Job Title: Program/Project Manager
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Work Setting: Hybrid – a combination of remote work and on-site work at multiple office locations within Minneapolis, MN. Candidates must be able to commute to these locations as needed.
Job Type: Contract
Duration: 23 Months
Schedule: Up to 40 hours per week
Pay Rate: $55–$60 per hour
Note: This job doesn't offer any benefits.
Position Overview:
We are seeking an experienced IT Project Manager to lead complex, cross-functional technology initiatives from discovery through implementation. This role requires strong project management and Agile delivery skills, combined with a human-centered, systems-minded approach to problem-solving.
The ideal candidate is proactive, hands-on, and comfortable working in ambiguous situations. They should be able to translate complex problems into actionable plans, maintain project momentum, and balance progress with thoughtful analysis, testing, learning, and continuous improvement.
Required Qualifications:
Strong project management experience leading complex, cross-functional IT initiatives from discovery through implementation.
Experience managing project scope, schedules, resources, risks, dependencies, decisions, and success measures.
Strong Agile project management and iterative delivery skills.
Ability to navigate ambiguity, clarify priorities, and translate complex problems into actionable plans.
Experience facilitating cross-functional teams and maintaining stakeholder alignment and accountability.
Strong risk management, problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.
Ability to provide executive-level project updates and communicate technical and organizational risks.
Ability to commute to multiple office locations within Minneapolis, MN, as required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience managing public-sector IT projects or government technology initiatives.
Familiarity with public safety transformation initiatives and compliance requirements.
Experience supporting projects related to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) settlement agreement and Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree.
Experience applying human-centered design practices and incorporating user feedback into project delivery.
Experience with systems thinking across people, processes, technology, data, policies, and organizational structures.
Experience supporting organizational change management, business readiness, user adoption, and implementation planning.
Responsibilities:
Lead complex, multi-department IT projects that strengthen accountability, transparency, and service delivery, including initiatives supporting public safety transformation and City compliance requirements related to the MDHR settlement agreement and DOJ consent decree.
Plan and manage projects from discovery through implementation, including scope, outcomes, schedules, resources, risks, dependencies, decisions, and success measures.
Create clarity in ambiguous situations by synthesizing information, identifying knowns and unknowns, clarifying decisions and trade-offs, and translating complex problems into actionable plans with defined priorities, owners, and next steps.
Develop meeting agendas, document meeting notes and action items, and keep stakeholders engaged and aligned.
Proactively identify risks, dependencies, decisions, and barriers; recommend solutions and options; and take initiative to maintain delivery momentum.
Apply Agile and iterative delivery practices to develop outcome-based roadmaps, break initiatives into manageable increments, prioritize work, test assumptions early, gather feedback, and adapt plans as needed.
Help teams identify the smallest meaningful next steps, make informed decisions with available information, and continuously improve without waiting for every requirement or detail to be finalized.
Apply human-centered design practices by engaging users and stakeholders to understand their needs, workflows, pain points, and desired outcomes. Incorporate feedback throughout planning, requirements definition, solution design, testing, and implementation.
Use systems thinking to understand relationships among people, processes, technology, data, policies, and organizational structures, identifying dependencies and downstream impacts across projects and teams.
Facilitate cross-functional teams and stakeholder collaboration, establishing alignment on objectives, priorities, roles, decisions, and next steps while maintaining accountability.
Provide executive-level updates on project risks and dependencies from technical and organizational perspectives, including technology, data, integration, usability, adoption, workflows, change readiness, and stakeholder considerations.
Support organizational change and adoption by integrating communications, training, readiness, and transition activities into project delivery.
Develop and implement user-friendly business readiness tools and resources to prepare for key project milestones, including go-live checklists and pilot plans.
Measure project success against scope, schedule, budget, and quality, as well as adoption, usability, operational effectiveness, service improvements, and user needs.