Project Manager IV

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS • Austin, TX

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) works to build on strengths of families and communities to keep children and vulnerable adults safe, so they thrive. We do this through investigations, services, and referrals.

The Project Manager IV reports in the Project Management Office within the Information Technology Services (ITS) division. The Project Manager IV performs advanced (senior-level) project management work. Work involves coordinating the planning and initiation of diverse projects at various levels of completion; monitoring the progress and schedule of projects; and communicating with project stakeholders, management, and other relevant parties. May direct, assign, and evaluate the work of project staff. Works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.

The mission of DFPS is to protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by involving clients, families, and communities. We are looking to grow our teams with people who share our energy and enthusiasm to get behind our mission of protecting those among us who are most in need.

This position is classified as a full-time position (40 hours a week). Work outside of regular hours may be required. Travel to Austin offices for meetings may be required.

Requirements

• Knowledge of project management theories, lifecycles, and practices applicable to projects that are highly complex in scope; systems and procedures used to evaluate a third-party vendor’s performance; and local, state, and federal laws and regulations relevant to the administration of the project undertaken.
• Knowledge of software development lifecycles as well as the processes and best practices of business requirement elicitation, software development, testing, security, accessibility, and implementation for software products.
• Knowledge and experience with project management systems such as Jira, HP Project Management, Clarity, Planview, Daptiv, etc.
• Skill in interpersonal relationships, including the ability to work with people under pressure, negotiate among multiple parties, resolve conflicts, and establish and maintain effective working relationships with various level personnel in governmental entities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and project activities; to establish project goals and objectives; to exercise sound judgment in making critical decisions; to analyze complex information and develop plans to address identified issues; to demonstrate negotiation and facilitation skills; to identify project risks and gaps; to prepare reports; to communicate effectively; and to direct, assign, and evaluate the work of project staff.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with IT and business stakeholders to deliver enterprise or platform solutions. Experience with ServiceNow or similar enterprise platforms preferred.
• Ability to mentor others in a constructive manner and follow through on assignment completion.
• Ability to adhere to established DFPS project management practices and drive improvements where appropriate.
• Ability to analyze and interpret complicated technical information and translate it to easily understandable and concise documents and oral presentations for project team members, agency executives, and other stakeholders.
• Ability to provide leadership of software development projects and work cooperatively in a team environment.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, MS Project, Visio, and MS Teams
• At least six (6) years’ experience managing Information Technology projects.
• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university. Work experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-project project programs or portfolios.
• Working within or alongside IT organizations, partnering with business and technical stakeholders to deliver platform or enterprise solutions (ServiceNow or Similar)

Nice To Haves

• Prefer Project Management Professional (PMP), Portfolio Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute, or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) from the Project Management Institute.
• Prefer Certified Scrum Master (CSM), PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), or other Agile-related certifications.
• Experience with any State of Texas agency is preferred but not required.
• Project Management Professional Certification and Scrum/Agile certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates with division teams across DFPS to initiate projects that have agency or enterprise impact, ensuring project authorization is obtained and that Program resources are available.
• Manages all the phases of division, agency and enterprise projects including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
• Coordinates with DFPS Program areas to develop criteria for evaluating business requirements, facilitates sessions to gather additional business or technical requirements and identifies program needs, including identifying program/project stakeholders, establishing project goals and objectives, prioritizing business or technical requirements, ensuring that requirements are aligned with the project scope and projects tasks are appropriately assigned.
• Assists project staff with developing and completing project plans, work breakdown structures, time schedules, risks and issue logs, and action/decision tracking logs.
• Works with the Project Management Office, other division staff and program stakeholders to identify risks/issues and develop mitigation strategies by facilitating reviews of business or technical requirements, conducting regular scrum or project status meetings, prioritizing issue and risk impact to the project and participating in change management activities, as needed.
• Coordinates and monitors project tasks and assignments, ensuring quality of project deliverables and adherence to project cost estimations.
• Submits project change requests to Change Control Board for approval of changes to original project scope, schedule, and/or budget.
• As needed, works within the PMO Leadership Team to establish and standardize project management practices.
• Performs complex project management using DFPS established project management and scrum practices, including project initiation, project planning and execution, project monitoring and control or using techniques to identify, address and solve issues such as product backlog creation, sprint planning, and activities, testing/demonstrating, and retrospective.
• Coaches project staff on established processes and best practices in various areas, including business analysis, software development, testing, security, accessibility, implementation, and other internal IT standards.
• As needed, assists the PMO Leadership Team with strategic direction and implementation of project management systems, such as Jira, HP Project Management, Clarity, Planview, and Daptiv.
• Coordinates project activities with internal and external business partners, ensuring timely completion of assignments and adherence to project scope and deadlines.
• Coordinates, develops, and implements project plans to ensure project stakeholders are informed on project purpose, goals, and approach.
• Works with project managers and other IT staff and program stakeholders to create and update project communication plans
• Develops project management dashboards, project schedules, and work breakdown structures, as assigned, to report on project statuses, monitor project costs and resource time allocations; and provides instruction on the use of project management tools and documents.
• Provides input and information for presentations to the legislature, agency leadership, and stakeholders on project status.
• Prepares high-quality written presentations, updates, summaries, and other documents according to target audience needs.
• Represents the division and the IT Project Management Office in discussions within the division, with Program areas and other agencies, and produces work products.
• Performs project-related research and analysis tasks as assigned to report on program area requirements, state, and federal requirements, and informs PMO management of risks or issues.
• Provides research on complex topics, including assessment, analysis, and evaluation of federal regulations and communications, professional literature, and other publications to make determinations and recommendations related to state and federal legislation.
• Develops proposals as necessary to support project activities.
• Participates in division’s legislative analysis and fiscal note processes.
• Attends work on a regular and predictable schedule in accordance with agency leave policy. Adheres to all Texas Department of Family and Protective Services HR policies and performs related work as assigned.

Benefits

• 100% paid health insurance for you, and 50% paid for eligible family members—saving you hundreds every month in out-of-pocket medical costs
• Retirement plans with lifetime monthly payments after five years of state service, plus options to save even more with 401(k) and 457 plans
• Paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave so you can recharge and take care of life outside work (that’s time off you’re actually paid for)
• Optional dental, vision, and life insurance—at rates much lower than most private plans
• Flexible spending accounts for added tax savings on health and dependent care
• Employee discounts on things like gym memberships, electronics, and entertainment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level