Senior Project Manager/Leader
Summary
Senior Project Manager to lead a large-scale, enterprise-wide Discovery initiative for Ontario's Land & Resources Cluster, steering the project from concept through go-live and close-out. The role centers on governance, scope/budget/risk management, executive stakeholder engagement, vendor and procurement management, and Agile/OPS digital approaches; it is hybrid in Toronto.
- Provide senior project management leadership for large-scale, complex, high-profile, multi-disciplinary and enterprise-wide digital initiatives.
- Lead and oversee Discovery projects from inception through project close-out, including coordination of the Digital First Assessment (DFA) and transition to operations where required.
- Lead digital initiatives through progressive stages including Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
- Manage project scope, budget, schedule, resources, deliverables, financials, risks, issues, actions and decisions (IRAD).
- Establish and manage project governance, including steering committees, gating reviews, checkpoints, reporting and escalation processes.
- Monitor project interdependencies, internal and external dependencies, risks, issues and exposure levels across multiple project streams.
- Lead stakeholder consultations, facilitation, consensus building and relationship management across business, IT, executive, vendor and external stakeholder groups.
- Build strong relationships with divisional stakeholders, subject matter experts, project teams, vendors and external parties.
- Develop and implement strategies to overcome resistance to change and capitalize on organizational forces supporting change.
- Provide strategic direction, recommendations, analysis and operational support to project teams and senior management.
- Translate business and IT executive expectations into clear project objectives, deliverables and outcomes.
- Lead and facilitate user research, service design, journey mapping, jurisdictional scans, conceptual solution development and problem-statement development.
- Coordinate and complete the Digital First Assessment (DFA) during the Discovery phase.
- Ensure project deliverables meet business requirements while adhering to approved scope, schedule, budget, quality and organizational standards.
- Develop and communicate project guidelines, procedures, status reports, dashboards, briefing materials, business cases, presentations and executive-level submissions.
- Work closely with senior leadership and executives and present project information and recommendations in a manner appropriate for executive audiences.
- Manage complex project issues and provide mitigation strategies and recommendations to senior decision-makers.
- Direct and coordinate multi-disciplinary project teams to ensure deliverables are completed on time and in accordance with government and ministry standards.
- Lead business transformation and change management activities associated with new solutions, systems and business processes.
- Support strategic IT investment planning and business case development for new system implementations and enhancements.
- Develop procurement artifacts, including RFS, RFP/SOW, contracts and approval documentation, in accordance with applicable organizational policies.
- Manage Discovery vendors and vendor deliverables, providing effective oversight and vendor management throughout the project lifecycle.
- Lead vendor teams through planning, milestones, guidance, policies, procedures and deliverables.
- Influence vendor teams to deliver on-scope, on-time, on-budget and high-quality outcomes that are properly integrated with client deliverables.
- Apply Agile and OPS Digital approaches, project management methodologies, standards, guidelines and best practices.
Requirements
- 10+ years of senior project management experience.
- Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, high-profile, multi-disciplinary projects involving multiple business and IT stakeholders.
- Strong experience managing scope, budget, schedule, risks, issues, actions, decisions, resources, deliverables and governance.
- Proven experience leading digital initiatives through Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
- Proven experience leading and overseeing Discovery initiatives from inception through close-out.
- Experience with project governance committees, including steering committees, gating reviews and checkpoints.
- Experience managing project financials, resources, reporting and escalation.
- Experience coordinating Digital First Assessments (DFA).
- Experience leading user research, service design, journey mapping, jurisdictional scans and conceptual solution development.
- Experience developing and articulating problem statements and translating business needs into project deliverables.
- Experience leading business transformation and change management initiatives.
- Proven ability to develop and implement strategies to overcome resistance to change.
- Experience supporting business planning, benefits identification and organizational funding requests for I&IT initiatives.
- Experience supporting strategic IT investment planning and business case development.
- Proven experience leading stakeholder consultations, facilitation and consensus building.
- Strong political acuity and ability to collaborate, share information and build relationships across multi-disciplinary stakeholder groups.
- Ability to establish and facilitate effective IT partnerships with business clients.
