Lead Project Manager

Role Responsibility Expectation Document

Position: Project Manager Lead

Role Overview

The Project Manager Lead (PML) is responsible for overseeing the planning, execution, and successful completion of multiple high-impact projects within the organization. This role serves as the primary point of accountability for project delivery, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, timelines, budgets, and quality standards. The PML supervises a Project Manager and a Project Scheduler, providing direction and support, while working closely with the Cost Control Administrator, CosTrack Administrator, Accounting, and Procurement teams to ensure financial accuracy, resource availability, and system compliance. This position demands strong leadership, technical expertise, and effective collaboration across departments to mitigate risks and optimize project outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

1. Project Planning and Strategy

• Develop Project Frameworks: Define project scope, objectives, deliverables, and success criteria in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Resource Allocation: Work with Project Scheduler to identify and assign resources for project feasibility and efficiency.
• Schedule Management: Oversee the Project Scheduler in creating and maintaining detailed project schedules, identifying critical paths and dependencies; review and approve adjustments to meet deadlines.
• Risk Assessment: Conduct risk analyses with input from the Project Manager and Cost Controller, develop mitigation plans, and proactively address potential obstacles.

2. Execution and Delivery

• Team Leadership: Direct the Project Manager and Project Scheduler, providing clear guidance, setting priorities, and resolving conflicts to maintain momentum across project teams.
• Task Oversight: Supervise the Project Manager's monitoring of project phases, ensuring tasks are completed on time, within scope, and to quality standards.
• Vendor Coordination: Partner with Procurement to manage relationships with contractors and suppliers, ensuring compliance with contracts and timely delivery of materials.
• Change Management: Evaluate and approve changes to project scope or plans proposed by the Project Manager, securing stakeholder approvals and communicating impacts.

3. Stakeholder Communication

• Executive Communication: Serve as the primary point of contact for senior leadership, delivering concise, actionable updates on portfolio status, risks, and opportunities.

• Reporting: Provide regular updates to leadership and stakeholders on project status, risks, and key decisions, incorporating inputs from the Project Scheduler and Cost Controller.
• Expectation Management: Align stakeholder expectations with project realities, negotiating trade-offs (e.g., cost vs. scope) with support from Accounting and Procurement.
• Escalation: Identify issues requiring executive input, collaborating with stakeholders to escalate promptly with actionable recommendations.

4. Budget and Cost Control

• Financial Oversight: Work closely with the Cost Controller and Accounting to develop, track, and manage project budgets, ensuring expenditures align with approved funding.

• Financial Reporting: Provide leadership with regular portfolio-level financial summaries, highlighting variances and corrective actions.

• Procurement Support: Collaborate with Procurement to secure materials, services, and approvals (e.g., POs, NDAs) in a timely manner, ensuring cost accuracy in Costrack with the Costrack Administrator.
• Cost Optimization: Partner with the Cost Controller to identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality or safety, integrating findings into project plans.

5. Quality and Compliance

• Standards Enforcement: Ensure all project activities comply with organizational policies, industry regulations, and safety standards, with oversight from the Project Manager.
• Quality Assurance: Oversee testing, inspections, and validation processes, ensuring deliverables meet specifications as validated by the Project Manager.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate records of project plans, decisions, and financials for audits and reference.

6. Strategic Leadership

• Decision Support: Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to leadership, leveraging cost data from the Cost Controller and market inputs from stakeholders.
• Process Improvement: Identify and implement best practices in collaboration with the Costrack Administrator and Procurement to enhance project management efficiency.
• Mentorship: Supervise and mentor the Project Manager and Project Scheduler, fostering accountability, skill development, and high performance.

• Process Optimization: Drive continuous improvement in project management practices, collaborating with Project Manager Leads and key departments.
• Capital Investment: Lead discussions on major capital decisions (e.g., infrastructure upgrades), providing data-driven recommendations to executives.

Performance Expectations

1. Timeliness

• Deliver projects on or ahead of schedule, with critical milestones met consistently through effective oversight of the Project Scheduler.
• Ensure the Project Manager responds to stakeholder inquiries and escalations.

2. Budget Adherence

• Maintain project costs within approved budgets, validated by the Cost Controller and Accounting, unless changes are formally approved.
• Identify and report cost overruns or savings opportunities with the Cost Controller within one week of detection.

3. Quality and Safety

• Achieve zero major quality defects or safety incidents.
• Ensure 100% compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements, verified with Procurement and Accounting.

4. Stakeholder Satisfaction

• Maintain a stakeholder satisfaction rating of 85% or higher (based on feedback surveys or reviews).
• Resolve escalated issues within agreed timelines, minimizing disruptions with support from the Project Manager.

5. Team Performance

• Ensure the Project Manager and Project Scheduler complete assigned tasks on time and within scope.
• Conduct performance reviews and coaching sessions with the Project Manager and Project Scheduler.

6. Strategic Impact

• Deliver projects that align with organizational goals, contributing to measurable outcomes (e.g., revenue growth, efficiency), with financial validation from Accounting.
• Propose at least one process improvement per project cycle, coordinated with the Costrack Administrator, to enhance future performance.

Skills and Competencies

• Technical Expertise: Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Primavera) and understanding of cost tracking systems (e.g., Costrack).
• Leadership: Ability to supervise and motivate the Project Manager and Project Scheduler while fostering collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Analytical Thinking: Strong problem-solving skills to assess risks, costs, and schedules with input from the Cost Controller and Project Scheduler.
• Communication: Clear, concise, and persuasive communication with technical (e.g., Procurement) and non-technical (e.g., Accounting) audiences.
• Negotiation: Skill in managing vendor contracts with Procurement and resolving resource conflicts with the Cost Controller.
• Adaptability: Flexibility to adjust plans based on feedback from the Project Manager, Project Scheduler, or financial updates from Accounting.

Key Deliverables

Project Plans: Comprehensive schedules (approved with the Project Scheduler), budgets (aligned with the Cost Controller), and resource plans (coordinated with Procurement) submitted within two weeks of project initiation.

Status Reports: Weekly updates detailing progress, risks, and next steps, incorporating Costrack data and Accounting inputs, distributed to stakeholders.

Cost Estimates: Detailed cost breakdowns for major decisions, prepared with the Cost Controller, within 48 hours of request.

Closeout Reports: Final documentation summarizing outcomes, lessons learned, and financial performance, compiled with Accounting and the Costrack Administrator, within one month of project completion.

Collaboration Expectations

• Direct Reports:
  • Project Manager: Oversee daily task execution, quality control, and stakeholder engagement; provide guidance on issue resolution.
  • Project Scheduler: Supervise schedule development, updates, and critical path analysis; ensure alignment with project goals.
• Key Collaborators:
  • Cost Controller: Partner to monitor budgets, validate costs, and identify savings opportunities.
  • Costrack Administrator: Ensure accurate cost tracking and reporting within the Costrack system; align on process improvements.
  • Accounting: Validate financial data, process payments, and ensure budget compliance.
  • Procurement: Secure resources, manage vendor contracts, and expedite approvals (e.g., POs, NDAs).
• Other Teams: Work with engineering, operations, and leadership to align efforts and secure resources.