Senior Project Estimator Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

The NC Client (NCDHHS)/Child Support requires a Senior Project Manager for a Child SupportSystem Enhancement Effort.
.NCDHHS - Child Support - Senior Project Manager
Experience Level: Senior
About the Role
The Child Support System Enhancement Effort aims to migrate critical functionality from a legacy mainframe system to a modern, web-based platform. This initiative will improve scalability, security, and user experience while ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations. The modernization effort involves re-engineering business processes, implementing new technologies, and integrating with existing systems in an Agile development environment.
Join our Child Support team to transform a legacy mainframe system into a modern, web-based platform that improves usability, accessibility, and scalability. We're seeking a Senior Project Manager to help lead the work of updating and improving the Child Support System. The project involves moving from an older mainframe system to a newer, web-based system that is easier to use and maintain. This work builds on improvements already underway.
As the Senior Project Manager, you'll help plan the work, keep teams organized, and make sure everyone involved understands what needs to be done and when. You'll work closely with client staff, stakeholders, partners, and vendors and help keep everything moving in a steady, clear, and practical way. You will help guide decisions, work with many different groups, and support day-to-day progress on this long-term effort. You'll help keep the project on track by bringing people together, solving issues as they come up, and making sure everyone stays aligned as the system continues to grow and improve.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead full-cycle project planning by defining scope, building detailed work plans, creating integrated schedules, and mapping dependencies to ensure all teams are aligned on priorities, timelines, and deliverables.
• Drive project execution by coordinating cross-functional teams, monitoring progress against plan, resolving obstacles, and ensuring work is completed on time, within scope, and at the expected quality level.
• Maintain strong communication with client staff, technical teams, business partners, and vendors by facilitating meetings, documenting decisions, tracking action items, and ensuring continuous alignment across stakeholders.
• Proactively identify and assess risks, issues, and system dependencies, clearly communicating impacts to schedule, scope, and budget. Lead development of mitigation strategies and contingency plans to keep the project stable and moving forward.
• Oversee budgets and schedules by tracking progress, analyzing variance, and forecasting resource and funding needs. Adjust plans and priorities as necessary to maintain project performance and compliance with state requirements.
• Lead quality assurance activities by driving requirement reviews, test planning, system validation, and defect resolution to ensure all deliverables meet user, technical, and regulatory expectations prior to release.
• Deliver clear, timely, and actionable project status communications to leadership, including progress updates, key risks, issues, decisions required, and upcoming milestones to support informed decision-making.
Required Skills & Qualifications
Project Leadership & Delivery
• Leading complex, multi-phase IT projects from planning through execution, monitoring, and close-out.
• Work with large teams through structured project lifecycles, maintaining alignment, and accountability.
• Managing PMO processes, governance, documentation, and reporting for initiatives.
Technical Project & Systems Management
• Managing large-scale technology modernization, legacy system migration, and system integration projects.
• Overseeing web-based application development, system enhancements, and platform updates.
• Coordinating with cross-functional technical teams, architect, developers, stakeholders, vendors, and QA.
Planning, Forecasting & Estimation
• Developing detailed roadmap, project plans, work breakdown structures, and integrated schedules.
• Performing effort, cost, and resource estimations; forecasting and modeling future needs for long-term technical initiatives.
• Managing budgets, tracking variances, and adjusting plans to maintain schedule and cost baselines.
Risk, Issue & Change Management
• Identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks, issues, and dependencies across systems.
• Leading cross-team problem-solving and implementing mitigation or contingency strategies.
• Supporting structured change management, release readiness, and stakeholder impact assessments.
Agile Delivery & Team Collaboration
• Working in Agile environments and guiding Agile teams through sprint planning, backlog refinement, and iterative delivery.
• Applying Agile practices to support transparency, velocity, and continuous improvement.
Tools & Technology Proficiency
• Experienced user of project management and collaboration tools including JIRA, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Office.
• Skilled in managing dashboards, schedules, workflow tracking, and status reporting.
Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
• Delivering clear, concise communication to executives, business partners, technical teams, stakeholders, partners, and vendors.
• Facilitating decision-making, negotiations, and cross-team alignment in complex environments.
• Leading diverse stakeholder groups and maintaining strong relationships across agencies and partners.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in Child Support programs, or government.
• Professional certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2, SAFe, Agile, or Scrum Master.
Required/Desired Skills
SkillRequired /DesiredAmountof ExperienceIT Technical - SDLC and coding familiarity; able to work closely with developers; skilled at translating technical details for business teamsRequired4YearsProject Leadership & Delivery (Leading enterprise IT projects; project lifecycle management, PMO governance, reporting, coordination)Required10YearsTechnical Project & Systems Management (System integration; web based application development; collaboration with architects and technical teams)Required10YearsPlanning, Forecasting & Estimation(Developing project plans, schedules; time/effort/cost estimation; resource forecasting; budget tracking)Required10YearsRisk, Issue & Change Management(Identifying risks, issues, dependencies;mitigation strategies; change impact analysis;communicating blockers/decision)Required10YearsCommunication & Stakeholder Engagement(Executive level communication; cross team negotiations; delivering clear and actionable project updates)Required10YearsAgile Delivery & Collaboration(Facilitating Agile ceremonies, guiding Agile teams, applying Agile frameworks; supporting iterative delivery)Required5YearsUse of Project Tools (Microsoft Project, Microsoft Office, JIRA or similar tools)Required3YearsExperience in government, or Child Support programsHighly desired1YearsProfessional certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2, SAFe, Agile, or Scrum MasterHighly desired0
Questions
No.QuestionQuestion1Absences greater than two weeks MUST be approved by CAI management in advance, and contact information must be provided to CAI so that the resource can be reached during his or her absence. The Client has the right to dismiss the resource if he or she does not return to work by the agreed upon date. Do you agree to this requirement?Question2Will the candidate be subcontracted at the time of submission (Yes or No)?Question3Vendor must disclose to the agency if the candidate will be subcontracted at the time of submission. Do you accept this requirement?Question4Vendor must notify the agency if any portion of the requirements listed in this task order are to be outsourced to other countries. Do you accept this requirement?Question5Candidates submitted above the hourly Vendor Rate of $$ may not be considered for this assignment. Do you agree to this requirement?Question6 Payment for all approved hours will be paid at the straight hourly rate regardless of the total hours worked by the engaged resource. It is the responsibility of the supplier to adhere to any applicable compensation laws including payment for overtime hours. Do you accept this requirement?Question7 Please confirm you have thoroughly validated, and attest to the accuracy of, the credentials listed throughout this candidate's VectorVMS profile and resume pursuant to Section 5.2.5 of ITS-009440. Do you confirm?Question8Please list candidate's email address HERE that will be used when submitting E-RTR.Question9 Please provide candidate's current location (City and state), NOT a Yes or No response.Question10Please note that the final rate would be subject to adjustment based on candidate's performance during the interview. Do you agree to this requirement?Question11Can you share a time when you had to present project updates or recommendations to a leadership team or a group of stakeholders? How did you prepare, and what helped you communicate your message clearly?Question12When a project involves many different teams and partners, how do you keep everyone on the same page and make sure work keeps moving forward?Question13Can you share an example of a project that involved AI in the software development lifecycle, including your role, the project outcome, and what you learned?