The Senior Project Manager is responsible for managing the planning and execution of large, complex, and or strategically significant projects supporting improvements and change across business processes, teams and functions. Under minimal direction, the Senior PM provides project direction, managing project team members and partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure projects deliver the expected scope and business value, complete on budget and on schedule, and deliver with quality. Develops strong, mutually respectful partnerships with stakeholders, manages expectations, and ensures effective communication for the audience, advocating for the project at all levels of the organization. Provides options analysis and decisioning frameworks to leadership for project-related choices and risk mitigation. The Senior PM uses well-developed judgment to understand the business environment and shares customer perspective with the project team. Provides coaching and mentoring to more junior level project managers.
Project and Change Management: Provide tactical and team leadership throughout project lifecycle
- Oversees development of all project deliverables (charter, requirements, detailed design, test plan, etc.)
- Ensures implementation of all activities to meet the defined scope, schedule, budget and resources
- Coordinates with people managers, partners, vendors and project sponsorship to ensure project is appropriately resourced and resources and/or tools are effectively managed to achieve project goals
- Enables sponsors to be effective change agents
- Define change and change management approach, including identification of interdependencies with other planned work efforts
- Anticipates project specific risks and minimizes impact of change on project delivery
- Compares actual performance with planned performance and implement appropriate corrective action if needed
- Responsible for ensuring project complies with established enterprise project portfolio management governance processes including intake, quarterly reviews, and annual planning
- Project closeout: Conducts lessons learned and hands-off work for sustainability
Communication/Leadership: Ensures effective convening and communication with project team members, stakeholders and senior leadership. Includes status, solutioning, risk/issue management and key decisions.
- Facilitates meetings and communications throughout the project lifecycle to build project momentum and ensure transparency of relevant project information to appropriate audiences.
- Establishes and nurtures relationships with customers and project stakeholders/sponsors
- Prepares and delivers executive level briefings and/or decision support as desired
- Manages the efforts of other PM's and sub-team leads, contractors and support staff making assignments and monitoring progress
Consultation & Analysis:
- Provide consulted direction and facilitation to the functional and business impact analysis of solution options and facilitates trade off analysis where desired to achieve project objectives and manage or mitigate risk
- Demonstrates thought leadership in terms of approach and objectives and risk and issues management with personal contributions to identifying and strategizing on mitigation and devising solutions
- Contributes to achievement of larger strategic goals for the function or program by highlighting critical issues and impacts
Project Management Practice: Leverage project methodologies and best practices (internal & external) to ensure quality, consistent, effective delivery (IE: PMI, Agile, Waterfall, etc.)
- Provides coaching and mentoring to more junior-level project managers
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of the PM practices and project management office (PMO): Defines/ communicates best practice recommendations for improvement & adoption.
- Business Knowledge - Understands the business benefits of the project and the linkage between project/program goals and organizational strategy and drivers.
- Excellent knowledge and expertise utilizing standard project management and change management frameworks (Agile, Waterfall, etc.) for effective project delivery across the full project lifecycle.
- Oral and written communication techniques, channels and applications
- Team Leadership - Demonstrated ability to mobilize and motivate teams; set direction and approach; resolve conflict; motivates performance; deliver tough messages with grace; follow through with limited information and ambiguity
- Relationship Management - Demonstrated ability to quickly earn the trust of sponsors and key stakeholders; empathetic and creative manager able to listen to and understand partner interests and concerns and proactively plan to address them
Education and Experience
- Project Management Professional certification is desired but not required
- 7+ years of progressive PM experience with increasing levels of complexity