Senior Manager, PMO at American Water Works Service Company Inc in Camden, New Jersey

Job Description:

Diversity of backgrounds, ideas, thoughts, and experiences is vital to our culture and the way we do business.  Creating an environment where differences are embraced and where every person feels engaged and included makes us safer, stronger, and more successful.

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company.  The company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states.  American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help make sure we keep their lives flowing.  For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14042. This order and the associated federal safety protocols for federal contractors that were issued on September 24, 2021, require covered contractors who work with the federal government to ensure that their employees are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or approved for a health or religious accommodation by December 8, 2021. As a covered federal contractor, American Water must adhere to these legal requirements. If you are made a conditional job offer, you will be required to provide proof of full vaccination or apply and be approved for a health or religious accommodation prior to your start date.

Primary Role

Sr. Manager, PMO oversees the development, direction, implementation, and maintenance of the PMO processes and policies that result in efficiency and governance across the portfolio management, Drive the definition, adoption, implementation, and continuous improvement of project/program/portfolio management methodologies within the PMO team and throughout the business to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, adhere to high-quality standards, and meet customer expectations. Establish a clear vision with delivery route map including interim milestones and long-term measures of success / KPI . Works with leadership to develop strategic planning and execution plans to properly align project resources in support of those plans. Guide the PMO team to ensure that the department conducts project request and prioritization sessions and ensures decisions are committed to and communicated across the organization. Support the successful delivery of initiatives, projects, programs through effective facilitation, tracking and reporting. Assist with advising and mentorship of project managers and teams on the best use of project management disciplines and approaches and act as the first point of contact for any program management queries for T&I. . Proactively identify and escalates business issues and considers options to manage implications and risks on project timelines, budgets, and goals . Improve the consistency, predictability, and efficiency of the project deliverables  Facilitate post project / portfolio review sessions to identify areas for improvement and best practices

 

Key Accountabilities

•    Sr. Manager PMO develops project/program/portfolio management methodology, practices, standards; supports a centralized repository; coordinates project communications; mentors and coaches project managers; centralizes monitoring and project control; and centralizes project operations. 

•    S/he also provides data-based analysis to senior management that projects are compliant to standards and procedures and acts as lead of a formal and structured governance body.

•    Work in alignment with business and IT to ensure business strategy, goals and schedules are met

•    Establishes standardized process for proposal grooming, pipeline review, intake process and initiative prioritization

•    Creates strategies for risk mitigation and contingency planning

•    Efficiently identifies and mentor/coach to resolves project issues, as needed

•    Develop and manage management reporting on KPI’s, key drivers and metrics aligned to the deployment of the technology solutions

•    Demonstrate behaviors which are aligned with the organization’s desired culture and values

•    Develop a high-performance team to achieve superior results

•    Empower associates to exceed expectations of their role

•    Foster a learning organization, recognizing coaching opportunities, and associate satisfaction

•    Reports progress and issues to the appropriate teams and management as needed

Knowledge/Skills

• Strong understanding of foundational technology operations and digital solutions relevant to business process


• Understanding of latest technological and process advancements in the utility industry’s state & corporate functions


• Strong experience with project, program & portfolio management, SDLC, Agile and Waterfall framework, project management tools such as Agile Central, JIRA, MS Office tools


• Working knowledge of digital technologies and applicability for the water and wastewater industries


• Understanding of industry and business unit regulatory environment – GAAP, Tax regulations, etc.


• Good experience in an information technology discipline ideally with specialization in project management


• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and proven ability to work effectively with all organizational levels


• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed organizational structure


• Ability to listen, and build rapport and credibility as a strategic partner vertically within the business unit, as well as with leadership and functional teams


• Ability to map joint organizational vision and long-term thinking, imagination, and idea generation


• Ability to effectively drive business, culture, and technology change in a dynamic and complex operating environment


• Strong leadership, business, technical, analytical, problem solving and verbal and written communication skills


• Ability to balance what is “right” with what is “realistic"

Knowledge/Skills Continued

• Ability to stay focused on identified priorities


• Ability to deal efficiently with escalations and difficult situations/people under pressure


• Effective at communicating complex concepts to IT and business organizations in a manner that is easy to understand


• Customer-oriented approach in managing communications and issues


• Highly organized and able to manage time effectively


• Flexible and adaptive to changing business environment and stakeholder priorities


• Excellent listening skills in order to successfully interpret business needs

Experience/Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Computer Science, Information Systems or equivalent relevant work experience


• 10+ years’ overall experience with Information Technology / Information Systems  


• 5+ years’ experience in business process analysis, business process modeling/reengineering, and/or software development  


• 3+ years’ experience in a leadership/management role 


• Proven track record of successful team leadership and development

Travel Requirements

• As necessary, up to 15%

Work Environment

• Standard office environment

Certifications & Licenses

•    PMP Certification

•    AAC - Agile Analysis Certification

•    PMI Certification

 

Competencies

Champions safety

Collaborates

Cultivates innovation

Customer obsessed

Drives Results

Nimble learning

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.

 

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