Strategic Project Manager – Customer Relationship[…]
City : Hamilton
Category : Other
Industry : Education
Employer : McMaster University
Hamilton, ON
At McMaster University, our people are our most valuable asset. We strive to attract, develop, and retain talented faculty and staff, and to foster inclusive excellence which values the strengths, perspectives, and contributions of each individual. McMaster’s profile and stature has evolved to one of the Top 70 Universities in the World and we are recognized as Canada’s Most Research Intensive University. McMaster is also recognized as one of the top employers in the Hamilton/Niagara region and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Diversity employers in each of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Our University Technology Services team mission is to provide exceptional customer service and a high level of support to the McMaster community. Critical to the success of this role we stand by and value integrity, mutual respect, collaboration and cooperation in support of the University’s IT Strategic Vision of a connected One IT community.
About the PositionThe Project Manager is a member of the IT Strategic Implementation Team within the office of the Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and reports to and works closely with the Associate Director and Senior Manager of Strategic Projects. The Project Manager will oversee the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project directed toward varied stakeholder groups across the institution. The first CRM initiative will focus on implementing current student services working with technical, administrative and academic departments partners to define, plan and execute the CRM service needs of McMaster University.
Are you the right candidate?The successful individual will ensure a full and robust approach to project management processes including strong communication and organizing capabilities to create a cohesive and well-defined understanding of the full scope, cost and timelines necessary to successfully deliver this project. They will work closely with the Project Sponsor, a Project Steering Committee, Project Team and campus wide stakeholder groups (expected to exceed 100 individuals), in addition to managing external. Experience with managing and undertaking complex enterprise-wide technology projects, managing Request for Proposal processes, managing vendor relationships, and implementing CRM Solutions is required. Experience specifically implementing CRM and Document Management solutions within a Higher Education environment is an asset.
Key Responsibilities:
Project and Program Management Develop and manage all aspects of project and program engagement from planning, external vendor relationships, communications, resources, budget, risks and issues. Lead walkthroughs and reviews of new project plans, stakeholder communication, documented success criteria and risk mitigation strategies. Organize and conduct start-up sessions to communicate requirements and project plans, and to initiate team building. Develop executive level communication regarding all aspects of the project. Develop and maintain project plans, prepare project status reports and keep management, clients and other project stakeholders informed of the status. Develop and manage project budget, time lines and milestones for presentation to senior management. Evaluate work product to ensure adherence to established functional and operational specifications. Conduct in-depth client interviews to determine scope, priority and constraints of business needs. Lead the development of project charters, business case documents and cost justifications.
Manage Client and Vendor Relationships Manage work assignments of internal staff and schedule and monitor adherence to procedures, protocols, and standards. Partner with the Technical Team to maintain the information technology issues database, create new issues and tracking the status of open issues. Ensure proper setting of priorities, problem resolution and incorporation of changing events and conditions into the project from business, technical and political perspectives. Plan, coordinate, and schedule meetings for effective user groups, focus groups, and advisory boards. Investigate, evaluate, and recommend improvements that may be required to business practices, their applications systems, and supporting computing technology.
Organizational Responsibilities Coach and mentor junior staff in order to ensure a highly motivated and technically competent team. Act as an on-site team lead responsible for planning, coordinating, and scheduling work assignments to ensure the completion of assigned projects. Remain current with relevant development and project methodologies. Remain current with security policies and procedures and work with System Administrators to implement security changes. Remain current with the different levels of testing and develop simple use cases and test scripts. Promote the use of the Project Management framework, identifying enhancements and process improvements based on lessons learned. Provide feedback to direct managers on work completed by project team members, this iofmraiton to be included in performance reviews and objectives
Technical Recommendations, Training and Systems Testing Manage the development of prototypes of interfaces and attributes based on user requirements. Develop and conduct peer reviews of business requirements to ensure that the requirement specifications are correctly interpreted. Gather and compile information on hardware and software products that meet predetermined specifications. Analyze and verify requirements for completeness, consistency, comprehensibility, feasibility, and conformity to standards. Manage all phases of testing including, but not limited to, system, integration, acceptance, regression, and performance. Take ownership of functional issues by identifying underlying problems, analyzing potential solutions and implementing system resolutions, including workarounds. Review test cases created by the testing team members to ensure that the test cases adequately define the business processes. Resolve problems in the test, production implementation, and post-implementation phases in coordination with other technical and business groups. Review systems, processes, and information and provide recommendations to others. Prepare and review a variety of project documentation, training materials and related documents. Absorb technical information when it is presented systematically and apply it effectively.
Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences, Business or a related field of study Preferred: Certifications – PMP and ITIL, Scrum Master 10 years of relevant experience In depth use of project management framework, including scope management, communication management, risk management and cost management. Experience with contract negotiation and vendor management. Knowledge of IT program management best practices Demonstrated ability to successfully lead a team on strategic projects Detailed understanding of one or more institutional level applications and /or major business unit operations/requirements Knowledge of commercial information technology standards Experience with Data Management and Data Governance would be an asset. Successfully delivered multiple projects using agile and lean methodology.
