Senior Consultant, Project Management Office (PMO)

222 W Adams St, 11th Floor
Chicago, Illinois, 60606
United States

West Monroe isn’t a start-up consulting firm, but we act like one.
From day one, our people have the opportunity to make a definitive personal impact for their clients and their careers. What does this mean? It means we seek out the best of the best, and then we challenge them to make us better.
If you are looking to be a “behind the scenes” technologist, this isn’t the place for you. We celebrate driven professionals who thrive in a collaborative environment. Our consultants work on front lines – partnering with clients to deliver game changing solutions in the most dynamic industries. Sound interesting?  Then West Monroe Partners just might be the place for you.

Think you’re up to the challenge?
West Monroe Partners is currently in search of a high-performance Program Leadership/PMO Senior Consultant with experience in leading programs and/or leading a project management office, and the entrepreneurial capability to grow and thrive in an expanding Operations Excellence Practice. At West Monroe Partners, you will have the opportunity to own your own career while engaging in high impact projects.

West Monroe Partners’ Program Leadership practice applies practical solutions and proven methods to help our clients:

• Manage programs across multiple work streams in business and technology initiatives
• Assess projects and/or programs with recommendations for recovery and course correction
• Perform and implement project and program governance, processes, and procedures

Our clients’ project and program needs range from short strategic engagements to large transformational programs. Project durations vary in length due to complexity of the engagement. Our client services include program management, health assessments of projects and programs, and building/optimizing project management offices.

Preferred capabilities:
We are looking for candidates with 6-8 years of experience in various aspects of project/program management and PMO operations (e.g., project/program management, portfolio management, planning/governance, business analysis/process and application development) and in use/application of project/program and portfolio management best practices.
Successful candidates will manage and/or participate in the following types of engagements for our clients:

• Program management across multiple work streams in business and technology initiatives
• Project and/or program health assessments with recommendations for recovery and course correction
• PMO planning and maturation, rollout and implementation, and career path definition and development
• PMO governance, processes, procedures, and best practices
• PMO and enterprise integration and alignment Process Improvement and PMO Optimization
• Program Leadership/PMO Managers at West Monroe Partners have three primary responsibilities:

Client Delivery:

• Program management – from planning to execution to knowledge transfer
• Develops and balances plans for successful execution
• Works with executive team to ensure alignment with transformation goals and objectives – including benefit realization, organization alignment (Target Operating Model), processes and skills
• Actively participates and coordinates program-level interactions with sponsors to ensure proper implementation of programs and projects
• Identifies and implements program management best practices
• Acts as liaison to internal and external constituencies, vendors, sponsors, etc.
• Leads business decisions regarding methods, techniques, and procedures for program design and completion
• Manages resources, budgets, and deliverables
• Proactively identifies and manages issues and risks
• Effective oversight and control of PMO structures and processes (e.g., portfolio management, resource/workload management)
• Ability to coach and mentor Project Managers and team members on project methodology and tools
• Keep current on professional best practices through professional literature and training workshops
• Manage project economics including: track project budgets, create and deliver invoices, and manage collection process
• Mentor and develop staff on the job and through formal feedback

Practice Development:

• Participate in and support the national team in development and enhancements to the Program Leadership/PMO methodologies, tools and other collateral
• Actively participate in thought leadership activities such as blogs, white papers and other related efforts
• Collaborate with local office leadership to define how to align practice with office strategy and other practices
• Coach and manage other consultants and actively participate in the performance expectation process
• Actively participate in recruiting and retaining top quality consultants

Business Development:

• Participate in meetings, development of proposals and other efforts related to Program Leadership/PMO
• Create work plans, pricing estimates, and risk assessments for opportunities
• Actively build a professional network and affiliate network in the local community

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• 6-8 years of proven experience in various aspects of project/program management and PMO operations
• Clear understanding and experience in project and portfolio governance approaches (including but not limited to PMI, waterfall, iterative, Agile, Scrum, and OPM3)
• Experience with project /program/portfolio intake/alignment and funding models
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate, persuade, influence others and manage conflict to successful, productive conclusion
• Strong skills in project/program management and PMO tools such as MS Project, Planview, Clarity
• Strong Business Analysis skills a plus
• PMP certification a plus
• Must have experience in developing work plans, project scopes, pricing estimates, and presentations to assist in selling work to clients
• Strong project management methodology background, including schedule, scope, issue and risk management experience
• Prior consulting from either a large/strategic consultancy or internal corporate change management group is preferred
• Demonstrated success within one or more of West Monroe Partners’ core industries including Energy & Utilities, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Insurance, Consumer Products, Banking and/or Private Equity
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to travel up to 70%
• Think you've got what it takes? Join our team and make us better.