Project Portfolio Manager

Job Description

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families’ (IVMF) research and analytics (R&A) team is seeking an experienced Project Portfolio Manager (PPM) to monitor project delivery across a broad and diverse portfolio of applied research, program evaluation, and data analytics projects.

The PPM will also provide direct project management support for several IVMF critical initiatives and serve as a collaborative leader to develop centralized project management standards and processes that improve the IVMF research and analytics team’s approach to project management.

This is a critical role for the IVMF Research and Analytics (R&A) team, which operates several dozen complex and resource intensive projects for high-profile public, private, and social sector sponsors, to be completed with a high degree of quality, on time, and on / under budget.

Responsibilities entail developing standards, processes, and tools for centralized project monitoring and governance, direct project management support to critical / special initiatives, and driving quality improvement in project delivery.

Prior project management experience and experience with formal project management methodologies (PMI PMBOK, Agile, Scrum) required.

This is a two-year term position with opportunity for renewal based on sustained sponsored project funding and strong performance.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required.

Three (3) plus years of formal project management experience.

One (1) plus years of non-IT related project management experience (e.g., research / academic programs, business change management, consulting).

Project Management Professional (PMP), Scrum Master, Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP), or Six Sigma certification preferred.

Job Specific Qualifications

Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail / quality.

Experience and personal discipline to successfully manage multiple, complex, concurrent projects; can meet deadlines with competing demands, and responsibilities in a fast-paced work environment.

Experience with Agile and Scrum techniques.

Excellent communicator, both oral and written; demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders and external partners / clients.

Positive, team-focused, and customer-service mindset.

Responsibilities

The Project Portfolio Manager will serve as a key member of the IVMF’s Research and Analytics (R&A) team to support and drive project management excellence across a broad portfolio of social / behavioral science research projects, program evaluations, and data analytics initiatives.

Specific responsibilities include :

Work with R&A leaders to administratively set up projects, compile and monitor the portfolio, its structure, processes to include reporting, and results.

Support R&A leaders in the forecasting and identification of future needs to drive efficiencies and first-best-use of human resources.

Maintain and monitor current employee data in terms of capacity, project allocations, and skills.

Regularly engage with and conduct reviews with R&A project directors, IVMF budget team, and relevant governance committees to continuously monitor the project portfolio and financial impacts, execute change, and support the re-prioritization to meet project sponsors’ needs as required.

Ensure the oversight and coordination of dependencies across the projects in the portfolio and resolve or escalate conflicts, as necessary.

Elevate any vulnerabilities or risks to initiatives or projects, so that R&A leaders can determine whether they should continue, be significantly changed, extended, or discontinued.

Develop and maintain portfolio- and project-level documentation and governance tools, templates, guidelines, procedures and processes.

As directed, support R&A project leaders in the management and oversight of critical projects to include attending or facilitating project planning meetings, agenda development and scheduling, and communication with project sponsors, clients, and stakeholders.

Serve as lead project manager for complex projects involving multiple teams and external partners, as well as special / strategic initiatives deemed critical by IVMF executive team.

Establish, maintain, and support project reporting using appropriate metrics.

Support selection, implementation, and team training on applicable tools or software, as required.

Support the R&A team in the development of standard practices, documentation of standard processes and procedures, and the organization of team information.

Support the R&A team in quality improvement activities.

Create a knowledge base with lessons learned and best practices from past projects to avoid repeat errors.

Coordinate with key IVMF operations and SU offices (sponsored programs, general counsel, institutional protections) to support development and management of R&A contracts, data use agreements, and proposals).

Contribute to proposal writing and preparation for new grants and opportunities, with a focus on project scoping, resourcing, and related pre-planning activities.

As needed, support and advise R&A leadership in vendor evaluation and selection for new solutions.

Physical Requirements

Not Applicable