IT Project Manager

Beacon Technologies•Cedar Rapids, IA

About The Position

We are seeking an IT Project Manager for our client partner. Responsible for the successful initiation, planning, development, administration, risk management, implementation, control, and closure of one or more large, complex technology projects across multiple business units through the Program and Project Management department. This position will initially emphasize the front-end activities needed to translate business needs and strategic priorities into well-defined, executable projects. These activities may include business analysis, requirements discovery, business case development, solution evaluation, stakeholder alignment, governance preparation, resource planning, and project mobilization.The successful candidate must also have demonstrated experience managing technology projects through execution, implementation, transition, and closeout. Based on program priorities and business needs, this individual may be assigned to lead approved projects through the full project lifecycle. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and project startup capabilities with the project management experience necessary to successfully deliver complex business and technology solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Project Management Professional certification required.
Five or more years of project management experience managing medium-to-large, complex projects.
Demonstrated experience managing technology, software implementation, enterprise application, or technology-enabled business projects.
Demonstrated experience leading projects through initiation, planning, execution, implementation, transition, and closeout.
Experience working with cross-functional teams that include business, technology, project management, vendor, and operational stakeholders.
Strong business analysis skills, including the ability to identify business needs, facilitate requirements discussions, assess alternatives, and translate strategic objectives into executable initiatives.
Strong project initiation, planning, and mobilization skills, with the ability to establish the foundation necessary for successful project delivery.
Ability to transition effectively between strategic analysis, front-end project development, detailed planning, and hands-on project execution.
Ability to analyze and solve moderately complex business, technology, resource, and project delivery problems and implement effective solutions.
Ability to organize large and complex project plans and maintain complete, accurate, and effective project documentation.
Demonstrated ability to plan and carry out responsibilities with a minimum of direction.
Demonstrated leadership, facilitation, collaboration, negotiation, and team-building skills.
Ability to establish and apply meaningful performance measures, success criteria, and project controls.
Ability to manage competing priorities, ambiguity, dependencies, resource constraints, risks, and changing business needs.
Demonstrated ability to communicate complex business and technology information clearly to project teams, business leaders, technology leaders, governance groups, and executive stakeholders.
Demonstrated effective interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
Ability to build alignment and influence outcomes across business and technology organizations without relying on direct authority.
Working knowledge of project financial management, vendor management, governance, organizational change management, and operational readiness practices.
Demonstrated ability to use business productivity and project management software, including email, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, collaboration, scheduling, and project reporting tools.
Ability to work effectively in a diverse and matrixed work environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience performing or leading business analysis, requirements discovery, business case development, feasibility assessment, solution evaluation, or project initiation activities.
Experience establishing new projects through chartering, resource planning, governance preparation, scheduling, risk assessment, and mobilization.
Experience developing executive-level recommendations, decision materials, project status reports, and presentations.
Experience supporting enterprise work and asset management, utility operations, ERP, EAM, or other large-scale business and technology initiatives.
Experience managing vendor-delivered solutions, contracts, Requests for Proposals, and third-party project resources.
Experience working in a matrixed environment in which project resources report to multiple business or functional areas.

