Sr. Program Manager/Operations/AI Strategy

City : Austin

State : Texas

Neos is Seeking a Sr. Project Manager for a contract role for with our client in Austin, TX.

***HYBRID - CANDIDATES CURRENTLY RESIDING IN THE AUSTIN, TEXAS AREA

NEED APPLY***

No calls, no emails, please respond directly to the "apply" link with your resume and contact details.

Technology Project Manager III

Job Summary

The Technology Project Manager III reports directly to the Manager of the Project Management Office but may perform tasks under the general direction of the Technology Program Project Manager III on larger projects. This position is responsible for managing all project lifecycle phases to plan, coordinate, and implement systems, applications, and technologies for large, very complex, strategic projects that include multiple integrations to other systems.

The role leads projects from original concept through final closeout, communicates with agency executives, and may communicate with the Board of Directors regarding project status. Responsibilities include analyzing and evaluating existing and proposed systems, performing business process reviews, and handling all other functions related to implementing technology projects.

The Project Manager will lead efforts of project teams composed of internal and external technical and non-technical staff to achieve successful project completion. The role also involves providing customer-focused service, building positive relationships with stakeholders, and maintaining clear and timely communication.

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide customer-focused service; build positive and constructive relationships with business areas and customers; understand their needs, problems, and provide timely communication and service.
• Perform research and needs assessments for technology projects.
• Develop and manage project implementation plans, requirements definition, scope development, resource allocation, risk analysis, quality assurance, schedules, and budgets.
• Oversee vendors, contractors, and Capital Metro business and technical teams to ensure solutions stay within scope, cost, and schedule, with risks effectively managed.
• Manage the efforts of cross-functional project team members in a matrix management environment, including task scheduling and monitoring.
• Lead conflict resolution among project team members, including vendors, technical staff, and business area staff.
• Prepare business cases, cost-benefit analyses, and other documents necessary for project initiation.
• Prepare scopes of work, independent cost estimates, and other documents for the procurement process; coordinate with business units and procurement staff to ensure timely and cost-efficient vendor selection and contract execution.
• Develop, manage, modify, update, monitor, and report monthly status of project budgets; oversee invoice payment processes; coordinate with vendors to document deliverables; review monthly expenditure reports; reconcile discrepancies with finance staff; develop cost projections.
• Initiate and manage project change processes, including analyzing change requests, developing scopes of work, obtaining cost estimates, coordinating procurement for vendor proposals, and administering the change log.
• Partner with business units to analyze end-user needs, identify process interdependencies, research technical solutions, and recommend advantageous options.
• Prepare status reports, project updates, and presentations for steering committees and senior management.
• Develop and implement project and documentation standards.
• Partner with stakeholders to take full IT ownership of assigned systems and projects, becoming proficient in their technical and functional aspects.
• Provide technical leadership on projects, working with technology vendors and implementation partners to deliver solutions.
• Provide periodic reports to management.
• Develop and maintain technical and/or user documentation; train users on systems and processes; promote system adoption.
• Maintain systems in excellent working condition through proactive monitoring, maintenance, performance tuning, updates, and patches; ensure systems are secure and available 24/7.
• Lead efforts in system security, ensuring compliance with policies, monitoring access privileges, conducting risk assessments, investigating suspicious activities, and remediating threats.
• Document test cases and conduct comprehensive testing during implementation and upgrades.
• Lead risk analysis of systems, disaster recovery planning/testing, backup implementation/verification, and issue resolution.
• Follow change management processes to plan and deploy system changes; perform change-impact analysis; communicate changes to relevant parties.
• Research, develop, and implement IT standards and best practices.
• Support Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Safety Management Systems (SMS) by following safety/security policies, considering safety in every action, and reporting concerns.
• Perform other duties as required to support Capital Metro's strategic goals and IT vision, mission, and objectives.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field (additional related experience may substitute for degree on a year-for-year basis, up to four years).
• Five (5) years of experience managing technology projects, including three (3) years managing technical and functional teams.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• Experience with direct end-user support in a customer service role, with a demonstrated dedication to customer service.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent organizational abilities, analytical skills, and communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Self-motivated, seeking continuous improvement in IT skills and processes, and able to support organizational change.
• Ability to work in a matrix organization, collaborating with employees, management, vendors, contractors, and business areas without close supervision.
• Ability to contribute positively in a team-based environment.
• Knowledge of the Information System Implementation Lifecycle (desired).
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, diverse teams, and concurrent projects.
• Knowledge of PMI's PMBOK standard project management methodologies and processes.
• Ability to identify critical risk factors that may impact projects.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project for scheduling, resource assignment, progress tracking, and workload analysis.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Demonstrated leadership ability.

#DICE