Senior IT Project Consultant

The mission of the Project and Technology Consulting Office is to oversee the development and maintenance of the annual IT project portfolio and to work with the campus to shepherd projects through the stages of conceptualization, business case development, requirements definition, and successful implementation.

The Senior IT Project Consultant is primarily responsible for supporting critical, cross-University IT projects that involve changes to University policies, business processes, systems and IT services. In addition, this position is responsible for continually enhancing the Princeton Project Management and Consulting Methodologies, augmenting it with new supporting tools and templates, and then training campus constituents on their effective use.

Responsibilities

• Develop consultative relationships with key campus customers and assist them with planning for technologies that advance their business objectives.

• Interact with faculty, staff and students to understand and document their requirements, lead process mapping sessions, research and evaluate technology alternatives, recommend appropriate technology solutions, assist in the planning steps to realize solutions, and serve as their advocate through solution implementation.

• Participate in the coordination of the annual IT planning process, which involves calling for project proposals, reviewing project proposals, assisting with SAGIT funding proposals, and preparing the project slate for review and endorsement by Princeton’s IT governance groups.

• Assist the Deputy CIO in preparing financial materials for SAGIT meetings and other strategic initiatives throughout the year.

• Provide integration leadership, identifying inter-relationships and dependencies within and across projects.

• Facilitate the planning and review of major, campus-wide IT projects by providing a continued focus on the business benefits that are driving the IT project and ensuring that these projects are implemented successfully.

• Serve as a consultant and mentor to project sponsors and managers in using the Princeton Project Management and Consulting Methodologies.

• Assist teams in converting complex goals into an achievable project plan with a clear scope, distinct phases and key milestones. Coordinate project status reporting.

• Identify and mitigate people/organizational risks associated with project implementations. Anticipate barriers and work with project managers to develop specific plans to mitigate risks.

• Identify and help resolve project issues in an effective and timely manner. Escalate issues as needed.

• Serve as advocate for project end users and key stakeholders by working with project teams (technical and functional) to identify and increase the awareness of end user and key stakeholder impacts, and assist teams in developing a plan to manage change for these groups.

• Develop and apply change management (“campus readiness”) disciplines and tools to enable the successful implementation of projects. Leverage past implementation experience and deliverables to respond to Princeton IT Project needs in the areas of project and change management.

• Assist in strengthening the skills and relationships with project managers throughout the University, both within and outside of OIT.

• Assist in developing a network of external consulting resources to supplement the skills of the Project & Technology Consulting Office (e.g. Gartner).

• Develop and deliver training, workshops and presentations on project management methodology, process improvement, and technology planning.

• Enhance and serve as a champion for the Princeton Project Management & Consulting Methodologies, utilizing effective communications vehicles, such as the Project & Technology Consulting Office website.

• Serve as a role model for providing exemplary customer service

• Other duties as requested by the Associate CIO for the Project & Technology Consulting Office.

Qualifications

A minimum of 10 years of experience in information technology with a demonstrated knowledge/ability in the following areas:

• Ability to work on multiple assignments and/or projects at one time

• Project management principles and methodologies

• Managing implementations of IT projects in a complex organization

• Emerging technology trends, tools and services

• Ability to work effectively at all levels of the organization and to influence others toward the most effective solutions

• Outstanding ability to foster group brainstorming and workshop facilitation

• Business requirements elicitation

• Business process mapping and analysis

• Analytic, problem-solving, and root-cause identification skills

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and oral, and active listening skills

• Inherently collegial and collaborative, possessing excellent judgment and sensitivity to the culture of the University and its constituencies.

• Commitment to diversity and serving the needs of a diverse University community

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience working in higher education is strongly preferred

• Consulting experience is highly desirable

• Advanced degree is preferred

Education

Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred