Senior Manager, HR Project Management

Vantive•Deerfield, IL

13d•$144,000 - $198,000

About The Position

The Senior Manager, HR Project Management leads the execution of the HR strategic portfolio, ensuring initiatives are prioritized, governed, and delivered in alignment with business and functional objectives. This role is responsible for driving successful outcomes across multiple HR programs and projects, including the HR Operating Model and other enterprise initiatives. Partnering closely with HR leaders and key stakeholders, the Senior Manager develops and oversees project plans, monitors progress, manages risks and dependencies, and provides visibility into critical milestones, decisions, and outcomes. As the leader of HR project management practices, this position establishes governance, execution discipline, and standardized processes across the HR function, promoting consistency, transparency, and measurable business results. The Senior Manager collaborates with senior HR leadership to support prioritization, resource allocation, and trade-off decisions, ensuring the successful delivery of initiatives that enhance organizational effectiveness and business performance.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Organizational Effectiveness, Project Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience leading complex programs, projects, or strategic initiatives within HR, business operations, consulting, or transformation environments.
Experience leading teams, PMO functions, or project management professionals.
Demonstrated success establishing and managing project portfolios, governance processes, prioritization frameworks, and execution disciplines across multiple initiatives.
Experience supporting senior executives and leadership teams in the planning, execution, and monitoring of strategic priorities.
Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional projects involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and significant organizational impact.
Expertise in program and project management methodologies, tools, and best practices.
Experience leading large-scale, cross-functional initiatives from planning through execution and delivery.
Expertise in risk identification, dependency management, and issue resolution.
Strong understanding of change management and stakeholder engagement principles.
Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to develop presentations, dashboards, and status reports for senior leadership.
Ability to influence and drive accountability across teams without direct authority.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complexity into actionable plans.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting HR functions, HR transformation initiatives, operating model implementations, or organizational effectiveness programs strongly preferred.
Project Management Professional (PMP), PgMP, Agile, Lean, or equivalent certification is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and drive prioritization of the HR portfolio in partnership with HR leadership, ensuring initiatives align with business and functional objectives.
Own portfolio-level decision frameworks and prioritization governance to support effective resource allocation and strategic execution.
Accountable for portfolio delivery performance and outcomes, including program/project health, resource utilization, sequencing of work, and achievement of strategic objectives.
Facilitate portfolio planning and prioritization discussions, helping leaders evaluate competing demands, resource requirements, dependencies, and organizational impact.
Maintain visibility into key initiatives, milestones, risks, and interdependencies across the portfolio.
Lead the HR Operating Model and other strategic HR initiatives, with accountability for end-to-end delivery, execution excellence, and achievement of defined business outcomes.
Ensure delivery against defined business outcomes and value realization, not just project milestones and deliverables.
Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and success measures to enable effective execution.
Lead cross-functional project teams and coordinate with stakeholders to drive alignment, accountability, and timely delivery of outcomes.
Provide project management leadership and execution support for emerging HR and business priorities as needed.
Own governance frameworks, decision-making processes, and reporting mechanisms across the HR portfolio to ensure effective oversight and execution.
Ensure leadership alignment on project priorities, key trade-offs, resource decisions, and strategic outcomes.
Provide executive-level visibility into portfolio health, including progress, risks, dependencies, milestones, and business impact.
Escalate and resolve issues that may impact delivery timelines, strategic objectives, or business outcomes.
Drive adherence to project management standards, governance requirements, and execution discipline across HR programs and projects.
Influence senior leaders and key stakeholders to align on priorities, timelines, resource allocation, and delivery expectations.
Drive accountability across teams without direct authority, ensuring commitments are met and dependencies are proactively managed.
Partner with HR leaders and project sponsors to establish alignment on project objectives, deliverables, timelines, and success measures.
Lead stakeholder engagement and change enablement activities to support successful adoption and sustainment of strategic initiatives.
Build strong cross-functional relationships to facilitate collaboration, resolve challenges, and achieve business outcomes.
Continuously improve project delivery effectiveness and the contribution of HR initiatives to business outcomes.
Drive measurable improvements in speed, quality, execution outcomes, and overall contribution to business results.
Recommend and implement improvements to project management practices, tools, processes, and governance frameworks.
Leverage data, portfolio insights, and performance metrics to support decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.
Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, and execution excellence across HR initiatives.