At McMaster University, our people are our most valuable asset. We strive to attract, develop, and retain talented faculty and staff, and to foster inclusive excellence which values the strengths, perspectives, and contributions of each individual. McMaster’s profile and stature has evolved to one of the Top 70 Universities in the World and we are recognized as Canada’s Most Research Intensive University. McMaster is also recognized as one of the top employers in the Hamilton/Niagara region and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Diversity employers in each of 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Our University Technology Services team mission is to provide exceptional customer service and a high level of support to the McMaster community. Critical to the success of this role we stand by and value integrity, mutual respect, collaboration and cooperation in support of the University’s IT Strategic Vision of a connected One IT community.
About the PositionThe Project Manager is a member of the IT Strategic Implementation Team within the office of the Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and reports to and works closely with the Associate Director and Senior Manager of Strategic Projects. The Project Manager will oversee the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project directed toward varied stakeholder groups across the institution. The first CRM initiative will focus on implementing current student services working with technical, administrative and academic departments partners to define, plan and execute the CRM service needs of McMaster University.
Are you the right candidate?The successful individual will ensure a full and robust approach to project management processes including strong communication and organizing capabilities to create a cohesive and well-defined understanding of the full scope, cost and timelines necessary to successfully deliver this project. They will work closely with the Project Sponsor, a Project Steering Committee, Project Team and campus wide stakeholder groups (expected to exceed 100 individuals), in addition to managing external. Experience with managing and undertaking complex enterprise-wide technology projects, managing Request for Proposal processes, managing vendor relationships, and implementing CRM Solutions is required. Experience specifically implementing CRM and Document Management solutions within a Higher Education environment is an asset.
Key Responsibilities:
Project and Program Management Develop and manage all aspects of project and program engagement from planning, external vendor relationships, communications, resources, budget, risks and issues. Lead walkthroughs and reviews of new project plans, stakeholder communication, documented success criteria and risk mitigation strategies. Organize and conduct start-up sessions to communicate requirements and project plans, and to initiate team building. Develop executive level communication regarding all aspects of the project. Develop and maintain project plans, prepare project status reports and keep management, clients and other project stakeholders informed of the status. Develop and manage project budget, time lines and milestones for presentation to senior management. Evaluate work product to ensure adherence to established functional and operational specifications. Conduct in-depth client interviews to determine scope, priority and constraints of business needs. Lead the development of project charters, business case documents and cost justifications.
Manage Client and Vendor Relationships Manage work assignments of internal staff and schedule and monitor adherence to procedures, protocols, and standards. Partner with the Technical Team to maintain the information technology issues database, create new issues and tracking the status of open issues. Ensure proper setting of priorities, problem resolution and incorporation of changing events and conditions into the project from business, technical and political perspectives. Plan, coordinate, and schedule meetings for effective user groups, focus groups, and advisory boards. Investigate, evaluate, and recommend improvements that may be required to business practices, their applications systems, and supporting computing technology.
Organizational Responsibilities Coach and mentor junior staff in order to ensure a highly motivated and technically competent team. Act as an on-site team lead responsible for planning, coordinating, and scheduling work assignments to ensure the completion of assigned projects. Remain current with relevant development and project methodologies. Remain current with security policies and procedures and work with System Administrators to implement security changes. Remain current with the different levels of testing and develop simple use cases and test scripts. Promote the use of the Project Management framework, identifying enhancements and process improvements based on lessons learned. Provide feedback to direct managers on work completed by project team members, this iofmraiton to be included in performance reviews and objectives
Technical Recommendations, Training and Systems Testing Manage the development of prototypes of interfaces and attributes based on user requirements. Develop and conduct peer reviews of business requirements to ensure that the requirement specifications are correctly interpreted. Gather and compile information on hardware and software products that meet predetermined specifications. Analyze and verify requirements for completeness, consistency, comprehensibility, feasibility, and conformity to standards. Manage all phases of testing including, but not limited to, system, integration, acceptance, regression, and performance. Take ownership of functional issues by identifying underlying problems, analyzing potential solutions and implementing system resolutions, including workarounds. Review test cases created by the testing team members to ensure that the test cases adequately define the business processes. Resolve problems in the test, production implementation, and post-implementation phases in coordination with other technical and business groups. Review systems, processes, and information and provide recommendations to others. Prepare and review a variety of project documentation, training materials and related documents. Absorb technical information when it is presented systematically and apply it effectively.
Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences, Business or a related field of study Preferred: Certifications – PMP and ITIL, Scrum Master 10 years of relevant experience In depth use of project management framework, including scope management, communication management, risk management and cost management. Experience with contract negotiation and vendor management. Knowledge of IT program management best practices Demonstrated ability to successfully lead a team on strategic projects Detailed understanding of one or more institutional level applications and /or major business unit operations/requirements Knowledge of commercial information technology standards Experience with Data Management and Data Governance would be an asset. Successfully delivered multiple projects using agile and lean methodology.