Project Manager (release manager)
Work Location Lincolnshire, IL
Duration 12 months
Mandatory Technical Skills
Desirable Technical Skills
Mandatory Functional Skills
Technical background, in an IT work environment coupled with software development background.
Resource planning – Solid understanding of how to plan / execute resource loading for on and offshore resources. Knowledge of resource planning tools a plus, (Planwell, team play, MS Project). Most of these tools operate on the same principal, its understanding how resource utilization works in both small and large scale projects ( roll on / roll off and utilization)
Release management – Need strong skills in the area of release planning, branching (merging, strategy, naming conventions, multiple branches) This will be needed for EPS migration phase II project and using the Configuration Management tool GIT
Communication skills – Solid and willing to communicate across teams and various work silo's
Tools – Jira a plus since we are now using it to track defects, tasks and feature work. Also knowing how to pull detailed reports a plus.
• MS Excel and how to create/manipulate pivot tables
• MS PowerPoint – slide presentations as needed
• Confluence wiki – comfortable creating/updating a wiki page
• GIT configuration management tool – Need someone with detailed knowledge of this tool (EPS Migration phase II)"
Desirable Functional Skills "Job Responsibilities
• Responsible for the implementation of IT release management governance practices and tools aimed at improving project selection and project execution for a large portfolio of Retail Point-of-Sale (POS) development projects.
• Tracks issues and risks that may impact the schedule, budget, or scope for a release of IT Point-of-Sale (POS) projects and coordinates with IT resources to determine response and mitigation strategies.
• Supports the project intake process by analyzing risk, creating preliminary cost estimates, and balancing project demand with future IT development resource capacity.
• Coordinates activities to achieve key release milestones such as the definition of business requirements, technical design, quality assurance testing, user acceptance testing, and pilot activation.
• Reviews development defects (bugs) and determines the response approach.
• Communicates effectively and makes actionable recommendations to IT management, IT project managers, and business analysts, focused on delivering projects on-time. Provides appropriate documentation such as release dashboards and Gantt charts to internal stake-holders, meeting appropriate deadlines. Tailors communications appropriately to different audiences.
Basic Qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or Management and at least 5 years of experience leading IT release management and/or project demand management activities.
• At least 3 years of project and program management experience (planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals or a group of projects.).
• At least 3 years of experience using business analytical skills including facilitating requirements sessions and documenting activity workflows and business requirements.
• Experience developing and delivering presentations to various audience levels within an organization.
• Experience collaborating with internal and external resources to develop strategies that meet department goals within budget and established timelines.
• Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Office 2003: Word (creating and modifying text styles, numbering and sorting lists, working with sections and columns, formatting tables, and using templates and using diagrams and drawing tools), Excel (formatting text and borders of cells, working with workbooks and worksheets, using range names, referencing cells, sorting, and auto filtering) and PowerPoint (creating presentations, adding and removing slides, entering and formatting text, applying design templates, modifying masters, inserting graphics and objects, creating handouts).
• Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Project and Microsoft Visio.
Preferred Qualifications
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Strong process knowledge of System Development Life Cycles (SDLC)
• Experience with developing and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) related to IT Development activities.
• Knowledge of Retail Point-of-Sale (POS) systems.
• Knowledge of ITIL standards and practices.
• Skills in helping to manage complex change, and focus on total quality management and processes to support zero defects
• Experience with automated configuration management systems such as CVS."
Total Experience Required 10+ years
