A Day in the Life of a Project Director at MEBS Global
Tony, a Project Director, spends managing people and processes, emphasizing "strategic partnership management" with stakeholders, and ensures US government partners are satisfied, highlighting relationship management with officials. The role also involves senior manager check-ins for motivation, dashboard monitoring of digital systems and supply chain operations, regular global fund meetings, mentorship of staff, and daily communication with headquarters, managing teams across time zones.
Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Leadership, Communication, Mentorship
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Tony Anammah
Project Director
Global Logistics and In-Country Support Services Provider
University of Nigeria
Masters in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, University of Salford Manchester, United Kingdom
Medical, Sciences & Related
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Manufacturing, Operations & Supply Chain
Operations and Project Management
Video Highlights
1. Strategic Partnership Management: Elevating stakeholder coordination to strategic partnerships, recognizing stakeholders as crucial to project success.
2. Importance of Relationship Management: Maintaining constant, regular meetings with government officials and US government partners, highlighting the significance of these relationships in project management and the broader business environment.
3. Emphasis on Mentorship and Employee Well-being: Prioritizing mentorship and creating a supportive environment for staff, particularly Gen Z, to foster their career growth and job satisfaction.
Transcript
Here's the cleaned transcript:
**Q3: Day in the life**
I was managing the project, which entails managing people and processes. This includes having oversight over the processes for the different arms of the project.
Of course, it also involves strategic partnership management rather than just stakeholder management. Over time, I've seen that elevating it to strategic partnerships makes you view stakeholders as partners invested in your project's success.
The other 30% of my time is spent in virtual meetings and making phone calls. I work with US government partners and US-funded projects in Nigeria, alongside my own projects. I need to ensure they are all happy.
This involves relationship management and constant, regular meetings with government officials. This is part of the broader business environment, aside from dealing with other aspects of it, which is technically what happens in project management.
The other 40% is for check-ins and standup meetings with most of my senior managers. I have weekly check-ins with each of them about their work and my expectations. As the lead for the entire project, I keep them motivated, empowered, and ensure they are performing their duties.
I do this differently, relating to them one-on-one, which is part of my leadership style. I also have processes and operations to monitor as they are happening. We have dashboards and enterprise resource planning systems in place, which I need to monitor.
With support from the senior manager for supply chain operations, I watch these dashboards to ensure commodities reach the last mile. I review reports and prepare to meet with our funder. Even though I meet with the global fund once a month, I still respond to their emails and have one-on-one meetings to explain project successes.
Additionally, I report to people at MEBS Global, a global company. While managing people below me and working with my contemporaries, I also relate to our headquarters in Virginia on a day-to-day basis. That's a summary of my work as a project director.
It's a very busy role, especially working across different time zones. The five-hour difference means I sometimes have to take calls at all hours, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the work.
What's particularly interesting is that for each of my 40 staff, I create time to meet them. At least once a week, I meet with at least one person. Besides the six senior managers I meet with statutorily every week, I see all my staff as individuals to mentor.
I aim to help them thrive and ensure they are happy while doing their jobs. With Gen Z, you have to keep them happy as they approach their work on their own terms. I love doing this because I've seen that I can bring out the best in them and support their career goals. This mentorship is part of my daily operations.
That's why I was excited to come and have this session with advice and the i-team.