- Demonstrated ability to understand business directions, objectives and priorities and translate them into project outcomes.
- Strong facilitation, negotiation, diplomacy and conflict-resolution skills.
- Experience managing stakeholder expectations and obtaining buy-in from senior management and key stakeholders.
- Proven experience building strong relationships with senior leadership and executive stakeholders.
- Experience producing and presenting executive-level presentations, dashboards, briefing papers, submissions, business cases and status reports.
- Experience managing vendor teams through project planning, milestones, policies, procedures, guidance and deliverables.
- Demonstrated ability to influence vendors to achieve on-scope, on-time, on-budget and quality deliverables.
- Experience managing vendor deliverables and integrating vendor outputs with client deliverables.
- Experience developing procurement artifacts, including RFS, RFP, SOW/Contract and approval documentation.
- Knowledge of procurement processes and organizational policies for acquiring services, vendors, business solutions and project resources.
- Experience directing, managing and leading multi-disciplinary project teams.
- Extensive experience coordinating project processes, interactions, progress, roadblocks and dependencies.
- Ability to establish and communicate project guidelines, procedures and standards.
- Demonstrated ability to provide strategic direction and operational support to project teams and stakeholders.
- Experience monitoring technical and business performance of complex projects.
- Experience leading large, complex, multi-disciplinary Discovery and IT/business projects within municipal, provincial or federal government environments.
- Experience working within public-sector governance, project management methodologies and organizational standards.
- Experience leading or coordinating Digital First Assessment, Cyber Security, Privacy, Architecture and Project Gating activities for public-sector projects.
- Formal project management training or certification such as PMP, Scrum and/or Agile.
- Large, complex and high-profile multi-disciplinary project leadership.
- Strong scope, budget, schedule and IRAD management.
- Digital initiatives spanning Concept, Discovery, Design, Prototype, Implementation and Go-Live.
- Discovery project leadership from inception through close-out.
- Governance committees, financials, resources, reporting and escalation.
- Stakeholder consultation, facilitation and consensus building.
- Senior leadership engagement and executive-level presentations/products.
- Transformation and change management leadership.
- PMP, Scrum, Agile or equivalent formal project management training/certification.
- Political acuity and relationship-building capabilities.
- Ability to establish strong business/IT partnerships.
- Executive-level communication and presentation skills.
- Experience producing presentations, dashboards, briefing papers, submissions, business cases and status reports.
- Senior leadership and executive relationship management.
- Business transformation and change management experience.
- Strategic IT investment planning and business case support.
- Strong facilitation, negotiation and diplomacy.
- Ability to resolve issues, defuse tensions and achieve stakeholder buy-in.
- Strong understanding of business processes and requirements.
- Ability to manage stakeholder expectations and establish clear project scope and requirements.
- Experience working collaboratively with vendors and internal/external stakeholders.
- Ability to influence senior management and client leadership.
- Procurement knowledge and experience developing RFS/RFP/SOW/Contract artifacts.
- Vendor team leadership and management.
- Experience managing vendor milestones, deliverables, policies and procedures.
- Ability to influence vendors to deliver quality outcomes within scope, schedule and budget.
- Experience integrating vendor deliverables with client deliverables.
- Government experience at the municipal, provincial or federal level.
- Experience leading complex Discovery and IT/business projects in a public-sector environment.
- Experience with Digital First Assessment, Cyber Security, Privacy, Architecture and Project Gating.
- Knowledge of OPS enterprise architecture practices, particularly business and information architecture.
- Knowledge of Information Management principles, concepts, policies and practices.
- Experience applying both predictive and Agile methodologies.
- Knowledge of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and related regulations and standards.
- Previous Ontario Public Service (OPS) experience is strongly preferred.
- Enterprise-scale project leadership
- Discovery and digital transformation experience
- Executive and senior stakeholder engagement
- Strong political acuity and diplomacy
- Agile/OPS project management knowledge
- Vendor and procurement management
- Change management and transformation leadership
- Strong governance, risk and financial management
- Excellent executive communication and presentation skills
- Government/public-sector project experience