Project Manager 3

Location: Lansing, MI (Onsite)

Duration: Long-Term Contract

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager 3 to provide leadership, oversight, accountability, and project management for large-scale strategic projects and programs with high organizational visibility.

These initiatives involve a high degree of complexity, intricate dependencies, significant risk, and executive-level accountability. Projects may include diverse stakeholder groups, vendor participation, multiple interdependent schedules, and integration with other systems or applications.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing projects throughout the full lifecycle, ensuring alignment with established project management methodologies and organizational priorities. This role will also support long-term release planning, monitor project budget, quality, scope, and schedule, and proactively escalate significant issues and risks to executive leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight for large, complex, strategic projects and programs.
• Manage direct engagement with stakeholders and vendors, including approximately 15-20% executive-level communication.
• Lead executive and sponsor meetings to communicate project health, progress, risks, issues, dependencies, and key decisions.
• Establish and monitor project control processes to ensure timely visibility into changes affecting cost, quality, scope, and schedule.
• Develop project plans, staffing strategies, schedules, and reporting processes to support successful project delivery.
• Ensure project planning, staffing, reporting, and execution align with established project management methodologies and organizational prioritization processes.
• Manage projects throughout the complete lifecycle, from initiation and planning through execution, implementation, and closeout.
• Direct and coordinate day-to-day project activities, tasks, milestones, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Coordinate cross-functional project teams, stakeholders, and vendors to maintain alignment with project objectives and timelines.
• Monitor project performance and proactively identify risks, issues, dependencies, and competing priorities.
• Escalate significant project risks, issues, and deviations to appropriate leadership in a timely manner.
• Perform quality control activities to ensure project scope, requirements, deliverables, and objectives are met.
• Facilitate communication across project teams, stakeholders, vendors, and leadership.
• Build consensus, resolve conflicts, facilitate working sessions, and negotiate outcomes.
• Analyze project information and data to identify problems and develop actionable solutions.
• Perform additional project management activities as needed to support organizational objectives.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience working effectively in team environments within matrixed organizations.
• 5+ years of experience resolving complex, high-priority conflicts and competing requirements.
• 5+ years of experience applying project management principles, methodologies, and industry best practices.
• 5+ years of experience working with system development methodologies for building new systems and enhancing existing information systems.
• 5+ years of experience communicating stakeholder needs clearly and effectively.
• 5+ years of experience analyzing data, identifying problems, and developing actionable solutions.
• 5+ years of experience communicating across teams, building consensus, facilitating working sessions, and negotiating outcomes.
• 5+ years of experience managing stakeholder relationships, maintaining positive interactions, and resolving project-related issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience working in a government, public-sector, or regulated environment.
• Experience working in multiple relevant roles, such as:
  • Project Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Project Coordinator
  • Project Lead
  • Project Management Lead
  • Other project management leadership or support roles

Key Skills

• Project & Program Management
• Strategic Project Management
• Executive Communication
• Stakeholder Management
• Vendor Management
• Project Planning & Scheduling
• Risk & Issue Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Scope & Requirements Management
• Budget & Cost Management
• Quality Management
• Systems Development Methodologies
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Consensus Building
• Data Analysis & Problem Solving
• Facilitation & Negotiation
• Project Governance
• Executive Stakeholder Engagement