Virtual Program Manager Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Job Summary

The Program Manager manages a set of interrelated projects to deliver against a common set of business objectives using business acumen, critical thinking, and relationship skills. Responsible for managing cross-functional project-level or program-level requirements and scope, resource planning, finances and benefit realization, risks and issues, quality, organizational change management, communications, and reporting.
The Program Manager works with constituent Project Managers to monitor cost, schedule, and technical performance of component projects; identify and manage dependencies and escalate program risks and issues as appropriate to the program owner to ensure the ultimate success of the program. Responsible for internal stakeholder management, which may include stakeholders external to the organization. Reports program metrics to the program owner and business owners.

Essential Functions

• Leads one or more programs in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, which may include directing third party resources as well as virtual teams. These programs impact multiple Lines of Business (LOB), multiple functional areas, are large in scale and complex, may span multiple years, usually involve senior-level sponsorship (and sometimes executive level sponsorship) and may include a steering committee.
• Develops and grows partnerships and foster relationships with senior functional managers and their management teams to prioritize projects and set/ receive direction to achieve business objectives
• Supports business case development; performs project registration/consolidation/prioritization as required; creates funding plan; and administers project pipeline checkpoints to drive delivery and mitigate/resolve bottlenecks
• Defines and manages program scope, scope changes, objectives, requirements, deliverables, and value proposition that support the diverse business goals and interests of multiple stakeholders
• Develops integrated program plan; identifies and manages program dependencies and critical paths; and tracks/reports program milestones as well as status
• Ensures potential impacts to external client experience are addressed in project solution/plan
• Estimates resources needed to achieve program goals; tracks utilization; determines and assesses need for additional staff and/or vendors; manages on/off boarding; and monitors/manages vendor performance on labor resources
• Drafts and submits program budget proposals and recommends subsequent budget changes where necessary; conducts cost forecasting and actual tracking as well as variance reporting
• Identifies, tracks, escalates and resolves issue conflicts; performs impact analysis and prioritization; manages dependencies and track/monitors; and escalates risk with corrective/ mitigating actions
• Tailors methods and metrics; administers configuration management/version control; adheres to project policies/ standards; performs project assessments; coach/ mentors teams; and manages deliverable reviews and signoffs
• Leads communication planning, execution and reporting with program team members; liaises with  stakeholders
• Supports development of change management planning, design and implementation including communication and training
• Manages documentation and the knowledge transfer to the "business as usual" functions; conducts "lesson-learned" reviews
• Manages the execution of vendor contract(s) and ensures adherence to contract provisions, where applicable
• Performs other duties as assigned; duties, responsibilities and/or activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice
• Complies with all client policies and procedures, including without limitation, always acting professionally, conducting business ethically, avoiding conflicts of interest, and acting in the best interests of all stakeholders. 

Education

• Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
• OR equivalent experience (required)

Work Experience

• 5+ years of complex project or program management experience (required)

Licenses and Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification or equivalent (preferred)
• Change Management certification or equivalent (preferred)
• Scrum Master Certification (preferred)

Skills

• Works autonomously with proven demonstration of leadership competencies; organized, self-disciplined; influences & challenges broadly across the organization; makes tough decisions in a timely manner
• Strategic thinker; ability to see the 'big picture'; assists in developing and implementing strategies across the organization; applies expert problem solving and conflict management skills; proven track record of successful complex project/program execution across the enterprise, consistently meeting budget, schedule, scope & risk targets; manages the execution of vendor contracts
• Integrated, cross-functional understanding of the business strategy to corporate goals & strategy, including financial & risk impacts of program delivery
• Possess Executive/ Leadership-level written, verbal, and presentation skills; ability to adjust communication to audience
• Clearly articulates vision of programs future state impact to business & enterprise strategy
• Assesses & coaches cross-functional team members to both strengths and developmental needs; fosters and encourages open & honest feedback; learns from feedback to drive personal and team development; mentors staff
• Proactively manages risks to minimize occurrence of issues; comfortable in an environment of risk and uncertainty; performs impact analysis and prioritization; identifies corrective/ mitigating actions; demonstrated ability to escalate risks/issues timely and motivate others to resolve; provides effective reporting of impact and status; identifies and manages project dependencies and/or program interdependencies

Compensation, Benefits and Duration

Minimum Compensation: USD 47,000
Maximum Compensation: USD 165,000
Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.
Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.
This position is available for independent contractors
No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post