AVI LIMITED is home to many of South Africa’s leading and best-loved brands! Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and centred on the FMCG market, AVI’s extensive brand portfolio includes more than 50 brands. Our brands span a range of categories including hot beverages, sweet and savoury biscuits and snacks, frozen convenience foods, out-of-home ranges, personal care products, cosmetics, footwear, accessories, and fashion apparel. We have a well-developed Shared Services structure spanning: International, IT, Finance, Logistics, Marketing, Procurement and Field Marketing, that allows us to take advantage of our scale. Our single-minded purpose is our brands growth and development.

An exciting opportunity exists for a Junior Project Manager at National Brands Ltd (NBL) in Bryanston. The purpose of the role is to provide support to the projects department in ensuring on time and in scope project delivery to drive business growth. In this role, the successful candidate will be instrumental in ensuring the smooth execution of projects by coordinating resources, timelines, and communication among stakeholders. They will work closely with the project manager and cross-functional teams to ensure that projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with our company’s strategic goals.

Reporting Structure: Project Manager

Job Specification:

Key Performance Areas:

1. Project Planning and Coordination

• Support the project manager in the development of project plans, timelines and other various project documentation and records.
• Coordinate project activities - i.e. setting up meetings, recording minutes, tracking outstanding actions etc.
• Regularly check and adjust project timelines as a project evolves.
• Project risk reporting.
• Supervise project process compliance and report any deviations.

2. Stakeholder Communication

• Maintain regular communication with stakeholders, providing updates on project progress.
• Escalation of projects risks and delays to project manager.

3. Meeting Management

• Set up project meetings, take minutes, distribute them, follow up on action items, and ensure relevant documentation is uploaded to the portal as required.
• Participate in monthly marketing, NPD and other project related meetings

4. Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, including progress reports, meeting minutes, and performance metrics.

5. Coordinate Sensory Tests

• Liaise with the technical teams at the manufacturing sites to conduct sensory tests to evaluate product formulations as part of the NPD process.
• Handout samples to the approved sensory panelists, collate feedback and send back to site technical teams.

Minimum Requirements:

Experience: 

• Minimum of two years’ experience in a similar role with exposure and knowledge in project management

Qualifications:

• A completed three-year bachelors' degree

Additional Requirements:

• Advanced MS PowerPoint skills
• Advanced MS Excel skills
• MS Projects experience will be advantageous
• Knowledge of an NPD process is essential
• Will be required to travel to sites on an ad-hoc basis