferred Knowledge/Skills:

Demonstrates extensive abilities and/or a proven record of success in the following areas:

• Possess knowledge of the audit process and must have a deep understanding of fiscal planning, management, engagement economics, and budgeting.

• Demonstrating knowledge in transformation efforts, through developing, managing, coordinating, implementing and executing project plans;

• Demonstrating knowledge and management experience in the area of Project management and/or audit management, including industry standard methodologies and tools;

• Developing project plans to deliver on project requirements;

• Possessing techniques for identification of risks and dependencies as well as project management techniques to oversee, proactively lead and/or support workstreams;

• Have proficient communication skills (both verbal and written) that enable clear, effective, persistent yet tactful and tailored interaction with varied audiences (upward & downward), with sensitivity to culture; and

• Have the ability to effectively facilitate complex subject matter (regardless of expertise) to elicit required information and enable effective decision making.

Demonstrates extensive abilities and/or a proven record of success in the following areas:

Applying industry standard methodologies and tools to develop and proactively manage project plans;

• Identifying risks, gaps and dependencies and recommend solutions;

• Possessing creative problem-solving abilities to devise solutions to successfully deliver on the business goals;

• Self-starter; ability to anticipate needs and define a path forward with minimal guidance;

• Self-learner, ability to use Firm resources to upskill; focusing on the project management functionality of the Assurance tools (i.e., Aura, Connect, FlexForecast);

• Demonstrating exceptional time management and organizational skills to ensure the timely completion of the project within budget.

• Technically competent with software including but not limited to Google G-Suite and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Tableau, and Alteryx

• Reporting results and facilitating problem resolution;

• Leading and developing teams locally/virtually, specifically global teams;

• Ability to apply a logical and analytical approach to work, tracking finances;

• Building and maintaining strong and diverse relationships at all levels including effectively navigating a complex matrixed organization; and,

• Committing to continuous improvement through innovation, simplification and leveraging industry-leading practices and holding team members accountable for doing the same.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage the ideation and implementation of standardized audit project management activities locally and across the Acceleration Centers

• Ability to lead and supervise the team (in person and/or virtually) to perform the tasks assigned by the established due date focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team;

• Review progress of the audit project against the plan and reporting on status to key stakeholders (including US Directors and Partners);

• Supervising the Project Accelerator Senior Associates and Associates to ensure established project management goals are achieved ;

• Schedule and lead the initial kick off call with the US/RTM engagement team to agree on responsibilities and expectations of the Project Accelerators;

• Lead, as necessary, internal taking stock or huddle team meetings. Provide feedback on the status of the project to the team at agreed points, such as the taking stock meeting;

• Oversee the project accelerators’ team workload to ensure an appropriate balance of personal and work commitments;

• Organize the team to make sure that work is allocated to the right people and the right people attend the right meetings;

• Monitor that required team members will be available at the right time to complete the audit work;

• Develop positive working relationships with audit team members (on site US team members, specialists, other Acceleration Centers, and Remote Team Members (RTMs)) and the client (as applicable);

• Maintain record of team huddle meetings and matters discussed, including actions to be taken. Update the team’s project plan and other tools (Aura, Connect, etc) to reflect changes;

• Recommend, as applicable, project process improvements to improve effectiveness and quality of the project;

• Act as the focal point of information relating to the achievement of the project plan (for example, the project manager(s) uses information received from the team to help achieve visibility of the project status and support good knowledge sharing practices.);

• Assists the engagement team, including RTMs, with any other administrative/logistics matter;

• Assists the engagement team with ad hoc time sensitive requests;

• Timely Escalates issues to appropriate stakeholders and drives resolution.

• Responsible for ensuring timely, accurate, and clear communication is provided to the stakeholders and members.

• Ability to work outside local working hours (See Time Zone/Working Overlap section).

Please attach the following documents along with your CV when you submit an online application:

• Academic Certificates and Transcripts, from SPM onwards (or equivalent)

• A copy of your NRIC or passport

• Recent passport size photo

Click on this link to know more about PwC's Acceleration Centers.

Degrees/Field of Study required: Degrees/Field of Study preferred: 0% No No