Project Manager

The City of Alexandria’s Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is seeking a Project Manager to be responsible for all aspects of IT projects during their entire project life cycle (initiation, planning, execution, controlling and close-out). He or she will manage large, complex and/or high-risk IT Infrastructure projects and IT sponsored projects which often cross departmental lines and have considerable impact on the City. This position has accountability for stakeholder management and requires an executive presence along with proven experience establishing and maintaining connections with the most senior levels of the organization to include the City Manager. We are looking for a candidate with a demonstrated ability to lead a team and motivate others, with a demonstrated sensitivity to working in a political environment and interacting with senior leadership.

The Opportunity

The Project Manager is an important team member of the Information Technology Services (ITS) Department. This position will work with other Project Managers and stakeholders in overseeing the implementation of critical enterprise IT projects, and reports to the Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Division Chief. The primary purpose of this management role is to lead, oversee and ensure the successful delivery and management of single or multiple projects within scope, quality, time and cost constraints. Examples of duties include:

• Providing leadership and motivation to project team members throughout the project life cycle;
• Prescribing clear ownership for project tasks, ensuring team members have necessary tools;
• Implementing a project communications plan that monitors project activities;
• Ensuring that project goals are accomplished and are in line with business objectives;
• Identifying systems requirements, setting expectations and monitoring delegated activities;
• Identifying and managing project risks;
• Analyzing project proposals for suitability and readiness;
• Defining and maintaining all implementation processes and managing the implementation lifecycle by collaborating with the project and information technology team;
• Designing or conducting analytical studies, cost-benefit analyses, or other research to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, policies, standards, or procedures;
• Conducting scope verification and validation tasks;
• Preparing Lessons Learned documents and closing all project artifacts and obtaining sign-offs by stakeholders;
• Assisting in the transition to stakeholder control by providing oversight and supporting post-implementation activities;
• Scheduling and planning for software upgrades with application owners across the organization and assessing the impacts of these upgrades;
• Assigning responsibilities and scope of authority to project personnel;
• Establishing standards and procedures for project reporting and documentation;
• Managing the decommissioning of applications, data archiving strategies and shutting down of related infrastructure and tools; and,
• Other related duties as assigned.

The Ideal Candidate
To minimally qualify for this position all applications will have a two-year college degree; three (3) years of comprehensive project management experience with full life-cycle information technology projects that includes three (3) years of experience in directing and leading technical project teams; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

The ideal candidate will have all the above as well as a bachelor’s degree or higher; five (5) or more years of experience directing/managing a variety of complex and challenging information technology project assignments of significantly large scale and considerable cost; PMP certification; ITIL certification. Have technical knowledge of all phases of project management and the software development life cycles. Possess three or more years of experience with implementing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software products, contract negotiations and vendor management. Be skilled in providing customer service, organization, communication, problem solving, and conflict management. Proven experience in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with customers at all levels of an organization.

About the Department
The Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is responsible for enterprise technology operations for the City of Alexandria. ITS provides technology services and solutions to City departments to enhance service delivery and aligns its work with City needs by providing leadership, resources, expertise, and products that enable departments to better serve the City’s residents, businesses, and visitors. All resources support initiatives funded through the multi-year Information Technology Capital Improvement Plan (IT/CIP) to improve the overall technology landscape. The City of Alexandria’s ITS Department has been a Top Ten National Finalist in the Digital Cities Award program for the past 13 consecutive years.

Notes
The position may require occasional after-hours assignments in support of City government.