Senior Project Manager - IT Portfolio & Major Projects

VIA Rail Canada•Montreal, QC

8d•CA$102,816 - CA$120,960•Onsite

About The Position

VIA Rail is undertaking ambitious projects to modernize its services and infrastructure, including new train fleets and infrastructure improvements. This position is responsible for leading and managing projects within the IT portfolio. The Senior Project Manager will oversee the design, development, implementation, and acceptance of projects, ensuring successful delivery and transition to operational teams. The role involves managing project schedules, budgets, and scopes, as well as leading internal project teams and external suppliers to meet PMO targets.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in information systems management, business administration, computer science, engineering, or equivalent.
10 to 15 years of experience in information technology (IT) project management.
Experience in managing major, large scale IT projects.
Fluent in English and French, both written and spoken.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is an asset.
Railway industry experience is an asset.
Experience in marketing and business projects is an asset.

Responsibilities

Plan projects, define scope of work, budget, and schedule with team members.
Develop detailed project plans and schedules, defining the critical path with support from the master planner.
Prepare and manage project budgets, ensuring financial compliance.
Prepare the Project Management Plan (PMP).
Lead and oversee project execution and daily activities to ensure progress and on-time delivery.
Manage projects in collaboration with external suppliers.
Ensure external suppliers' scope, activities, and deliverables meet agreed-upon targets and schedules.
Manage and track project scope, budget, financial forecasts, deadlines, and dependencies.
Monitor project phases through rigorous follow-ups.
Ensure project outcomes meet agreed-upon requirements and stakeholder expectations.
Engage and mobilize cross-functional teams of internal and external resources.
Conduct stakeholder management through analysis, engagement, and expectations alignment.
Manage project risks by leading identification sessions, assessing risks, documenting them, and developing mitigation strategies.
Identify, track, and address project issues with the project team.
Define project and milestone approval criteria.
Collaborate in defining gate criteria for successful handover to operations and stakeholder sign-off.
Ensure proper project closure and handover to IT Operations and/or business functions.
Implement the project governance framework (decision making and management committees) as outlined in the PMP.
Organize, schedule, and lead monthly Steering Committee meetings, including preparing presentations and executive summaries.
Report on project status and KPIs to the project Steering Committee and PMO leadership.
Ensure appropriate project quality management processes are in place and followed.
Ensure projects comply with Corporate Project Management Office (CPMO) guidelines, standards, methodologies, deliverables, and gating process.
Ensure compliance with governance in processes and decisions affecting supplier selection and contractual agreements.
Contribute to ongoing improvement by optimizing processes for project delivery on budget and on time.
Coordinate and assist in preparing business cases with a cross-functional team.
Lead and prepare statements of work (SOW) with a cross-functional team.
Collaborate with the Procurement lead in managing the Procurement process, including RFP, proposal evaluations, recommendations, negotiations, and contract agreement.