Senior Project and Portfolio Manager

Lynker Corporation•Boulder, CO

5d•$75,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Lynker is hiring a Senior Project and Portfolio Manager to establish and operate a centerwide project management portfolio at the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The role will help replace SWPC’s Annual Operating Plan process with continuous, multi-year planning while preserving required annual planning and reporting. It is a hands-on implementation and management position focused on integrated portfolio planning and tracking, developing project plans with leads and sponsors, maintaining reliable resource and schedule information, and escalating unresolved conflicts to SWPC leadership. The manager will introduce practical project management practices in an organization where they are new, with detailed planning scaled to each project’s authorization, stage, complexity, and risk. The portfolio spans scientific models and observations, software and infrastructure modernization, research transitions to operations, forecast and customer services, training, workforce initiatives, and events. SWPC operates around the clock, and operational responsibilities take precedence when determining project capacity. The role supports the SWPC front office and works with the Director, Deputy Director, management team, project sponsors and leads, and authorized contract representatives. The manager administers the approved portfolio process, develops plans and recommendations, requests agreed reporting inputs, and coordinates follow-through. The position is intended to work on a hybrid schedule, with 2–3 days per week at the NOAA office in Boulder, Colorado, and the remaining 2–3 days per week from home.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in project management, business, engineering, computer science, atmospheric or space science, or a related field; equivalent relevant education and experience may qualify where permitted by the applicable contract labor category.
At least seven years of progressively responsible project management experience.
At least three years coordinating multiple concurrent projects, shared resources, or a project portfolio in a technical, scientific, engineering, or operational organization.
Demonstrated experience establishing or substantially improving project management practices, including intake, governance, planning, resource tracking, reporting, and adoption by teams with differing levels of project management experience.
Practical skills in work breakdown, effort estimation, integrated scheduling, capacity planning, cost tracking, risk management, change control, and project closeout.
Ability to tailor predictive, Agile, and hybrid approaches to different kinds of work.
Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams without direct supervisory authority, facilitating difficult discussions, and securing reliable planning input from technical specialists and managers.
Ability to produce clear plans, analyze resource and schedule tradeoffs, and communicate concise recommendations to senior leaders.
Strong attention to data quality and experience administering spreadsheets and project management systems.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or a comparable recognized project management credential.
Portfolio, program, Agile, or organizational change certifications.
Experience with federal organizations, mixed federal and contractor teams, cooperative agreements, enterprise IT modernization, and quality management systems.
Advanced relevant education.

Responsibilities

Establish the portfolio management function and develop a phased transition from the Annual Operating Plan process to continuous portfolio planning while preserving required NOAA and NWS milestone reporting.
Translate SWPC’s Project Portfolio Lifecycle into procedures, templates, responsibilities, review schedules, and decision records; propose solutions to unresolved process details and obtain Government approval before implementation.
Apply predictive, Agile, or hybrid methods as appropriate, tailor documentation to complexity and risk, and help focus available capacity on a limited set of projects through completion.
Administer SWPC’s approved portfolio system and linked records, maintaining project identifiers, phases, decisions, roster and assignment data, and traceable links among concepts, plans, milestones, costs, and leadership actions.
Maintain controlled templates, field definitions, update responsibilities, and version history within SWPC’s quality management system; validate calculations and imports, protect access, and reduce duplicate data entry.
Administer intake and authorization from idea submission and concept development through evaluation, planning authorization, plan development, execution authorization, execution, and closure.
Help concept leads define measurable outcomes, scope, mission and user value, timing drivers, strategic alignment, resource needs, delivery uncertainties, and readiness for adoption; help divide overly broad efforts into manageable projects.
Support evidence-based management scoring, keep priority and readiness assessments separate, document their basis and uncertainty, and prepare recommendations for project decisions.
Prepare review materials and record the Director’s decisions, rationale, conditions, owners, and follow-up dates; distinguish approval to plan from approval to execute and identify work lacking documented authorization.
Lead collaborative project planning with leads, sponsors, technical experts, and affected users, documenting objectives, requirements, deliverables, exclusions, acceptance criteria, work breakdown, responsibilities, estimates, funding needs, dependencies, and risks.
Build schedules based on work and resource estimates, identify activity sequences, milestones, external commitments, approvals, and critical dependencies, use critical path analysis where warranted, and maintain a multi-fiscal-year portfolio roadmap.
Distinguish staff effort from elapsed duration, fixed commitments from target dates, and assumptions from confirmed resources; include applicable acquisition, security, infrastructure, testing, training, documentation, and transition work in plans.
Maintain approved scope, schedule, and resource baselines, current forecasts, and actual results; document planning gaps and assign owners and resolution dates.
Maintain a rolling capacity and assignment view and longer-range demand estimates, tracking skills, assignment dates, hours per week, organizational affiliation, and requested versus approved commitments.
Determine realistic project availability after operational and other obligations; track planning and execution effort, identify scarce skills and competing assignments, and present sequencing or deferral options.
Track authorized funding, estimated and actual costs where available, remaining resource needs, procurement lead times, equipment, software, cloud services, and partner contributions; identify recurring support costs and distinguish estimates from funding commitments.
Coordinate with authorized financial, acquisition, contract, and cooperative agreement personnel to reconcile plans with available funding and approved work scope, and surface changes requiring formal action.
Coordinate regular progress reviews, validate progress against deliverables and acceptance criteria, update forecasts and capacity, and follow actions through resolution.
Maintain integrated risk, issue, assumption, and dependency records, including owners, likelihood and consequences, mitigation actions, due dates, and escalation needs; track risks that threaten delivery.
Analyze proposed scope, schedule, funding, and assignment changes, show effects on other projects and operational obligations, prepare recovery or sequencing options, and preserve baselines and approved change history.
Provide concise leadership updates on milestone health, delivery confidence, constraints, resource conflicts, and decisions needed; promptly escalate material threats with recommendations and consequences of delay.
Coach project leads and sponsors in practical planning, estimation, risk management, and reporting, and facilitate work across federal employees, contractors, and university or cooperative agreement staff through established channels.
Engage forecasters, scientists, developers, technology staff, service delivery personnel, and affected partners early; document feedback, resolve coordination gaps, and refer priority or responsibility disagreements to the decision authority.
Document accepted results and lessons learned, close outstanding actions or transfer them to an accountable owner, release assignments after closure, and track agreed user or mission benefit measures with the designated benefit owner.

Benefits

Comprehensive healthcare for the employee at no monthly cost, covering medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision.
Personal Time Off (PTO) policy and paid holidays.
Competitive compensation plan calibrated against industry and location benchmarks.
401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Flexible spending accounts.
Employee assistance program (EAP).
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life and accident insurance.
Tuition assistance, training, and workforce improvement reimbursement.
Spot bonuses for exceptional performance.
Annual Employee Recognition Awards with bonuses.
Employee Referral Program.
Free centralized, self-directed Learning Management System.
Personalized career growth plans for every employee.