Project Manager, Strategic Programs

Encore Fire Protection•Needham, MA

2d•$110,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Encore Fire Protection is growing at a pace that demands world-class project execution, and this role is at the center of it. As Senior Project Manager, you will own the delivery of highly visible strategic initiatives across the organization, from the first scoping conversation through final closeout and lessons learned. This is not a role for someone who manages tasks on a spreadsheet. This is a role for someone who builds clarity out of ambiguity, drives alignment across competing stakeholders, and has the presence and rigor to hold complex projects to account at every stage. You will work directly with senior leadership across many teams including Operations, Finance, Sales, and Technology, and you will be a founding voice in the evolution of our growing PMO. In Your First 90 Days: You will embed yourself in Encore’s culture and operating rhythm, and build a deep understanding of what moves the business forward. You will build trusted relationships with project sponsors, functional leaders, and field operators, and you will learn how major projects are initiated, tracked, and closed. This is your window to listen, ask questions, and develop a clear-eyed picture of where the greatest opportunities for impact lie, all while starting to get involved in ongoing initiatives with the support of your team. Post-90 Days: You will take full ownership of an active project portfolio, applying disciplined scope, schedule, budget, and risk management to every initiative you lead. You will begin contributing to evolving PMO standards, including templates, governance frameworks, and status reporting cadences that create consistency and transparency across the organization. Weekly stakeholder communication will become second nature, and your ability to escalate and resolve issues with speed and poise will define your early reputation. Long-Term Vision: As your influence at Encore deepens, you will help mature the PMO itself including its methodology, tooling, and its role in how Encore makes its most important bets. You will become a trusted cross-functional collaborator, an advisor on prioritization and resource allocation, and a change agent who drives operational transformation by ensuring the right work gets done the right way. You will leave behind a framework for measuring the impact of strategic initiatives that outlasts any single project. Your work will help shape the infrastructure of how Encore gets things done and communicates its progress as we continue to grow at an exciting pace.

Requirements

7–12 years of project management experience, with at least 5 years leading complex, cross-functional projects in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with competing priorities, timelines, and stakeholders.
Experience operating in high-growth or PE-backed environments where pace, rigor, and adaptability are all required simultaneously.
Deep familiarity with project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, hybrid) and the judgment to apply them appropriately (certifications preferred).
Comfortable building and managing project budgets, reading P&L summaries, and presenting cost-benefit analyses to senior leaders.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, actionable direction for any audience.
Track record of contributing to or building PMO functions, including methodology development and process standardization.

Nice To Haves

A project where the scope changed dramatically mid-stream and how you adapted without losing the team or the timeline.
How you have influenced senior stakeholders who did not report to you and did not always agree with you.
The PMO process or tool you are most proud of building—and what problem it solved.
Your philosophy on status reporting: what good looks like, what bad looks like, and how you hold others accountable to it.
How you decide what to escalate versus what to absorb and solve on your own.

Responsibilities

Serve as an end-to-end owner for Encore’s highest-priority projects and programs, operating across functions and organizational levels.
Lead strategic projects from initiation through closeout, including scope definition, work breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder alignment.
Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, status dashboards, and executive-ready reporting that keep leadership informed and decisions moving.
Partner with project sponsors and department heads to define success criteria, resource requirements, and interdependencies at the outset of every initiative.
Identify, escalate, and resolve risks, issues, and blockers with urgency and precision—never letting a solvable problem become an unsolvable one.
Drive cross-functional collaboration across Operations, Finance, Sales, TechOps, and TCP, ensuring every workstream is aligned and accountable.
Help evolve PMO best practices: project intake processes, governance frameworks, standardized templates, methodology documentation, and lessons-learned protocols.
Manage project budgets and forecasts, tracking actuals against plan and surfacing variances with clear recommendations.
Build organizational capacity for delivery through mentorship and coaching.
Serve as a strategic thought partner to leadership on project prioritization, portfolio management, and capacity planning.

Benefits

Competitive Salary: Salary commensurate with experience with opportunity for a results-driven bonus based on personal output and effectiveness in role.
Purpose-Driven Work Environment: We believe in working smarter, not harder. You’ll be part of a culture that values results, and we empower our team to focus on impactful work.
Flexible Dress Code: Upon joining, you’ll receive branded Encore swag, and we believe in dressing for the objective, not the occasion. Most days, you can enjoy a casual work environment, but we’ll dress up when the situation calls for it.
People-Focused Culture: We know our greatest strength is our people. That’s why we’ve built a culture that encourages experimentation, learning, and improving together. You’ll have the space to share your ideas and help shape a company that is constantly growing.
Tools for Success: Access to leading-edge web-based productivity tools.
Health and Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage to keep you and your family healthy.
Retirement Planning: Participation in our Fidelity 401(k) plan with a company match, helping you save for your future.
Life Insurance: Company-paid life insurance policy of $50,000 to give you peace of mind.

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