21 Oct
Senior Project Manager
Vacancy expired!
- The Contractor shall facilitate the collaborative efforts, with project stakeholders, to execute and deliver all elements of the custom IEP System and data monitoring system (DMS) for the Client’s Exceptional Student Services Unit. The project has been managed by an individual who is a subject matter expert on special education and has done an admirable job but needs to get back to the job they were hired to do.
- The Contractor will read and assimilate the project documentation, including but not limited to the contract statement of work and requirements; project documentation created by the project team; client and vendor communications; and any project assessment documentation. The Contractor will interview the project stakeholders to gather project information and status.
- The special education Subject Matter Expert (SME) will transition the project to the Contractor. The SME will continue to be a part of the project team to provide SME expertise but will return to the duties they were hired to do. As part of the transition, the SME will walk through the current project issues with the Contractor.
- The Contractor will adopt the problem level definitions currently used by the team or if none, create one. e.g., Level 1 – Critical, showstopper, major functionality is impacted, there is no workaround, or no reasonable work-around, Level 2 – Critical, showstopper but there is a usable workaround, Level 5 – Informational, low to no impact, incorrect spelling in an error message, etc.
- The Contractor in collaboration with the SME will prioritize the issues and strategize a plan to address the critical issues by priority. When critical issues are reported, the Contractor will immediately triage with the SME, customer, and vendor as needed based on the issue. Promptly gather all the details of high-level issues, or project blockers and alert management to the issues with suggested next steps toward a solution.
- Note, collaboration is a requirement throughout this SOW. This Contractor must use collaboration as the first go-to method of working and communicating to drive this project. The lone project manager making decisions in a silo will not be acceptable or successful. However, the Contractor must be strong with experience and instincts to know there will not be consensus on each or perhaps any issue. At some point, collaboration needs to end and actions need to be executed.
- As always, there is a political component to this project. It will be essential that the Contractor listen carefully and follow the guidelines for communicating with the client and the vendor. Initially, it will be in everyone’s best interest to include an SME in all conversations. This should continue until the SME and Contractor agree the Contractor may communicate independently.
- A Senior project manager would recognize, this, and any issues that need to be resolved immediately. Prior to this request, the schools have been encountering bugs and working through them with the vendor, as expected. Thus, this is a recent and unexpected development. The Contractor must be comfortable and experienced in troubleshooting these types of highly visible issues.
- A senior project manager, while not expected to be an SME on the application must be able to communicate, understand and rely on the SMEs working in this unit on this project. A strong technical acumen is essential and the ability to break down the technical complexities into language appropriate for the team members and other project stakeholders, to understand without condescension. In addition to the project manager and technical translator, this solution-oriented individual will be expected to serve as a leader, a coach, a problem solver, and a negotiator, throughout the project lifecycle. This individual is the go-to person for project summary and details for senior and executive decision making. They are expected to provide options, recommendations, risks, and rewards when consulted. This is a high-stakes project with high visibility and the potential for enterprise-wide impact.
- This position will work closely with all levels: executives, managers, and individual contributors. In this role, he/she must lead without direct authority over the members of project teams and must be comfortable facilitating meetings. He/she must have the ability to prepare and present information about the project and processes to all levels. Additionally, with all levels, he/she will need to negotiate deadlines and provide status updates. Diplomacy and professionalism are critical to the success of this role.
- Create test plans and user acceptance documents that map to defined requirements.
- Submit weekly detailed status reports to the project team members, the Executive Director, and the Project Management Office manager.
- Schedule and facilitate project team meetings.
Vacancy expired!