Job Description
Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 14327
Department: Universal Services
Opening Date: 01/29/2025
Closing Date: 3/31/2025 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 100
Position Description About Harris County and Universal Services: Harris County Universal Services (Universal Services) is transforming the way the County does business and seeking an experienced, strategic Senior Manager to join our team.
Universal Services is the enterprise IT solutions center for the departments and offices of Harris County, providing Information Technology, Public Safety and Justice Technologies, 311 Constituent Engagement Services, Fleet Services, and Records and Information Governance Services.
Harris County is the third largest and most diverse county in the nation, with a population of more than 4.7 million. Harris County Commissioners Court, the County's governing body, directs a budget of more than $4 billion providing essential services including flood control, infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and justice administration.
This is a great time to join Universal Services as we enhance critical services to Harris County residents and internal customers.
Position Overview: In Harris County Universal Services, the primary purpose of the Senior Project Manager role is to lead, oversee and ensure the successful delivery and management of single or multiple enterprise projects. The Senior Project Manager must do this within scope, to a certain quality, and within time and cost constraints. These factors may be clearly defined or may require dynamic change management to deliver business value. The Senior Project Manager will be responsible for the creation, organization, execution, and completion of specific projects. This includes managing relevant employees, setting deadlines, communicating with management about the state of the project, prepare reports for upper management regarding status of the projects, ensuring projects stay on track and on budget, and adjusting if necessary to meet new requirements and scope changes.
Job Responsibilities: - Review project proposals or plans to determine a time frame, funding limitations, procedures for accomplishing projects, staffing requirements and the assignment of available departmental resources to various project phases.
- Identify and schedule project deliverables, milestones, and required activities and tasks.
- Provide leadership and motivation to project team members throughout the project life cycle and confer with project staff to outline a work plan.
- Act as a coach to junior project managers, executives and others who need assistance and advice regarding project management practices.
- Establish a work plan and staffing for project activities, iterations or phases, and arrange for recruitment or assignment of project personnel.
- Review/approve the work plan of an external service provider or consultancy contracted to execute the project.
- Implement a project communication plan.
- Conduct risk assessment and mitigation.
- Monitor project activities, ensuring the currency, quality and integrity of information, while providing consistency in content and "look and feel" across the organization.
- Ensure that project goals are achieved and aligned with business objectives.
- Assign duties and responsibilities to project personnel and define the scope of their authority.
- Direct and coordinate the activities of project personnel to ensure projects progress on schedule and within budget.
- Prepare status reports and modify schedules or plans as required.
- Establish standards and procedures for project reporting and documentation.
- Manage the relationship with the client and all stakeholders.
- Analyze PMO policies regarding customer service and efficiency recommending policy changes and process improvements as needed.
- Work onsite as needed.
Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email ADACoordinator@bmd.hctx.net.
This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate. Requirements Education: - Bachelor's degree in Business information systems (IS), computer science or a related field.
Experience: - Seven or more years of progressively responsible IT experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving
- Five years of successfully managing complex projects
- Five or more years of Business Unit or Business Unit-facing experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving
- Experience and ability in using "soft skills" or "people skills"
- Experience in leading diverse teams
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities: - Distinctive blend of business, IT, financial and communication skills. This blend is vital because this is a highly visible position with substantial impact.
- Ability to adapt to new circumstances in a changing business environment.
- Good understanding of current and emerging technologies, and of how other enterprises are using them to drive digital business.
- Knowledge of project management methodology and experience or familiarity with major, defined program management approaches (for example, that of the Project Management Institute or PRINCE2 and agile approaches).
- Significant knowledge of project planning/scheduling tools (for example, Microsoft Project, Planview PPM Pro, ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management, or Open Workbench), with a solid track record of practical application.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; expertise in setting and managing customer expectations.
- Effective influencing and negotiating skills in an environment in which this role may not directly control resources.
- Strong knowledge and understanding of business needs, with the ability to establish and maintain a high level of customer trust and confidence.
Applicants for this position will be subject to a criminal background check that includes being fingerprinted. This applies to any position with network access to Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) or access to an area where CJIS is received, maintained or stored either manually or electronically (i.e. custodian, maintenance).
Automatic Disqualification: - Convictions, probation, or deferred adjudication for any Felony, and any Class A Misdemeanor
- Convictions, probation, or deferred adjudication for a Class B Misdemeanor, if within the previous 10 years
- Open arrest for any criminal offense (Felony or Misdemeanor)
- Family Violence conviction
NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but
ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications. Preferences Certifications: - PMP Certification from the Project Management Institute or equivalent certification is desirable.
General Information Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards. Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department. BENEFITS Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.
The following list of benefits is offered
only to employees in
regular (full-time) positions:
- Medical Coverage
- Dental Coverage
- Vision Coverage
- Wellness Plan
- Life Insurance
- Long-term disability
- Employee Assistance Program
- Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service
- Accrual rates increase based on years of service
- Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday
- Professional development opportunities
- Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
- Healthcare Reimbursement Account
- 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:
- Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
- Flexible schedule (varies by department)
- Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)
In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website: 01
Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?Qualifying information must be documented in the Education section of your application.
- High School or GED diploma
- Associate Degree
- Bachelor's Degree
- Master's Degree or higher
- None of the above
02
If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?
- Business Information Systems
- Computer Science
- Other Related Field
- Unrelated Field
- N/A; No Degree
03
Please describe your educational background including level of education completed, area of study and completed major and minor programs.
04
Which of the following best describes your verifiable progressively responsible IT experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)
- Less than seven (7) years
- Seven (7) years but less than eight (8) years
- Eight (8) years but less than nine (9) years
- Nine (9) years or more
- I do not have this experience
05
Please provide details about your verifiable progressively responsible IT experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving.Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume"(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilitiesIf you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
06
Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience managing complex projects? (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)
- Less than five (5) years
- Five (5) years but less than six (6) years
- Six (6) years but less than seven (7) years
- Seven (7) years or more
- I do not have this experience
07
Please provide details about your verifiable experience managing complex projects.Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume"(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilitiesIf you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
08
Which of the following best describes your verifiable Business Unit or Business Unit-facing experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving? (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)
- Less than five (5) years
- Five (5) years but less than six (6) years
- Six (6) years but less than seven (7) years
- Seven (7) years or more
- I do not have this experience
09
Please provide details about your verifiable Business Unit or Business Unit-facing experience, with sensitivity and commitment to business problem solving.Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume"(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilitiesIf you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.
10
Do you have a PMP Certification from the Project Management Institute or equivalent certification?
11
Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:Advanced:A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Intermediate:A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Basic:A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.Entry Level:A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.
- Advanced
- Intermediate
- Basic
- Entry Level
- Not proficient
Required Question
Job Tags
Holiday work, Full time, Part time, Trial period, Felony friendly, Flexible hours,