Senior Manager, Practice Operations

Celerity Consulting Group, LLC•Walnut Creek, CA

4d•$160,000 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Practice Operations (Utilities/Digital Transformation) role is a newly created position focused on building and managing the operational backbone of the Business Integration Services (BIS) practice at Celerity. This role involves people management and ownership of the internal operating infrastructure to support the practice's growth while maintaining delivery quality and team cohesion. The ideal candidate is an experienced professional with a consulting background, over 10 years of hands-on experience in driving delivery excellence, and the ability to build and sustain a high-performing team culture. Strong operational discipline is required to manage experienced professionals through a period of rapid growth. This role demands strong operational leadership, industry knowledge, and technical fluency to drive results in complex client environments.

Requirements

Minimum of 10 years of experience in technology consulting, professional services, or a related discipline.
Demonstrated experience leading or managing teams of senior practitioners.
Proven track record as a people manager, including performance reviews, difficult conversations, retention risk management, and career development for experienced individual contributors.
Experience working with Agile and Waterfall methodologies in SaaS companies or with system integrators.
Strong working knowledge of discovery frameworks, requirements maturation, project management, business/technical analysis, solution architecture, and engineering.
Experience managing resource deployment and capacity planning in a project-based or consulting environment.
Demonstrated ability to build trust with experienced peers and direct reports.
Comfort operating in a high-growth, structurally evolving environment where processes are being built concurrently with ongoing delivery.
Strong understanding of utility operations, asset management, and regulatory compliance.
Demonstrated experience in team building and leadership.
Excellent project management skills, including proficiency in project planning, execution, and risk management.
Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage clients and stakeholders at all levels.
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage with clients effectively, collaborate with internal teams, and interact with management.
Ability to travel domestically and(or) internationally if required.
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Management, or a related field or equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA or Master’s) is preferred.
Prior experience in practice operations, delivery management, or capability development role within a consulting firm or technology services organization.
Familiarity with the cross-functional dynamics between PMO, BA, solution architecture, and engineering in integrated delivery engagements.
Experience with coaching models, structured mentoring programs, or formal learning and development initiatives in a consulting context.
Exposure to Big 4 or top-tier consulting operating models, particularly how they separate craft leadership from people management at scale.
Experience hiring and onboarding senior practitioners in a compressed timeline.
Certifications: PMP/PMI-ACP, Prosci/Change Management, ITIL, SAFe/Agile or relevant certifications.

Responsibilities

Own the weekly resource coordination sync and alignment across multiple projects, managing capacity constraints and ensuring adequate resourcing.
Maintain a real-time view of utilization across all active engagements, identifying and resolving potential issues like over-allocation, burnout risk, or skill mismatches.
Build and maintain the practice's operational cadences, including team meetings, delivery check-ins, onboarding sequences, and inter-pillar coordination.
Escalate delivery risks requiring leadership action and translate team intelligence into clear executive signals.
Ensure project teams have the necessary tools, templates, methodologies, and standards for consistent delivery.
Partner with project teams to define and maintain the practice's methodology, including discovery frameworks, requirements standards, and deliverable quality benchmarks.
Build a learning and development calendar for the team based on engagement needs and cross-pillar exposure.
Create and maintain a competency framework for performance evaluation and career progression.
Drive the development of BIS delivery playbooks, templates, and standards for various project phases.
Identify and address capability gaps through targeted development.
Use insights from coach roundtables to shape new hire onboarding.
Lead structured onboarding for new hires to ensure integration into practice culture and delivery readiness within 60-90 days.
Serve as a direct people manager for senior business analysis professionals.
Hold quarterly coaching roundtables with cross-pillar coaches to aggregate team development signals.
Support the retention and development of experienced senior practitioners.
Contribute to capacity planning by projecting needs against pipeline and growth targets.
Partner with leadership on the design of the coaching model and development programs.
Maintain operating model documentation, including org structure, role definitions, and governance processes.
Promote continuous improvement through lessons learned, feedback loops, and project retrospectives.
Ensure project deliverables meet quality standards, conduct audits, and implement quality improvement processes.