IT Project Manager

From day one The Standard has worked hard to make a difference, by being different In 1906, our founder Leo Samuel chartered the first locally-based life insurance company to champion the communities of the Pacific Northwest. Today, his philanthropic spirit lives on. Every day, we follow in the footsteps of our founder by our involvement in the communities in which we live. Vibrant, healthy communities provide opportunities for people and a positive environment in which to live and do business. We believe that we have a responsibility to help build and maintain such communities. Our investment in social service, health, arts, education, environmental and civic causes is part of our commitment to building lasting relationships with our employees, customers and communities. Job Description IT Project Manager If you want to make a positive difference and stand out from the crowd, you'll fit in at The Standard (www.standard.com). Through our retirement plans and insurance products and services, we help provide people with the financial security and confidence to pursue their dreams. Come join us and share our passion for serving our customers in a positively different way. Our IT Project Manager will plan and manage one to several, high-priority, high-risk, mid-sized corporate projects that might span two or more division or subsidiaries, rely on new technology, possess substantial capital budgets, or have significant impact on the Information Technology infrastructure. These projects are critical to maintaining market-share or shareholder confidence and value, while delivering cost effective and architecturally compatible information systems (IS) solutions which meet corporate business needs. - Partner with project sponsors and company management to align IT products and services with business plans. Provide project management consultation and recommendations to customers for planning and prioritization of mid-sized projects. Adhere to the company's project methodology and quality assurance guidelines; communicate recommended exceptions to the project sponsor and Manager, IT Project Management. - Manage groups of technical personnel and oversee all aspects of multiple/concurrent projects and/or mid-sized projects to achieve expected results within the predetermined budget, schedule and level of quality documented in the project plan. Provide single point of accountability to sponsors for successful project achievement of mid-sized initiatives. Develop and communicate alternatives to project sponsor and TMO to satisfy requested changes in scope and/or requirements, as well as, management and coordination of mitigation of risks. Ensure business and technical partners have the information they need to make sound business decisions. - Staff project teams with the appropriate skills; identify and negotiate for team members in Information Systems and other divisions that have requisite business or technical knowledge. Participate in the preparation of performance reviews for assigned staff. Participate in IT resource capacity planning. - Contribute to the development and management of project and annual budgets in alignment with corporate financial goals. - Lead or participate in special projects and internal process improvements. Education: Degree in Business, Information System or related field. Experience: Four to Six years of progressively responsible Information Systems management experience, or the equivalent combination of education and/or relevant experience. Demonstrated skills: Plan, schedule and execute mid-sized projects; effectively manage a multi-functional, cross-divisional team; organize workload of self and team to meet changing priorities and deadlines; make recommendations on the context of company business direction and technical architecture; express ideas clearly to a broad audience in both written and oral communications, including group presentations; manage multiple mid-sized projects simultaneously; develop project budgets and manage budget within allotted variance. Ability to: Apply technical and project management knowledge to make decisions and recommendations in the context of the business functions, technology environment, software and hardware architecture, future directions of company, and the IS Strategic Plan; apply principles and techniques of management to direct and motivate employees; make decisions in the absence of specific direction; communicate with all levels of company personnel; negotiate project and technical issues, develop short and long range plans for mid-sized projects; Use, with high proficiency MS Project. Working knowledge of: New concepts and developing advancements in Information Systems; system development methodologies; relational database, client server, internet, and mainframe concepts; software engineering principles; developing technical plans and recommendations; system analysis techniques and tools; design concepts, techniques and tools; testing techniques and tools; MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Advanced knowledge of: Project management concepts, practices, tools and techniques. Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Equities, Inc. and StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., marketed as The Standard, are Equal Opportunity employers. The Standard requires a criminal background investigation, drug test, plus employment and education verification as a condition of employment. All employees of The Standard must be bondable. If interested, please apply online at http://track.jobviper.com/ViewJob.asp?id=491602-3-353 www.standard.com