Senior IT Systems Project Manager

Department: Digital Governance

Location: Agence Togo Digital, Lomé, Togo

Reporting Manager: Head of Architecture and Compliance

Functional Collaborations: Technical Direction, quality assurance teams, business owners, systems integrators, IT vendors, beneficiary ministries and public institutions

Positions available: 1

Main Mission

Within the framework of the Togolese Administration's accelerated 360-degree digitalization program, the Senior IT Systems Project Manager will be responsible for supervising, coordinating, and controlling IT Systems projects led by Agence Togo Digital.

He/she will act as the core operational interface between ATD, systems integrators, various IT service providers involved in digitizing administrative procedures, and the beneficiary institutions. In this capacity, he/she will guarantee the coordination, tracking, technical validation, and proper execution of IT Systems projects while ensuring compliance, quality, and full traceability of all deliverables.

He/she must ensure the seamless operation of deployed tools, platforms, and technical environments, and control the quality of deliverables produced in accordance with technical specifications, contractual commitments, agreed timelines, and performance requirements set out in the terms of reference.

In the execution of their duties, the Senior IT Systems Project Manager is expected to provide or validate the following deliverables, depending on the specific typology of the projects under their purview:

• Integrator and IT vendor tracking and progress reports;

• Project dashboards monitoring delivery indicators, timelines, risks, and performance KPIs;

• Integrator and vendor performance evaluation reports;

• Incident reports, bottleneck assessments, and corrective action plans;

• Project closure reports including post-mortem analysis, feedback, and recommendations;

• Minutes and summaries of steering committees and progress review meetings;

• Deliverable acceptance and validation certificates;

• Technical user acceptance testing (UAT) sign-off sheets;

• Production deployment and stakeholder training certificates;

• Quality assurance tracking and system compliance documentation.

Responsibilities

1. IT Systems Project Steering and Monitoring

• Lead and monitor assigned IT Systems projects from the initial scoping phase through to production rollout.

• Manage the planning, coordination, and operational monitoring of activities carried out by integrators and IT vendors.

• Track project timelines, costs, risks, dependencies, and performance indicators.

• Implement the necessary project tracking and governance tools for IT Systems management.

• Produce regular reports and status updates for Executive Management and project governance bodies.

2. Supervision of Integrators and IT Service Providers

• Supervise systems integrators and third-party IT service providers working on the Agency's projects.

• Manage contractual follow-ups for IT services and verify adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

• Control the quality of the work delivered, the architectures deployed, and the deliverables submitted.

• Ensure vendors strictly comply with the statements of work, acceptance criteria, technical standards, and requirements.

• Establish evaluation mechanisms to assess the performance of integrators and vendors.

3. Control of Technical Environments and Tools

• Ensure the proper functioning of deployed tools, platforms, technical environments, and solutions.

• Verify that provided environments match project needs and technical infrastructure specifications.

• Ensure that integrators are granted the necessary access rights, tools, and information required to perform their missions.

• Ensure that integrators are properly trained on and proficient in the tools made available to them.

• Identify technical anomalies/malfunctions and coordinate the execution of corrective actions.

4. Quality, Compliance, and Deliverable Validation

• Audit the compliance of deliverables against technical, functional, and contractual specifications.

• Organize and manage deliverable validation workflows with relevant stakeholders.

• Participate in technical/functional user acceptance testing (UAT) and production release validation.

• Reject, request corrections for, or approve deliverables based on their compliance with the Agency's quality standards.

• Contribute to defining and monitoring quality indicators specific to IT Systems projects.

5. Coordination with Ministries, Institutions, and Business Teams

• Act as the direct operational interface with beneficiary ministries and public institutions during user acceptance, deployment, and knowledge transfer phases.

• Align business needs and functional requirements with technical requirements and the solutions built by integrators.

• Facilitate seamless communication between institutional decision-makers, business owners, technical teams, and vendors.

• Participate in steering committees and represent the Agency on topics related to project quality, technical tracking, and compliance.

• Anticipate bottlenecks and propose appropriate solutions tailored to the institutional and operational context.

6. Deployment, Production Release, and Knowledge Transfer

• Coordinate activities related to system deployment, data migration, and the go-live phases of integrated systems.

• Verify that all technical, operational, and documentation prerequisites are fully met before authorization for production rollout.

• Oversee the preparation of training materials and knowledge transfer frameworks.

• Ensure a smooth handover of solutions to end-users, system administrators, or beneficiary teams.

• Capitalize on post-deployment feedback and feed the organizational repository with lessons learned.

7. Continuous Improvement and Quality Culture

• Leverage project feedback to continuously optimize tracking methods and quality control frameworks.

• Instill and cultivate a quality-driven culture among project teams, vendors, and institutional partners.

• Propose optimizations for project management, validation, user acceptance testing, and vendor monitoring processes.

• Contribute to formalizing standards, procedures, and best practices for IT Systems project management.

• Maintain a strategic watch on IT project management methodologies, software quality assurance, systems integration, and IT governance.

Required Skills

• Project Management Methodologies: Mastery of frameworks such as PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, or equivalent.

• Tooling: Strong command of project planning, operational tracking, and portfolio reporting tools.

• Vendor Management: Solid, proven experience in the technical supervision of systems integrators and IT service providers.

• Technical Breadth: Good understanding of information systems architecture, application platforms, technical infrastructure, and deployment pipelines.

• Contract and Performance Control: Ability to monitor contractual agreements, evaluate services, audit deliverables, and define metrics/KPIs.

• Release & Handover: Solid grasp of user acceptance testing (UAT), rollout strategies, data migration protocols, and change management/training.

• Analytical Skills: Advanced capability to interpret statements of work, technical specifications, architecture blueprints, and delivery reports.

• Soft Skills: Outstanding written and verbal communication in French; diplomacy, leadership, political acumen, and a high capacity to perform under pressure in complex multi-stakeholder environments.

• Languages: Good command of technical English to interact smoothly with international partners, software publishers, or global vendors.

Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree (BAC+5) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems Management, IT Engineering, or a related field.

• Professional Experience: A minimum of 8 years of experience in IT project management or leading complex enterprise/systems projects.

• Proven Track Record: Confirmed experience in the technical oversight of external IT vendors and validation of complex IT deliverables.

• Sector Experience: Significant experience in large-scale digital transformation initiatives. Experience within institutional, public administration, or government digitization environments is a highly definitive asset.

• Professional Certifications: Project management or IT governance certifications are highly valued (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL, Scrum Master, COBIT, or equivalent).

Job Requirements and Challenges

• Simultaneous coordination of multiple integrators, service providers, and heterogeneous technical solutions.

• Managing projects across a diverse range of critical public sector business domains.

• High compliance and strict enforcement of data privacy, confidentiality, and cybersecurity protocols.

• Mastery of the digital standards and architecture principles championed by the Agency.

• Raising stakeholder and vendor awareness regarding these digital standards across various governance bodies.

• Capacity to validate or reject complex technical deliverables strictly on compliance grounds despite contractual timeline pressures and rollout schedules.

• High availability required during critical deployment, data migration, user acceptance testing, and go-live phases.

• Uncompromising commitment to rigor, transparency, and the systematic documentation of all technical and project management decisions.