Job Description
Title: Project Director
Department: Delivery & Country Operations
Reports to: Director, Delivery & Country Operations
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
About the Position
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Frontieri Consult PLC is seeking a Project Director to provide overall leadership for a portfolio of client projects and ensure effective delivery against agreed scope, budget, quality, and timelines.
The Project Director directly leads assigned project teams and is accountable for day-to-day delivery, contract administration, budget performance, and client relationships. The position reports to the Director, Delivery & Country Operations and works closely with Technical Practice Leads, Project Managers, Finance, and Country Office teams.
The role requires strong project management and commercial judgment, with the ability to coordinate technical and operational inputs while maintaining clear accountability for project delivery.
Key Responsibilities
Project Mobilization and Start-Up
Take responsibility for project mobilization and confirm that scope, budget, staffing, resources, and delivery plans are in place before implementation begins.
Coordinate project start-up with the relevant technical, delivery, finance, and country teams.
Establish clear communication and reporting arrangements with the client.
Authorize the commencement of field activities and lead the assigned project team through start-up.
Project Delivery and Team Leadership
Direct and support Project Manager(s) in the delivery of assigned projects.
Define, baseline, and actively manage detailed project work plans, master timelines, and critical path activities to guarantee on-time milestone delivery.
Implement formal schedule tracking mechanisms (e.g., baseline vs. actual variances, milestone burn-down rates) and enforce corrective action plans immediately upon detecting delays.
Identify and address project-level risks and issues, escalating matters that require management intervention.
Coordinate delivery priorities with Technical Practice Leads and ensure that technical requirements are appropriately reflected in project implementation.
Technical Coordination and Quality
Work closely with the assigned Technical Practice Lead to ensure that agreed methodologies, analytical approaches, and technical plans are implemented appropriately.
Confirm that technical deliverables and reports meet agreed requirements before submission to the client.
Participate in technical review of major project deliverables in coordination with the Technical Practice Lead.
Support appropriate data-quality controls and ensure significant quality issues are identified and addressed promptly.
Client Relationship and Change Management
Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned clients.
Enforce rigorous scope management to eliminate unapproved scope creep and ensure all contractual deliverables strictly conform to client service level agreements.
Manage client communications, progress reporting, and issue resolution in accordance with Frontieri's standards.
Address client concerns promptly and escalate significant matters as appropriate.
Manage changes within delegated authority, with material scope changes subject to formal change control and written client approval before implementation.
Budget and Financial Management
Monitor project contract requirements, deliverables, milestones, and invoicing points against agreed terms.
Maintain oversight of project budgets and expenditure and identify material variances at an early stage.
Work with Finance to assess financial issues and escalate significant budget or cost risks.
Support timely invoicing and financial review at project closeout.
Field Operations and Data Oversight
Coordinate with the relevant stakeholders on field operations, logistics, and local delivery matters.
Oversee field deployment schedules and field team productivity to meet target delivery timelines without compromising data quality and cost discipline.
Ensure that field activities are conducted in accordance with applicable safety, ethical, and data-quality requirements.
Anticipate and resolve field-level bottlenecks, operational downtime and logistical risks before they affect implementation schedules.
Work with the Technical Practice Lead to ensure that required data-quality verification is completed before analysis and reporting.
Reporting and Project Closure
Provide regular updates to the Director, Delivery & Country Operations on project progress, financial performance, key risks, and client relationships.
Confirm the release of project outputs following completion of the required technical quality reviews.
Coordinate project sign-off and financial closeout within the agreed timeframe following final client acceptance.
Document lessons learned and ensure relevant project records are completed and transferred to the firm's knowledge repository.
Job Requirements
Master's degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Development Studies, Economics, Sociology, Demography, Political Science, Public Policy, Management, or a related field.
PMP, PRINCE2, CAPM, CPMP, or equivalent professional certification and adequate expertise in PMBOK is an advantage.
Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years of direct experience managing multi-country or large-scale multi-site research/consulting execution plans under strict client-mandated deadlines. NGO project management experience is also considered relevant.
Demonstrated experience translating contracts and proposals into practical project workplans and delivery arrangements.
Strong knowledge of project scheduling, including Gantt charts, critical path analysis, project scheduling software (MS Project, Asana, Jira), baseline variance analysis, and performance tracking.
How To Apply
Interested candidates are invited to apply for the Project Director position by completing the application form below and submitting their updated CV and a concise cover letter.
Application Deadline: October 3, 2026
Apply here:
https://forms.gle/Nu7WS87DLSgJv6VA8
Applications will be reviewed against the requirements of the position. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.
