Job Specification

Purpose :

To provide project management of large scale, multi-ministry/cluster, multi-year projects for I&IT initiatives ensuring project deliverables meet clients' business requirements and interests of both internal/external stakeholders.

To assess, develop and recommend new project management methodologies and standards for use across clusters.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Project Development
- Develops comprehensive projects plans for multi-year, multi-ministry IT initiatives involving cross-cluster approvals, including development and presentation of submissions throughout approvals processes. Works with multiple internal clients and external stakeholders, multi-disciplinary set of IT partners to clarify project goals, objectives and deliverables, within initially broadly defined business requirements.
- Identifies resource requirements including staffing (e.g. OPS, consultants, client staff), physical and financial resources. Develops and negotiates project budget based on multiple funding channels and cross ministry dependencies to effectively manage large projects and ensure a high level of fiscal control and accountability.

2. Project Management
- Manages activities throughout all phases of large scale, multi-year systems projects including establishing priorities and schedules; monitoring and reporting on progress and managing issues to ensure compliance with enterprise and corporate I&IT standards, policies, directives and strategies.
- Anticipates, identifies and resolves complex issues, coordinates and ensures provision of senior level technical expertise to develop solutions, advice and guidance to clients and project staff.
- Coordinates systems development and implementation activities, directly or through staff/teams that are not directly reporting to the project manager.
Manages complex set of interdependent steps to avoid delays, while also making adjustments as client business requirements are further defined or evolve.
- Analyses project environment to identify risk events and to prepare mitigating strategies to avoid delays. Articulates and prioritizes risks at senior executive levels and recommends risk mitigation strategies for decision-makers. Monitors risk throughout the project duration, and recommends revised mitigation plans as required in response to changing risk levels.
- Tracks requested changes to project scope and identifies impact of change. Decides on disposition of change request within approval limits; escalates requests exceeding approval limits for decision. Revises work plans, schedule, and project budget to implement approved changes.
- Develops systems performance measures, leads systems testing and evaluation and ensures systems are implemented according to established budgets, schedules standards, processes and practices.
- Reviews systems to ensure conceptual integrity, operational status and adequacy of documentation; conducts follow-ups to ensure client satisfaction; and negotiates infrastructure services on behalf of clients and service level agreements.
- Provides reports and briefings to senior management related to project delivery progress and project budget expenditures.

3. Client/Stakeholder Management
- Leads consultations that involve clients from multiple ministries/clusters and external stakeholders whose objectives and interests usually vary. Coordinates process of defining requirements and manages ongoing network of clients/stakeholders to report on progress, discuss and resolve issues, build support and facilitate implementation and change management activities.
- Establishes relationships with I&IT managers, senior client management and project stakeholders to promote and market I&IT systems; consults with vendors, consultants and peers in the IT community and in other jurisdictions to address systems issues and developments.
- Leads/participates in steering committee and stakeholder forums providing project status, identifying and proactively seeking to resolve risks, conflict within and between projects or functional areas.
- Leads and develops change management processes using appropriate strategies to overcome resistance to change and capitalize on forces in support of change during all stages of the project, identifying and resolving the differences between an ideal solution and a solution which has the commitment and support of the people who will implement and use the solution.

4. Procurement
- Develops and manages the processes (e.g. EOI, RFI, PFP) for the acquisition of business solutions and external project staff; participates in the development of enterprise Vendors of Records for I&IT services.
- Develops business cases for the acquisition of fee-for-service consultants and manages external consultant contracts, monitoring performance to ensure deliverables meet standards and agreements, and dealing with issues of non-compliance.

5. Team Leadership/Guidance
- Provides leadership and guidance to project teams and consultants retained for specific project activities as well as technical guidance to unit systems staff; schedules activities, explains procedures, develops learning plans and monitors work progress.

Knowledge / Skill :

Knowledge of and skills in:
- Project management theory, methods and techniques related to all phases of an IT project life cycle to develop complex project plans which address multi-year, multi-client requirements and multiple interdependencies.
- IT systems development phases, requirements and interconnections to develop effective project plans, manage activities and interdependencies throughout the project life cycle and to ensure implementation and change management requirements are effectively addressed.
- Client operations, OPS I&IT solutions, standards, processes and strategies, industry standard programming language, information architecture planning/design, technology trends to direct resolution of analysis and design challenges, define project scope and ensure project compliance and system integration and that critical
business objectives are met.
- Resource management practices and methods, including financial and controllership management to develop and manage large project budgets,
prepare and present submissions for multiple approval steps, OPS procurement policies/processes to estimate resources, supervise project and consultant staff and manage the processes (e.g. EOI, RFI, PFP) for the acquisition of business solutions and project staff.
- Change management principles, tools and approaches to develop comprehensive implementation plans and assist clients and stakeholders with change management activities and business process redesign activities.
- Planning and organization to plan and direct concurrent projects; interact with clients and stakeholders; and minimize delays in project delivery to support client needs.
- Job has mandatory requirements in areas such as: in-depth knowledge of the information technologies, applications, industry and computer
languages specific to the program system(s) currently in use. These mandatory requirements will be specified in the job ad during the recruitment process.

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

- Consultation and collaboration skills to lead cross-cluster consultation processes that also involve external stakeholders (other levels of government, BPS organizations, private sector) to identify and build consensus on business requirements and objectives, resolve issues throughout project life cycle, facilitate and build support for outcomes.
- Persuasion skills to obtain buy-in for systems development promote systems to senior management and stakeholders and provide advice and recommendations to management/staff regarding most effective system strategies. Negotiate budgets, customer service agreements and resource requirements with client senior management and other IT groups to minimize service delivery issues and problems. Communication skills to present IT strategies and solutions to senior management; advise regarding approaches to contentious systems issues; deliver presentations to clients and stakeholders at major IT events; chair planning sessions with multi-disciplinary IT groups and internal/external stakeholders; lead project status meetings and other committees to discuss/determine strategy for systems priorities and change management directions.

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

Analytical and problem solving skills to:
- Develop multi-year project plans which effectively manage complex sets of interdependencies, anticipate potential issues and roadblocks, recommend innovative integration strategies, coordinate all phases of a multi-year multi-ministry/cluster IT initiative/solution.
- Lead the identification of IT solutions to meet client needs; facilitate use of innovative systems alternatives and integration strategies; identify, monitor, manage and mitigate risks and issues within projects with senior executives.
- Develop appropriate performance measures for project evaluation, assess/develop contingency plans for problem resolution situations, analyze technical quality of systems design and ensure consistency/compliance of business solutions with ministry and OPS I&IT directions/standards.
- Determine optimum systems solutions to meet user needs within time and budgetary constraints and to determine required resources and methods of project development, service delivery and support with consideration to government directions in alternative service delivery, outsourcing and constraint.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

Responsible for:
- Providing project management expertise for large scale, multi-year ministry/cluster systems solutions which involve multiple clients and both internal and external stakeholders. Anticipates and manages high risk initiatives which enable significant business initiatives of clients.
- Providing input into strategic/operational plans and project management policies/ standards; determines approach and develops business cases for systems solutions to ensure compliance with ministry and Management Board directives and guidelines; develops reports/recommendations to support senior level decision-making.
- Identifying complex systems issues having impacts on client program delivery and broader ministry and corporate IT objectives, determining areas of risk and recommending innovative alternatives and options for resolution to meet client/ministry needs.
Has latitude to determine scope and direction of projects, project budgets and procurement/resourcing strategies; establishes project priorities/directions to support system integration, alignment and compliance with ministry and enterprise IT strategies.
Decisions are guided by OPS/ministry I&IT directives, policies, standards and framework to meet critical client business requirements and to provide strategic systems advice/direction to senior client and ministry IT management.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

- Develops, manages and maintains relationships with network of internal and external stakeholders, clients and IT partners, to discuss and define systems needs, identify and build support for solutions, report on progress and timelines; Systems managers and specialists in other ministries to coordinate joint enterprise projects having multi-ministry applications.
- Project Director to discuss/recommend strategy, resolve issues and report project status. Senior IT management, up to the ADM, to communicate and present IT solutions/strategies and to obtain buy-in for funding of new systems development initiatives.
- Project implementation teams, advisory committees and focus/review groups to market and promote IT products, review/advise on major project milestones and provide input to critical program decision-making.
- Central agency staff to exchange information on systems/procurement issues, discuss IT standards and architecture, obtain policy interpretations and discuss business proposals for compliance with central agency minutes and directives

Guidance / Supervision :

- Supervises and provides technical leadership to unit staff by creating work plans, assigning and tracking work, establishing priorities, monitoring quality of deliverables, explaining work procedures, assisting with learning and development plans, training staff and resolving issues.
- IT consultants to provide project leadership, schedule project activities, review project scope and timelines, monitor work for the delivery of IT systems under tight timeframes and ensure compliance with contract requirements.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

- Occasionally works longer hours to meet work requirements.
- Routinely deals with unexpected changes to deadlines and work demands.
- Routinely works within tight time pressures and conflicting work demands and priorities.

Mental / Sensory :

- Frequent requirement to concentrate when analyzing complex IT project data, giving instructions to project teams, or presenting to senior IT management.

Conditions / Environment :

Work is performed in a typical office environment.