Technical Project Manager

Overview

The Enterprise Project Manager IV (PM) will lead the most complex, enterprise-wide business/technology programs and project teams in the planning and deployment of enterprise wide solutions serving as an enterprise leader of delivery in the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office.  This individual is differentiated by their mass years of experience in portfolio and project management, strategic thought leadership and ability to proactively problem solve and influence decision making with executives.  This individual will leverage matrixed program and project team, including agile teams and partner directly with Senior Executive (C-Suite) sponsors and customers in order to deliver business solutions within the triple constraints.  The Project Manager IV will lead and use the Project Management Methodology, Agile Project Standard and associated tools (ex. scope, schedule, risks, budget) to plan, manage and drive the success of multiple projects.

The Project Manager IV Manager will also align to a set of Senior Executives to convert strategy into a defined project portfolio, support the intake of projects facilitating business case scoping in partnership with business/technology leaders and serve as an escalation point to the EPMO. The Project Manager IV will also be responsible for the direct management and development of project manager as a direct report as well as a member of a managed program.

This is a full time (approx. 8am – 5pm), remote position on East Coast hours.

*Must have experience running implementation plans

Responsibiities:

• Responsibility and Accountability for the Program/Project: Responsible for using Program/Project Management methods to create project plans to deliver Executive Sponsor and Customer needs within the triple constraints of scope, schedule and budget, being fully accountable for the results of the program/project.  The Project Manager leads programs/projects with passion and drive.
• Defines Project Roles and Responsibilities: Working closely with the Customer, the Project Manager is ultimately responsible for defining the objectives, structure, roles and responsibilities to ensure program/project team members understand what is expected of them and what they should expect from one another.
• Strategic Thought Partner:  The PM learns and supports the business area’s strategy and goals and interacts as a strategic thought partner with the Executive Sponsor (C-Suite) and Customer (SVP) to identify solution options and drive problem solving across many interactive activities and influence and drive decision making at the executive and project team levels.
• Performs Program/Project Tracking:  Prepares, maintains and submits clear and concise status and stakeholder reports.  The Project Manager is accountable for tracking a project or program and discovering potential problems before they occur.  The PM applies this proactive approach in routinely tracking the project members’ progress against their project commitments.
• Adopts Program/Project Management Best Practices: The Project Manager is responsible for defining, teaching, and enforcing the use of good program/project management methodologies and best practices.  They have a broad and flexible toolkit of techniques, resolving complex, interdependent activities and risks into tasks and sub-tasks that are documented, monitored and controlled.  They adapt their approach to the context and constraints of each program/project, knowing that no “one size” can fit all the variety of programs/projects.  They are expected to always be improving upon their own and their teams’ skills through lessons-learned reviews at project completion.
•  Makes Things Happen: Have the knowledge, skills and experience to be able to recognize when problems surface or potential problems are looming. The Project Manager is able to articulate problems, bring the right people together to solve problems and know when the problem has been properly addressed and closed—all this with the proper sense of urgency that the problem requires.
• Promotes Customer Involvement: The Project Manager recognizes that program/project success is directly related to satisfying the customer; therefore, customer involvement is essential to ensure that the right product is built.  They communicate project status to the Sponsor and internal Customer.  No significant project status leaves the boundaries of the project without PM approval.
• Applies Lessons Learned:  The Project Manager lead studies the lessons learned from prior projects and applies the most important lessons to the new project. 
• Encourages and Supports Escalations: The Project Manager communicates to all concerned parties project milestones, status updates, as well as any existing or potential customer escalation issues.  Proactively follows escalation and change control processes.  Has overall ownership of all management reports on a given engagement. The Project Manager establishes a project culture where escalations to resolve “stagnant” problems are viewed as good business and not viewed as being personal.
• Promotes Good Working Relationships: The Project Manager serves as a role model in promoting good working relationships across a program/project.  They also can serve as a mentor to less experienced Project Managers.  Project Managers should cultivate the people skills needed to develop trust and communication among all of a project’s stakeholders: its sponsors, those who will make use of the project’s results, those who command the resources needed, and the project team members.
• Enforces Effective Change Control:  The Project Manager ensures that scope creep, communications, and quality are carefully negotiated and managed.
• Drives Decision-Making to Lowest Level Possible: Project Manager drives ownership of decisions to the level where the accountability of the decision must lie.  A key result is that project members, with proper training and coaching, will almost always rise to the expectations placed on them.
• Relationship Manager.  The Project Manager will be assigned to multiple Senior Executives responsible for understanding the business strategy and roadmap of planned projects and support the Project Proposal process in partnership with the Portfolio Manager.  The Project Manager also serves as the point of escalation for the EPMO to address project issue/escalation and resolution of unresolved problems within their portfolio.
• Mentors Project Members: The Project Manager is a teacher and helps others through sharing of knowledge and skills at all levels of the organization.  They are expected to also teach other PM’s, project sponsors/customers, and project team members about best practices in portfolio, program and project management.
• Consensus and Contingency: The Project Manager routinely engages in building consensus, developing contingency planning and providing recommended solutions.
• Maintain detailed records: The Project Manager should maintain documents of the life of a project and share information, as necessary, with the team and management.
• Manages to Project Priorities: The Project Manager maintains their focus on the top priorities for their projects and can shift directions as required to address unexpected changes.  

Experience:

• A minimum Bachelor Degree, 12+ years of direct, hand-on accountability for leading project outcomes and program management experience – preferably from a financial services or corporate environment 
• PMP certification preferred
• SCRUM (Kanban) Master certification and experience preferred
• Project management, comfortable with tools such as JIRA, Smartsheets, and Microsoft Project.
• Demonstrated experience working with infrastructure teams—network, systems, desktop—or within technology environments related to retail branches.
• Proven track record in leading both short-term and long-term implementation projects.
• Able to handle multiple concurrent projects of similar nature for different groups, demonstrating strong multitasking and organizational skills.
• Comfortable and effective in a dynamic, iterative environment that requires frequent adaptation and change management.
• Expert knowledge of PMI and PM best practices
• Skilled in various project delivery methodologies (waterfall, agile, hybrid)
• Self-motivated, quick and assertive
• Extremely detailed oriented and organized
• Exceptional time management skills
• Excellent written communication and verbal presentation skills
• Cool, calm, collected and collaborative.  Works well under pressure and comfortable with change and complexity in dynamic environments. Can shift readily between the “big picture” and the small-but-crucial details, knowing when to concentrate on each.
• Ability to develop detailed program/project plans and schedules to manage individual deadlines and goals
• Deep knowledge of project and quality metrics, including gathering, reporting and trend analysis        
• Ability to identify issues and problems, generate solution options and choose appropriate alternatives using basic root cause analysis.
• Manage project scope by assessing requirement changes, determining and conveying impact on budget, time and risk. Manage client expectations, anticipates operational and tactical risks and tracks them. Clarify, identify, and track requirements and issues, remove barriers, resolve minor project issues and escalate to immediate manager where required
• Proficient in MS Office applications, MS Project, VISIO, JIRA, Smartsheets
• Stays abreast of current industry trends and new technology through professional associations, trade journals, networking, and associated training and seminars.

The target hiring compensation range for this role is $74.96 to $83.29 an hour. Compensation is based on several factors including, but not limited to education, relevant work experience, relevant certifications, and location.

About Aquent Talent:

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world’s biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits! 

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment—one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.

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