Project Manager

At Menlo, the Project Manager is the client’s trusted partner throughout the lifecycle of a project. They understand the client’s goals and vision and help them to achieve these by utilizing The Menlo Way®. They pair with the client on a weekly basis to review the work being performed by the team and plan the next priorities to be executed. This gives the client transparent control over their project with predictable outcomes.

The Project Manager also acts as a servant leader to the project team, trying to keep as many administrative tasks as possible off the plates of other team members. The Project Manager is the first person to answer calls and read emails from the client. They also support the team by helping them overcome roadblocks as they arise.

The Project Manager creates and maintains tools and artifacts used by the team and client such as storycards, the Work Authorization Board, Planning Game etc. They help coordinate moving team members between projects, for example when a team member calls in sick.

As a member of the team who is not working on building the product, the Project Manager will track project details around the performance of the team, all while focusing on the big picture. Sometimes the project manager has to ask the difficult questions that the team, or the project sponsor, keeps avoiding. The team is typically focused on the end product. The project manager is focused on the well being of the team, and the project sponsor.

While a Project Manager needs to be organized and track many different details, they also need to use their skills of empathy, communication, and caring to help the team succeed. When the project runs into significant problems, the Project Manager needs to help the team solve problems using facilitation. When a project succeeds, the Project Manager ensures the team members get credit. And when a Project Manager is doing a good job proactively attending to all of these details, their job looks easy. But it is not!

Some of the qualities and/or skills we look for in a Project Manager:

Detail and task oriented
Can self manage and prioritize time across multiple projects and responsibilities
Can navigate fluently between the big picture and week-to-week details for a project
Has great communications and presentation skills
Is skilled and interested in building relationships with clients and team members
Plays well with others
Able to quickly learn new project domains and retain and apply what has been learned
Can support the projects they work on by helping out as needed in other project roles as well (QA, High-Tech Anthropology®)
Comfortable working in Excel
Embodies a “make mistakes faster” attitude
Working towards or has a Project Management Professional certification (PMP)
Has a willingness to embrace working within The Menlo Way
Has experience running projects using Agile and/or Scrum methodologies
Does not have to consider themselves to be “technical” but is not afraid of technical conversations, can participate in technical discussions with developers, representing the viewpoint of the client
Can make pragmatic decisions in partnership with the client to help move the project forward
Desire to help others grow, exhibits empathy and care towards those they work with

Your specific Job Responsibilities include the following in the Menlo Software Factory:

Understand the client’s goals and vision for the project and help the team to understand and rally around them
Listen, facilitate, and synthesize information to aid in building and maintaining the big picture of the project.
Partner with the client on a weekly basis to plan out the work to meet their goals
Understand the business value of each story card and be able to articulate it to the client, helping them to make informed decisions
Recognize if a project is “going off the rails” and there needs to be a course correct, bringing this to the attention of the client and helping them to address
Create and maintain project management tools used by all team members, such as: the Work Authorization Board, materials for estimation, the Planning Game, storycards etc.
Manage daily the plan of work for the team, adjusting priorities as needed based on client feedback, team availability, and progress made
Facilitate team meetings (Estimation, Iteration Kickoff, Standup) and represent the business perspective in these meetings and the various discussions with the team occurring throughout the day
Pair with other project managers on a weekly basis to create the project resource schedule, seeking to balance project needs with growing the skills and abilities of team members
Act as the primary point of contact for the client, responding to client emails/calls and reach out to the client as needed to keep them informed of progress
Provide the client with clarity and transparency around the state of the project, such as scope, resources, constraints, budget status
Build genuine relationships across the client team and Menlo team
Keep an eye on the performance of the team, regularly asking for and sharing feedback with team members to help each other continue to grow
Support team members in actively building and strengthening client relationships, their understanding and application of the Menlo Way, and their technical skills
Identify opportunities and advocate for team members to help them grow

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If you're interested in helping us return joy back to technology, please send us your contact info and resume.

Project Manager Position Inquiry

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