About the position
The IT infrastructure department at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is responsible for a diverse portfolio of technologies, including data centers, hardware, servers, desktops, networks, lifecycle management, help desk services, and telephony systems. The Senior Project Manager for IT Infrastructure will play a crucial role in providing project management support for the implementation of infrastructure systems. This includes developing pilots and proof of concepts, and subsequently scaling successful pilots into fully developed technology solutions. Under general supervision, this position will administer and execute project agreements, defining the scope of work for pilots, proof of concepts, and initiatives aimed at enhancing the Agency's infrastructure systems and operations. The Senior Project Manager will manage projects from conceptual planning through deployment and stabilization, collaborating with various Authority staff, departments, CTA contractors, and other third parties to ensure that projects align with the Authority's technology goals and objectives. In this role, the Senior Project Manager will be responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating infrastructure project goals and objectives, managing a portfolio of infrastructure projects. This includes creating, developing, and implementing project plans based on needs analyses and project specifications. The position requires establishing project timelines, workflows, and budgets, while tracking progress to ensure that deliverables are met on schedule and within budget. The Senior Project Manager will coordinate with various CTA departments and staff to implement project plans that incorporate data collection for pilot evaluations, change management strategies, and communication support to achieve desired outcomes. Additionally, the role involves supporting the launch and management of procurement processes, identifying solutions to improve deployment timeliness, and leading meetings with project stakeholders to maintain communication and project evaluations. The Senior Project Manager will also be tasked with identifying and resolving project issues and risks, monitoring the successful execution of revised action plans, and partnering with other project managers and team members to advance departmental priorities related to communications systems and field technology. Financial oversight is a key component of this role, as the Senior Project Manager will track the communication systems capital program budget, report project financials against the budget, and create forecasts for each project. The position requires the development of communications and presentations that provide insights into the program's status and value to the community and CTA, supporting executives' decision-making processes with reports and data as requested. Furthermore, the Senior Project Manager will work with CTA departments and business stakeholders to prepare scopes, task orders, justification memos, and specifications for the procurement of technical and human resources, as well as create business cases for pilot projects and proof of concepts to scale to systemwide implementations of infrastructure requirements.
Responsibilities
- Plans, directs, and coordinates infrastructure project goals and objectives.
- Manages infrastructure portfolio of projects.
- Creates, develops, implements project plans by assessing needs analyses and project specifications.
- Establishes project timelines, workflows, and budget and tracks progress to ensure deliverables are on schedule and within budget.
- Coordinates with various CTA departments and staff to implement project plans that incorporate data collection for evaluation of pilots, a change management strategy, and communications support to achieve outcomes.
- Establishes work plan and staffing needs for each phase of projects.
- Supports launch and management of procurement and purchasing processes and identifies solutions to improve timeliness of deployment and rollout.
- Leads meetings between project stakeholders, maintains meeting minutes and prepares project evaluations and assessment of project results.
- Responds to any internal inquiries and updates project plan as needed.
- Identifies and resolves project issues and risks and monitors successful execution of revised action plans.
- Partners with other PMs and team members to advance departmental priorities and projects related to communications systems and field technology.
- Tracks communication systems capital program budget and expenditures, status, and metrics by funding source.
- Reports project financials vs budget and creates forecasts for each project.
- Tracks vendor invoices, payments with contractual payment milestones/purchase order requisitions to ensure compliance and follow up as needed.
- Develops communications and makes presentations that provide insights into the program's status and value to community and CTA.
- Works with the CTA departments and business stakeholders to prepare scopes, task orders, justification memos and specifications for procurement of technical and human resources.
- Works with various business and IT departments to create business cases for pilot projects and proof of concepts to scale to systemwide implementations of infrastructure requirements.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in technology, engineering, or a related field plus ten (10) years of experience implementing companywide initiatives and process improvements, or an equivalent combination of education and experience related to the position.
- At least five (5) years of previous project management experience is required.
- Experience with infrastructure systems projects in an industrial environment.
- Professional project management certifications preferred.
- Railroad or transportation experience highly preferred.
Nice-to-haves
- Strong computer skills with knowledge of MS Project, Access, PowerPoint, and other computer software.
- Strong analytical and complex problem-solving skills with a bias toward data driven decisions.
- Ability to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences in a variety of formats, including active listening skills.
- Ability to analyze and synthesize complex quantitative data into easy to understand and actionable recommendations through a consulting mindset.
- Ability to work in a team environment.
Benefits
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401k retirement plan
- Paid holidays
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Flexible scheduling options
- Tuition reimbursement
- Professional development opportunities
- Employee discount programs
