Senior Project Manager

Job Title: Senior Project Manager

Work Location: Springfield, IL (Hybrid)- (Locals Only)

Overview

We are seeking a highly organized and proactive Senior Project Manager to support the planning, execution, and delivery of complex projects across cross-functional teams. This role will play a critical part in ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and in alignment with organizational goals by providing structured project governance, risk management, and stakeholder communication.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Planning & Coordination:

• Support the development and maintenance of detailed project plans, schedules, milestones, and deliverables.
• Coordinate project activities across multiple teams, vendors, and stakeholders to ensure alignment with agreed timelines and objectives.
• Track task dependencies, resource allocations, and project progress, proactively identifying potential schedule impacts.
• Assist in organizing project kickoff meetings, sprint planning sessions, and status review meetings.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identify, document, and monitor project risks, issues, and dependencies throughout the project lifecycle.
• Maintain and update risk and issue logs, escalating concerns to project leadership as appropriate.
• Support the development and execution of mitigation and contingency plans to minimize project disruption.
• Track resolution status and ensure timely closure of risks and issues.

Stakeholder Communication & Reporting

• Serve as a central point of coordination for project communications across internal teams, leadership, and external partners.
• Prepare and distribute clear, concise project status reports, dashboards, and executive summaries.
• Facilitate regular project status meetings, capturing action items, decisions, and next steps.
• Ensure consistent communication of project progress, risks, and changes to all relevant stakeholders.

Scope & Change Control

• Support scope management by ensuring project deliverables align with approved requirements and objectives.
• Assist in documenting and managing change requests, including impact analysis on schedule, cost, and resources.
• Maintain changing control logs and ensure proper review, approval, and communication of approved changes.
• Help enforce governance processes to prevent scope creep and ensure adherence to project standards.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Strong understanding of project management fundamentals, including planning, execution, monitoring, and control.
• Demonstrated experience in project coordination, scheduling, and tracking across cross-functional teams.
• Experience with risk and issue management, including documentation, escalation, and mitigation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present project information clearly to diverse audiences.
• Proficiency in project management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project, Smartsheet, or similar platforms.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting large-scale, enterprise, or public sector projects.
• Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, or hybrid project delivery methodologies.
• Exposure to governance, change control, and reporting standards in regulated environments.
• PMP, CAPM, or other project management certification (or working toward certification).