Project Planner

Responsibilities:

• Manage a portfolio of complex initiatives that span one or multiple lines of business
• Provide on-site leadership for project team by building and motivating team members to meet project goals, adhering to their responsibilities and project milestones
• Full project life cycle ownership: successful project delivery will include full implementation from initiation to deployment for one major or several minor initiatives simultaneously Manage all aspects of multiple related projects to ensure the overall program is aligned to and directly supports the achievement of strategic objectives
• Report on project success criteria results, metrics, test and deployment management activities
• Work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment demonstrating teamwork, innovation and excellence
• Participate in establishing practices, templates, policies, tools and partnerships to expand and mature these capabilities for the organization
• Prepare estimates and detailed project plan for all phases of the project
• Procure adequate resources to achieve project objectives in planned timeframes
• Manage the day-to-day project activities and resources and chairs the project management team meetings
• Monitor staff performance and complete performance reviews
• Provide status reporting regarding project milestones, deliverable, dependencies, risks and issues, communicating across leadership
• Understand interdependencies between technology, operations and business needs
• Demonstrate a functional acumen to support how solutions will address client goals while maintaining alignment with industry best practices
• Manage project scope and changes
• Participate and/or drive feasibility studies, vendor selections and proposals for evaluation by appropriate key stakeholders
• Act as an internal quality control check for the project
• Manage ongoing quality control and participate in quality issue resolution
• Assist in dispute, negotiation, arbitration or litigation, as needed
• Support formal/informal schedules to manage the engagement contract
• Define the Statement of Work and Specifications for the requested goods and services
• Develop and manage all aspects of project and program engagement from planning, external vendor relationships, communications, resources, budget, change, risks and issues
• Set and continually manage project and program expectations while delegating and managing deliverable with team members and stakeholders
• Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate personnel
• Monitor, track and control outcomes to resolve issues, conflicts, dependencies and critical path deliverables

• Develop and deliver progress reports, proposals, requirements documentation and presentations to various audiences, including project team, sponsors, CIO and key stakeholders
• Determine the frequency and content of status reports from the project and program team, analyze results and troubleshoot problem areas
• Define success criteria and disseminate them to involved parties throughout project and program life cycle
• Identify and develop trusted adviser relationship with project and program stakeholders, sponsors and university stakeholders
• Coach, mentor, motivate and supervise project and program team
• Deliver appropriate and effective executive level communication
• Ensure that projects and programs are proceeding according to scope, schedule, budget and quality standards
• Manage project and program issues and risks to mitigate impact to baseline
• Continue professional development in order to keep abreast of emerging technologies, methods and best practices

Qualifications:

• Excellent experience in P6 primavera, MS Projects.
• Strong leadership, diplomatic and motivational skills including the ability to lead up, across and down multiple business and technology organizations
• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment demonstrating teamwork, innovation and excellence
• Build and maintain relationships by engaging business leaders to establish credibility, solve problems, build consensus and achieve objectives
• Excellent leadership, communication (written, verbal and presentation) and interpersonal skills
• Self-motivated, decisive, with the ability to adapt to change and competing demands
• Research best practices within and outside the organization to establish benchmark data and use continuous process improvement disciplines to achieve results
• Tools: MS Project, Excel, Word and PowerPoint, P6 and MS Project
• Experience negotiating vendor contracts
• Experience drafting and submitting budget proposals and recommending subsequent budget changes where necessary
• Experience in successfully leading projects and programs to on-time, on-schedule and within budget close
• Experience leading, motivating and managing various project and program team sizes, including internal and external resources, while holding team accountable for performance
• Strong experience presenting to executive sponsors and demonstrated communication skills; both written and oral with technical and non-technical staff, all levels of management
• Experience influencing and gaining buy-in from executives sponsors, team members, stakeholders and peers
• Team-building skills with technical and non-technical staff
• Experience working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
• Flexible with proven ability to conform to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem-solving capabilities

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in appropriate field of study or equivalent work experience
• 5+ years of project management experience, including tracking and planning projects
• 5+ years of experience working with business stakeholders within a cross-functional matrix environment
• 1+ years of previous experience with gathering requirements from the client / business and documentation
• 3+ years of experience with full product lifecycle with understanding of development lifecycle and various technology methodologies that support that lifecycle
• Intermediate level of proficiency with MS Project, Excel, P6, PowerPoint and SharePoint with experience presenting to stakeholders and / or Senior Leadership
• Proven ability to demonstrate a drive for results and accountability of business needs
• Proven ability to work in an ambiguous environment and collaborate across multiple areas in order to achieve a common business objective
• Interpersonal skills to influence and spur change, facilitate and enhance performance within a cross - functional environment
• Demonstrate decisiveness in resolving business problems, making decisions and identifying priorities