Program Project Manager Jobs in Eliot, ME (NOW HIRING)

Reporting initially to the VP, Information Technology and transitioning to the future leadership of the Director, IT Program Management Office, the Project Manager is responsible for supporting and leading the successful delivery of enterprise technology initiatives while helping strengthen project management discipline across the IT organization. The initial assignment is expected to include significant support for Security & Compliance initiatives, while the role remains an enterprise IT project management resource that can support other priority initiatives as needed. This role serves as a bridge between business stakeholders, technical teams, vendors, and leadership, helping ensure projects remain aligned, risks are managed proactively, dependencies are visible, and organizational impacts are understood throughout project execution. In addition to managing assigned projects, this position will contribute to stronger project governance, reporting practices, delivery consistency, stakeholder engagement, and the scalable foundation for a future PMO. The ideal candidate is adaptable, pragmatic, and able to balance process discipline with the needs of a growing environment.

This position is designed with a growth path into a Senior Project Manager role as experience, business knowledge, leadership capability, and organizational impact expand.

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Project Delivery & Execution

• Lead and support assigned enterprise technology projects from initiation through stabilization and transition to support
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, budgets, and action item tracking
• Coordinate project activities across business stakeholders, technical teams, and external partners
• Participate actively in project planning, workstream coordination, and delivery execution
• Identify risks, project issues, and potential delivery roadblocks before they become project impacts
• Partner with delivery teams to track progress, evaluate corrective actions, and maintain project momentum
• Facilitate issue resolution and drive timely follow-through on key decisions and action items
• Drive accountability and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority

Business & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build strong relationships with business leaders, end users, technical teams, vendors, and implementation partners
• Coordinate communication between business stakeholders and project teams to ensure alignment on objectives, timing, scope, and expected outcomes
• Facilitate project meetings, working sessions, workshops, and stakeholder reviews with both technical and business participants
• Assist in evaluating business impacts, process changes, readiness needs, and adoption considerations
• Support change management activities, including communications, training coordination, stakeholder engagement, and go-live readiness
• Ensure stakeholders remain informed regarding project objectives, timelines, risks, upcoming changes, and decisions requiring attention

Risk, Dependency, and Governance Management

• Maintain project risks, issues, assumptions, and dependency tracking, including RAID logs and related governance artifacts
• Escalate emerging concerns appropriately and support development of mitigation and contingency plans
• Coordinate cross-functional activities required to resolve blockers, dependencies, and competing priorities
• Monitor project health and identify areas requiring additional attention, support, or decision-making
• Support governance reviews, steering committee preparation, and project decision-making processes
• Promote consistency in project management practices across assigned initiatives

Reporting & Executive Communication

• Develop project status reports, dashboards, and executive-ready summaries
• Communicate project health, milestones, risks, dependencies, financial impacts, and key decisions in a clear and concise manner
• Prepare materials for leadership reviews, portfolio updates, and steering committee meetings
• Tailor communications for both technical and business audiences
• Maintain documentation, governance artifacts, and project reporting tools
• Contribute to portfolio-level visibility across IT initiatives through consistent reporting and project health tracking

Vendor & Partner Communication

• Coordinate activities involving vendors, consultants, implementation partners, and managed service providers
• Track commitments, deliverables, milestones, dependencies, action items, and contractual project obligations
• Monitor vendor delivery performance and escalate concerns when required
• Assist in evaluating vendor performance and delivery results, including lessons learned and improvement opportunities
• Foster collaborative relationships that contribute to successful project outcomes

PMO Readiness & Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to development and refinement of PMO standards, templates, methodologies, and reporting practices
• Identify opportunities to improve project delivery effectiveness, governance, stakeholder engagement, and resource planning visibility
• Participate in lessons learned and post-implementation review activities
• Support adoption of consistent project management practices across IT initiatives
• Support the establishment of a scalable PMO foundation that can grow as the organization matures
• Develop knowledge of enterprise delivery practices and business operations to prepare for future advancement into a Senior Project Manager role

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Business, Project Management, or a related field
• 5+ years of project management experience supporting or leading technology-related initiatives
• Experience coordinating cross-functional projects or programs involving both business and technical teams
• Strong organizational, planning, prioritization, and follow-through skills
• Ability to identify risks, manage competing priorities, and drive mitigation activities
• Effective written, verbal, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience preparing project updates, summaries, or presentations for leadership audiences
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Planner, or similar project management and collaboration tools
• Ability to influence, coordinate, and drive accountability without direct authority
• Comfort operating in an evolving environment where processes, governance, and reporting practices are continuing to mature

Preferred

• Experience supporting ERP, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data, digital commerce, retail technology, or business transformation initiatives
• Understanding of retail, consumer goods, ecommerce, omnichannel, supply chain, wholesale, or store operations business processes
• Experience working with external consultants, systems integrators, vendors, or implementation partners
• Exposure to PMO governance, standards development, project intake, portfolio reporting, or project management process improvement
• PMP, CAPM, Agile, Scrum, or similar certification

Base Salary/Hourly Range: From $130,000 to $150,000 annually*

Bonus Eligibility: Yes, eligible for annual target bonus based on company and individual performance

Benefits Offered: Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Care, Health Savings Account with Employer Contribution, Flexible Spending Accounts, 401(k) Retirement Plan with Employer Matching Contributions, Short-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Vacation Time, Sick Time, Paid Parental Leave, Adoption Assistance Program, Charitable Matching Gifts Program, Holidays and Cole Haan Discounts

Paid Time Off: Paid vacation days starting at 120 hours, 11 paid company and personal holidays, 3 volunteer days

Sick Leave: Eligible non-exempt employees earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. Eligible exempt full-time employees earn 2.67 hours of sick time each bi-weekly pay period

*Rate of pay dependent upon candidates’ relevant skills, experience, and location