Program / Project Manager

Benefits :

Paid time off

This position is remote with occasional travel as required by Maryland State Office.

Education :

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or other related discipline.
• Master’s degree or project management certification is preferred.
• PhD is preferred.
• Current Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Project Management Professional.

General Experience :

• At least 12 years of relevant industry experience in the discipline is required.
• Five years of experience managing project life cycles, risk, resources, schedules, and oversight of Internet and intranet software operation and support projects.
• Three years of experience managing Internet projects for government agencies in a multi-tier environment.

Specialized Experience :

• At least ten years of combined new and related older technical experience in the IT field
• directly related to the required area of expertise.

Required Skills & Experience :

• Certified Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute required
• Experience with the CCATS application required
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required
• Experience with Maryland State procurement a plus
• Experience drafting Fit Gap Analysis a plus
• Prior experience preparing and delivering informative, well-organized presentations.

Duties :

Expertise in information technology, particularly in Child Care. Requires expertise in the formulation of specifications and the execution of technical initiatives in vertical areas.

Defines requirements, performs analyses, and develops plans and requirements for systems. Provides technical and administrative guidance and expertise for personnel performing software development tasks related to Child Care management.

Must be able to coordinate with the Program / Project Manager and stakeholders to ensure problem solution and user satisfaction.

Makes recommendations, if needed, for approval of major systems requirements related to Child Care management. Provide guidance in interpreting, applying, and implementing applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Responsibilities :

A. Oversee planning, development and operation of the modernized childcare tracking system.

B. Evaluates complex situations accurately and identifies viable solutions that create successful outcomes.

C. Develops and maintains lessons-learned inputs in the project repository for utilization on future projects.

D. Monitors daily system operations to plan, anticipate and prevent problems and to direct immediate corrective action when issues arise.

E. Provides both verbal and written communications regarding project status, risks, and issues, and makes recommendations on project decisions to DEC point of contact.

F. Manages allocation of resources within the program(s) to meet work fluctuations and budget and time constraints in the delivery process.

G. Serves as subject matter expert, providing technical and analytical guidance to the program and project teams

H. Use agile project management methods, such as Scaled Agile, to prioritize, define, execute and deliver system enhancements and corrections.

I. Manage the system engineering workload to assign priorities and track work through delivery.

J. Coordinate with the multiple state agencies (ex. the Department of Human Services to ensure optimal use of the MD Think platform).

K. Lead team in identifying the root cause of problems and implementing durable solutions.

L. Coordinate task assignment and system quality for all teams supporting the system including security, networking, hosting, system administration, database administration, level 2 help desk, development, testing, and implementation and other technical specialties as needed to deliver system services.

M. Approve the deployment of code release packages for user acceptance test, training and production environments.

N. Conduct weekly status calls with the internal and contractor teams to communicate objectives, monitor progress, and resolve issues.

O. Works with the Division to provide support and coordination and to ensure seamless adoption of the new system and business processes.

P. Assist with managing contracts and vendors assigned to delegated initiatives included in the assigned projects.

Q. Co-Facilitate monthly meetings of the Program Advisory Committee (PAC)

Project Management :

A. Perform the duties of a Senior Project Manager for significant development initiatives that DoIT classifies as Major IT Projects and system engineering work that the DEC designates for formal project management.

B. Prepare Project Charter, Technical Roadmap, Roles and Responsibility matrix and other project planning documents consistent with DoIT policies and procedures.

C. Translates generalized customer business goals and objectives into concrete strategy and tactical plans.

D. Brief MSDE and DoIT Executives on the project goals, approach and status throughout the project.

E. Execute the project utilizing PMI and agile project management methods, such as the Scaled Agile Framework.

F. Prepare and disseminate the DoIT Quad Report to summarize progress in multiple dimensions.

G. Works on complex problems where analysis of situation or data requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors to achieve best results

H. Exercises judgment within broadly defined policies and practices to develop and implement methods and techniques.

I. Works effectively with internal and external clients, third party vendors and Senior Management in accomplishing project objectives.

J. Evaluates complex situations accurately and identifies viable solutions that create successful outcomes

K. Develops and maintains lessons-learned inputs in the project repository for utilization on future projects

L. Plan and manage budget, schedule, scope and resources to achieve project goals.

Financial Management :

A. Collaborates with the Finance Department and various functional managers to ensure project budgets are properly estimated and controlled;

provide overall financial recommendations and develop controls and measurements to monitor progress.

B. Provides monthly accruals and forecasts by the due date established.

C. Maintains current statements of work for all contractors; tracks and approves contractor invoices in a timely manner.

D. Provides regular updates to designated DEC personnel, project sponsor and stakeholders on the status of projects and the budget.

Documents reasons for budget excess or shortfall.

Risk Management :

A. Develops a comprehensive Risk Management Plan at the Program Level within the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Framework as defined

B. Proactively identifies risks and opportunities of both business and technical plans; identifies Risk Mitigation Strategies and Contingency Plans for all identified Risks.

Maintains the Program Level issue and risk matrix log

C. Provides a detailed plan of how the risk will be managed or eliminated. Provides a weekly Program status report with major risk factors when mitigation approach impacts the project timeline, budget or objectives

D. Coordinates the Risk Management Plan and Risk Mitigation Strategy across all projects within the Program and manage the execution within the individual projects.

Additional responsibilities include :

A. Provide input on procurements for hardware, software, networking or other services related to Child Care Systems.

B. Estimate budget for technical services for the DEC Finance Officer.

C. Identify technical resources necessary to meet DEC objectives and recommend methods to obtain resources. Participate in MSDE technical planning as requested by the CIO.

E. Coordinate Child Service System management with other MSDE and State systems to minimize costs and

improve system control and quality.

F. Monitor emerging technology trends to identify and recommend strategic technical investments that will benefit DEC.

G. Coordinate with Functional Analysts in the analysis and documentation of features, capabilities and user Stories.

H. Coordinate DEC Product Owners in defining system goals, functional requirements and user stories.

I. Ensure that requirements are traceable through product owner approval and user acceptance.

J. Coordinate with DEC Product Owners on deployment schedules.

K. Oversee system security and compliance with audit recommendations.

L. Participate in DEC strategic planning to ensure that the technical roadmap is consistent with Agency priorities.

This is a remote position.