Responsibilities

Partners with business and technology leaders to understand strategic priorities, operational needs, business challenges, and desired outcomes.
Leads or supports business analysis activities to define the business need, clarify the problem or opportunity, identify impacted stakeholders, and document high-level business and functional requirements.
Translates business needs and strategic objectives into clearly defined project concepts, business cases, charters, implementation approaches, and executable project plans.
Facilitates discovery sessions, requirements discussions, planning workshops, and stakeholder alignment activities across business, technology, and project teams.
Develops or supports business cases, funding requests, cost-benefit analyses, feasibility assessments, and executive decision materials for proposed initiatives.
Defines measurable business outcomes, success criteria, performance measures, assumptions, dependencies, constraints, and value realization objectives.
Evaluates solution and implementation alternatives in collaboration with business and technology stakeholders.
Documents recommendations, tradeoffs, risks, costs, resource needs, and organizational impacts to support informed decision-making.
Monitors technical and business developments that may affect an initiative and provides recommendations regarding project direction, sourcing approach, sequencing, continuation, modification, or termination.
Leads project startup and mobilization activities to establish the structure, resources, governance, plans, and controls required for successful project delivery.
Develops project plans, schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk management plans, communication plans, stakeholder engagement plans, and other required project documentation.
Determines appropriate project resource requirements and staffing skill sets, including the level of business, technical, vendor, and project management expertise needed to successfully complete the project.
Assesses organizational capacity, implementation readiness, project interdependencies, and resource constraints when recommending project timing and sequencing.
Identifies and coordinates required governance, architecture, technology, security, sourcing, financial, operational, and leadership reviews.
Establishes clear project roles, responsibilities, decision-making authority, escalation paths, and working agreements across business, technology, vendor, and project teams.
Develops transition and mobilization plans that enable the project team to move effectively from initiation and planning into execution.
Understands and utilizes project management methodologies and processes, based on Project Management Institute standards, to achieve scope, schedule, cost, quality, and business outcome objectives.
May assume responsibility for managing approved projects from initiation through execution, monitoring and controlling, implementation, operational transition, and closeout.
Leads cross-functional teams consisting of business, technology, project management, vendor, and other resources to deliver agreed-upon project outcomes.
Establishes and manages project scope, costs, resources, performance measures, timelines, technical objectives, risks, issues, dependencies, and deliverables.
Monitors project performance and takes appropriate action to address variances, barriers, resource constraints, delivery risks, or changes in business priorities.
Facilitates timely project decisions and issue resolution.
Escalates matters through the appropriate governance channels when decisions, risks, or issues cannot be resolved within the project team.
Manages project dependencies and maintains awareness of the broader program and project portfolio to identify scheduling, resource, technology, and business impacts.
Develops and executes communication and stakeholder management plans, including project status, risk, issue, financial, milestone, and progress reporting in the agreed-upon format, frequency, level of detail, and audience.
Ensures project decisions, requirements, assumptions, risks, changes, and approvals are appropriately documented and traceable throughout the project lifecycle.
Develops and manages project budgets, forecasts, financial performance, and cost estimates in accordance with applicable financial practices and controls.
May perform cost-benefit and financial analyses to assess project feasibility and support investment decisions.
Manages applicable project contracts in conjunction with sourcing personnel.
Prepares or supports Requests for Proposals, evaluates vendor responses, participates in negotiations, interprets contract language, and manages vendor performance and project finances.
Ensures vendor work is completed in accordance with contract requirements, project specifications, quality expectations, and approved schedules.
Partners with business owners, operational teams, organizational change management resources, and technology teams to assess change impacts and implementation readiness.
Ensures that communication, stakeholder engagement, training, adoption, and operational readiness needs are identified and incorporated into project plans.
Ensures training needs are addressed for project team members, impacted stakeholders, and users of the implemented solution.
Supports the development of transition plans that clearly define operational ownership, support responsibilities, process changes, documentation requirements, and post-implementation activities.
Provides business consulting and organizational change management support within the context of program and project management to help achieve strategic objectives and expected business outcomes.
Upon project completion, ensures operational teams are prepared to support the implemented solution and that an orderly transition of project deliverables occurs.
Ensures project and financial activities are appropriately completed, including closing applicable work orders, addressing related financial charges, reassigning project resources, and organizing required documentation.
Confirms that outstanding risks, issues, decisions, support needs, and follow-up activities have defined owners and appropriate transition plans.
Facilitates project closeout, lessons learned, and post-implementation review activities.
May provide support for the maintenance and continuous improvement of Program and Project Management department tools, templates, standards, methodologies, and processes.
Provides guidance and mentoring to project team members and others in the effective use of project management, business analysis, organizational change management, and project mobilization practices.