Project Manager / Project Lead

Role: Project Manager / Project Lead

Location: NYC/MA

Job Overview

State Street is seeking a highly skilled and dynamic Project Manager / Project Lead to drive critical technology and operational initiatives within our Global Corporate Systems division. In this role, you will lead cross-functional projects that directly impact our Global Human Resources (GHR) or Global Legal/Compliance business units.

Because State Street operates as a systematically important financial institution, our systems must be highly secure, compliant, and efficient. This role demands exceptional, executive-level communication skills to bridge the gap between technical engineering teams, senior corporate stakeholders, and global vendors.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Project Delivery: Own the lifecycle of complex projects from inception through deployment, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and on budget using Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid methodologies.
• Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary liaison between Global HR/Legal business leaders, data privacy teams, and technology delivery squads. Translate complex business needs into clear technical requirements.
• Communication & Reporting: Synthesize technical project status, risks, and dependencies into clear, concise presentations for C-suite and executive steering committees.
• Risk & Compliance Governance: Ensure all project artifacts and system implementations comply with State Street s strict corporate governance, data privacy laws (e.g., GDPR), and global financial regulations.
• Resource & Capacity Planning: Lead, mentor, and motivate matrixed project teams. Manage resource allocation, identify bottlenecks, and resolve cross-team conflicts proactively.
• Vendor & Change Management: Oversee third-party software integrations (e.g., Workday, Enterprise Legal Management systems) and lead change management strategies to ensure smooth global adoption of new tools.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field.
• Experience: 12 to 18 years of professional project management or project leadership experience within a large, matrixed financial services organization or corporate enterprise.
• Communication Mastery: Superb verbal, written, and presentation skills are mandatory. Must have a proven track record of influencing senior stakeholders and simplifying highly complex technical or regulatory concepts.
• Methodologies: Deep expertise in Agile (Scrum/Kanban) and traditional Waterfall frameworks. Proficiency with enterprise tools like Jira, Confluence, and MS Project.
• Problem Solving: Strong analytical skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity, manage shifting priorities, and drive consensus across disparate global teams.

Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have)

• Domain Expertise (GHR / Legal): Direct experience managing projects involving Global HR systems (e.g., Workday, payroll integrations, talent acquisition tools) OR Corporate Legal technology (e.g., contract lifecycle management, entity management, compliance monitoring systems).
• Certifications: PMP (Project Management Professional), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), or Certified Scrum Master (CSM).