Project Operations Manager

KiZAN • West Chester, OH

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Project Operations Manager serves as a critical operational bridge between Project Management and Accounting, ensuring projects are structured correctly, governed consistently, and translated accurately into financial and operational systems. This role owns project setup, operational governance, and ongoing data integrity within the Professional Services Automation (PSA) platform in Salesforce, acting as the subject matter expert for project operations across the services lifecycle. By standardizing how projects are set up, managed, billed, and reported, this role enables delivery teams to focus on execution while improving margin visibility, billing efficiency, forecasting accuracy, and operational scalability. The role also plays a key role in supporting SOC 2 compliance by enforcing consistent controls, audit-ready documentation, and system integrity across the project lifecycle.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in project operations, services operations, PMO, or professional services finance.
• Strong working knowledge of Professional Services Automation (PSA) tools, ideally Salesforce PSA.
• Experience supporting T&M and Fixed Fee delivery models, including milestones, progress billing, and WIP.
• Solid understanding of project financials, including budgets, margin, unbilled revenue, and billing controls.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across delivery, finance, compliance, and leadership teams.
• High attention to detail with a strong systems, process, and control-oriented mindset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a consulting firm, MSP, or professional services organization.
• Hands-on involvement in SOC 2 Type I or Type II audits or audit-readiness initiatives.
• Familiarity with revenue recognition concepts and accounting system integrations.

Responsibilities

• Project Setup & Operational Governance: Own end-to-end project setup in Salesforce PSA, translating SOWs and contract terms into accurate project structures, budgets, rates, and billing configurations. Establish and maintain project governance standards, including templates, controls, and operational best practices. Ensure projects are billing- and revenue-ready prior to kickoff, reducing downstream rework and financial risk. Partner with Project Managers to align delivery plans with system structure and financial expectations.
• PSA Ownership & Data Integrity: Serve as the internal subject matter expert for Salesforce PSA, supporting Project Managers, delivery leaders, and Accounting. Maintain ongoing PSA data hygiene including time and expense accuracy, WIP, unbilled revenue, billing caps, and project health indicators. Monitor project financial performance and proactively surface risks and anomalies. Support continuous improvement of PSA workflows, reporting, training, and usability as the organization scales.
• Team Leadership & Development: Motivate project teams to work collaboratively and efficiently. Mitigate team conflicts and communication problems. Maintain awareness of team workload and performance while fostering accountability.
• Billing Readiness & Finance Collaboration: Lead pre-billing readiness reviews to ensure invoices are accurate, supported, and compliant with contract terms. Partner with Project Managers to resolve billing exceptions, change orders, and scope impacts prior to invoicing. Serve as the primary operational liaison between Project Management and Accounting for billing, WIP, and revenue coordination. Support month-end close activities by providing accurate project status, reconciliation inputs, and operational insights.
• Reporting, Forecasting & SOC 2 Enablement: Produce and maintain services operational reporting including WIP aging, unbilled revenue, margin performance, and billing readiness. Ensure PSA processes and project data support SOC 2 control requirements such as access controls, change management, and audit trails. Partner with Compliance, Finance, and IT to support SOC 2 evidence collection related to project delivery, billing, and revenue processes. Identify operational gaps or control weaknesses and recommend process improvements to strengthen compliance and scalability.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Employer-sponsored 401(k) with company contributions.
• Company-paid life insurance and disability coverage.
• Ample vacation, 8 paid holidays, and a floating holiday.
• Access to cutting-edge technologies, certifications, and career development through Microsoft partnerships.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed