Role Overview
The Senior Project Manager is a key leadership role responsible for defining, planning, and driving the end-to-end execution of software product development and client deployments as an external facing role. Reporting to the CEO and collaborating closely with Product Owners, the Senior Project Manager manages cross-functional teams — including development, DevOps, QA, and support — to deliver high-quality releases on time and within budgets. This role requires strong business acumen, clear communication skills, and proven skills to develop an effective organizational project management office
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning & Execution
- Define project scope, objectives, milestones, and success criteria in collaboration with the Product Owner and CEO.
- Develop and maintain detailed project plans, work breakdown schedules, and resource allocations across the full SDLC.
- Manage day-to-day project activities, monitor progress, and adjust plans to keep deliveries on track and within budget.
- Conduct regular project reviews and deliver clear status reports to executive leadership.
- Identify, track, and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies throughout the project lifecycle.
Team & Resource Management
- Lead and coordinate development, DevOps, QA, and IT resources for successful product releases and client deployments.
- Collaborate with Product Owners and technical leads to establish realistic estimates and timelines.
- Manage priorities and communication flow between the support team and development team, escalating to the Product Owner as required.
- Coach, mentor, and motivate team members; identify training needs and facilitate professional development.
- Manage vendor and contractor relationships as needed for project delivery.
Stakeholder Communication & Reporting
- Serve as the primary point of coordination between the CEO, Product Owners, development teams, clients, and the sales team.
- Maintain a consistent communication cadence with all stakeholders, providing timely and transparent project updates.
- Prepare and present executive-level reports on project status, budget, risks, and outcomes.
- Manage the bid and proposal process — ensuring bids are complete, accurate, and submitted on time; build reusable bid templates.
Product & Pre-Sales Support
- Collaborate with the Product Owner to help define and refine the Product Vision and Roadmap.
- Gather and document requirements from clients, industry groups, and internal stakeholders through needs assessments.
- Analyze market trends and competitive offerings; present findings to the Product Owner to inform roadmap decisions.
- Support the sales team with technical demos, solution scoping, and pre-sales engagement with potential clients.
- Work with UX designers to create wireframes and mockups that communicate solutions to clients, developers, and Product Owners.
Quality, Documentation & Compliance
- Oversee QA processes, including acceptance testing and security testing during staging and post-deployment.
- Design and implement risk mitigation plans; ensure compliance with quality standards throughout the project lifecycle.
- Create and maintain technical documentation; review and sign off on user documentation produced by the support team.
- Develop, document, and continuously improve project management processes and templates for reuse across teams.
Training & Onboarding
- Deliver client training when the support team is not yet equipped to do so; transition training responsibilities over time.
- Train and coach the support team on established workflows and product features; monitor quality and compliance.
- Support onboarding of new project staff and client teams, ensuring orientation to the organization and project context.
Qualifications & Requirements
Education & Certification
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- PMP certification (Project Management Professional) required; Agile/Scrum or Lean Six Sigma certifications are an asset.
Experience
- 5–7+ years of project management experience, with at least 3 years in a senior or lead role.
- Demonstrated experience managing full software development lifecycle (SDLC) projects from initiation through deployment.
- Experience managing cross-functional teams including developers, QA, DevOps, and support staff.
- Proven track record of delivering client-facing software projects on time and within budget.
- Experience managing RFP/bid processes is an asset.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong working knowledge of project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid).
- Proficiency with project management tools such as Jira, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Confluence, or similar.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including executive-level reporting and presentation.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Business acumen with the ability to connect project outcomes to strategic and commercial objectives.
- Experience with requirements gathering, functional specifications, and technical documentation.
- Familiarity with UX/UI concepts and ability to communicate design requirements to development teams.
Performance Standards
The Senior Project Manager is expected to:
- Deliver all assigned projects on time, within scope, and within budget, using best efforts and professional diligence.
- Maintain continuous and proactive communication with Product Owners and the CEO regarding project progress, blockers, and risks.
- Respond promptly to critical issues — including production defects — and keep stakeholders informed of resolution status.
- Ensure all deliverables meet defined quality standards and conform to project specifications.
- Support a collaborative, respectful, and high-performance team culture.