Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Strategic Project Manager to lead the statewide replacement of the legacy ICON/JPOD Probation Case Management Information System for the Colorado Judicial Branch. This high-visibility, multi-year technology modernization initiative will span Colorado’s 23 judicial districts and involve complex coordination across technology teams, probation departments, judicial leadership, government agencies, and external vendors.
The selected candidate will oversee the full project lifecycle, including requirements gathering, procurement, solution design, development or configuration, data migration, testing, statewide implementation, change management, and legacy system decommissioning.
The Project Manager will operate within a multi-level governance structure, facilitate executive decision-making, manage stakeholder alignment, ensure legislative and policy compliance, and maintain continuity of probation operations throughout implementation.
Project Background
The existing ICON/JPOD system supports statewide probation case management and tracks felony, juvenile, and most misdemeanor cases. It exchanges information with partner agencies through the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CICJIS).
The replacement system must maintain critical data exchanges with partner organizations, including the Department of Corrections, Division of Youth Services, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and Colorado District Attorneys' Council.
The project's goals include improving operational efficiency, reducing administrative data entry, strengthening reporting and decision-making, and delivering a more accessible, consistent, and user-centered experience.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Project Management and Governance
Lead the complete project lifecycle, from requirements definition and procurement through implementation, statewide rollout, and legacy system retirement.
Develop and maintain the master project schedule, budget, scope baseline, milestones, and benefits realization plan.
Translate strategic objectives into measurable project deliverables, outcomes, and success criteria.
Establish and maintain project governance, decision-making processes, escalation paths, and executive reporting.
Prepare executive status reports, decision materials, risk summaries, and project recommendations.
Coordinate cross-functional teams and multiple vendors to ensure delivery against agreed scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
2. Vendor and Procurement Management
Support solicitation development, vendor evaluation, solution selection, and procurement activities in accordance with state procurement requirements.
Manage vendor deliverables, performance, dependencies, risks, timelines, and contractual commitments.
Coordinate internal teams and external vendors throughout solution design, configuration, testing, deployment, and support.
Apply appropriate procurement controls and project governance while accommodating Agile or hybrid delivery practices where applicable.
3. Legislative, Policy, and Compliance Alignment
Track applicable Colorado statutes, Chief Justice Directives, probation standards, and policy requirements that affect system functionality.
Coordinate with legal, policy, research, and operational teams to translate requirements into system capabilities.
Ensure the solution supports required reporting, risk and needs assessments, and evidence-based probation practices.
Maintain appropriate controls for confidential criminal justice information and sensitive organizational data.
4. Stakeholder Engagement and Change Management
Engage chief probation officers, probation officers, supervisors, judges, court staff, partner agencies, and executive leadership across all 23 judicial districts.
Facilitate stakeholder workshops, requirements sessions, field observations, user testing, and feedback activities.
Build consensus among stakeholders with competing priorities and facilitate timely resolution of cross-functional issues.
Lead organizational change management, communications, training, readiness assessments, and user adoption activities.
Coordinate go-live support and ensure users are prepared for operational changes.
Promote accessible, plain-language, and user-centered system experiences for probation staff and justice-involved individuals.
Account for the needs of geographically distributed users in both urban and rural districts.
5. Data Migration, Testing, and Implementation
Oversee planning and coordination for data migration, system integration, testing, cutover, and statewide deployment.
Coordinate integration requirements and data exchanges with CICJIS and participating criminal justice agencies.
Manage testing strategies, defect resolution, acceptance criteria, and implementation readiness.
Develop cutover and contingency plans that protect continuity of probation supervision and critical operations.
Coordinate post-implementation stabilization and legacy system decommissioning.
6. Risk, Quality, and Benefits Realization
Identify, assess, document, and mitigate project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies.
Escalate critical issues and decisions through appropriate governance channels.
Monitor project performance against schedule, budget, scope, quality, and expected benefits.
Establish success measures for adoption, operational efficiency, reporting quality, and business outcomes.
Maintain project documentation, status reports, decision logs, risk registers, and implementation records.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Information Systems, Public Administration, Criminal Justice, Business, or a related field. Additional relevant experience may substitute for education on a year-for-year basis.
10 years of progressively responsible project management experience.
At least 5 years leading large, complex technology implementations involving multiple vendors and stakeholder groups.
Demonstrated experience managing a multi-year project schedule.
Experience leading enterprise system replacements involving data migration and organizational change management.
Ability to successfully pass a criminal background check.
Preferred Qualifications
PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project/program management certification.
Agile and/or change management certifications.
Experience with Waterfall project management methodology.
Experience combining Waterfall governance and procurement controls with Agile solution delivery.
Experience implementing case management systems for courts, probation, parole, corrections, or other criminal justice agencies.
Familiarity with Colorado state government, the Colorado Judicial Branch, or CICJIS data exchanges.
Experience implementing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or configurable SaaS platforms in the public sector.
Experience supporting geographically distributed users across urban and rural locations.
