PROJECT MANAGER - TECHNICAL

Job Category: IT/Software Development Relevant Work Experience: 2+ to 5 Years Location: Columbus, OH 43219 Career Level: Experienced (Non-Manager) Status: Full Time, Employee Education Level: Bachelor's Degree PROJECT MANAGER - TECHNICAL Join the DSW Inc., Brand Technology Services team!  At all levels of our organization, our Associates define the success of our business. We have established a corporate culture in which individual initiative is encouraged and quality performance is the standard. We reward and recognize our achievers. To be the best, our Associates are encouraged and empowered to positively impact our business. We haven't become the "darling of the shoe industry" by accident. DSW takes pride in the difference our Associates make.  We value individuals who want a career working with a fast-growing, dynamic organization and who share our business mission. TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER   GENERAL SUMMARY: Manages the analysis, design, development, testing, implementation and documentation of one large complex and/or multiple software or IT projects in coordination with cross functional team members. Ensures projects are completed according to software development life cycle and project plans.   ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: · Understands, defines and manages scope and objectives for assigned moderately complex technical projects that may impact multiple business functions · Aligns with cross-functional management to aid in the planning of the project process · Coordinates and facilitates cross-functional meetings and engages other groups as needed for project planning and execution. · Works with various functional areas to develop, monitor and execute tactical project plans and schedules. · Prepares input for business need and cost analysis proposals, including time and cost estimates and provides recommendations. · Establishes priorities and assigns tasks as needed · Follows up to ensure project deadlines are on target and within budget.  Revises schedule accordingly in order to meet organization’s needs · Participates in planning and conceptualizing ideas for project implementation · Gathers, documents and communicates business requirements to development team · Presents plans and project updates to various groups · Manages project risks and tracks action items to ensure project is on track · Manages relationships with internal and external partners and/or vendors · Works to resolve moderately complex problems and escalates issues when unable to resolve · Manages project changes (e.g., scope, schedule, cost) and facilitates efforts to assess project impacts. · Ensures that project deliverables are being met including documentation that is required for implementation and transition to the production environment and subsequent maintenance phase. · Conducts post project analysis · Implements best practices on assigned projects.  Serves as an agent for improved process changes, driving implementation of improvements on assigned projects.   REQUIRED SKILLS & COMPETENCIES: · Software development life cycle, software package implementation, quality assurance, hardware/network or other technical experience.  Four years progressively responsible technical project management experience that demonstrates: · Thorough knowledge and experience with project management processes and tools as well as software development tools and methodologies including but not limited to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) processes. · Understanding and knowledge of software development/package implementation life cycle process. · Ability to understand requirements, understand development estimates and manage project plans. · Ability to be organized, meet established schedules and deadlines. · Proven relationship management skills with the ability to interface with all personnel. · Consultative skills with the ability to engage on a matrix-basis · Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and communication skills as well as excellent listening skills.  · Ability to collect, analyze and interpret data. · Ability to facilitate through conflict and manage conflict appropriately. · Ability to develop and execute detailed tactical plans on multiple projects. · Ability to organize and prioritize multiple projects and assignments simultaneously. · Ability to work effectively as a member of a team of peers. · Needs to be action-oriented and be able to adapt to ambiguity. · Ability to meet established schedules and deadlines. · Ability to coordinate and manage groups of people with different objectives from multiple functional areas and ability to form and manage an effective project team. · Ability to effectively manage business relationships. · Knowledge and experience with MS Project (or CA Workbench DESIRED EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE: Knowledge and experience implementing PMBOK process elements; commitment to PMP certification Knowledge of one or more industry best practices and standards (e.g., CMM, ITIL, COBIT, ISO, etc.) Retail industry experience Technical knowledge and/or experience with one or more of the following technical platforms:  POS, JDA, Microstrategy, EDW, Terradata, UNIX, Oracle, SQL, Network) Exposure/knowledge of enterprise Project Portfolio Management methods or systems (e.g., master resource pools, Niku, Clarity, MS Project Server, etc.)     LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES (Possesses 50-75%): · Conflict Management – Steps up to conflicts, seeing them as opportunities; reads situations quickly; good at focused listening; can hammer out tough agreements and settle disputes equitably; can find common ground and get cooperation with minimum noise. · Customer Focus – Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect. · Timely Decision Making – Makes decisions in a timely manner, sometimes with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure; able to make a quick decision. · Decision Quality – Makes good decisions (without considering how much time it takes) based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; most of his/her solutions and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions. · Informing – Provides the information people need to know to do their jobs and to feel good about being a member of the team, unit, and/or the organization; provides individuals information so that they can make accurate decisions; is timely with information. · Learning On the Fly – Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything. · Organizing – Can marshal resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done; can orchestrate multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal; uses resources effectively and efficiently; arranges information and files in a useful manner. · Planning – Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into the process steps; develops schedules and task/people assignments; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results. · Priority Setting – Spends his/her time and the time of others on what’s important; quickly zeros in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks; creates focus. · Problem Solving – Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answers. · Process Management – Good at figuring out the processes necessary to get things done; knows how to organize people and activities; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient work flow; knows what to measure and how to measure it; can see opportunities for synergy and integration where others can’t; can simplify complex processes; gets more out of fewer resources. ·  Drive for Results – Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.