Director, Portfolio and Program Management

Description

Job Title:                    Director, Portfolio & Program Management                         

Salary Range:            $122,862 - $172,007     

Points:                        994 HAT                     

Dept/Div:                    Office of IT/DCTO    

Supervisor:                Chief of Capital Projects                                                                          

Location:                    2 Broadway and other locations as required                                                

Hours of Work:         9:00 AM -5:30 PM (7.5 hours/day) or as required

This position is eligible for telework which is currently two days per week. New hires are eligible to apply 30 days after their effective date of hire.

Summary

This position is primarily accountable for both managing and providing oversight to a Portfolio of medium to large-scale inter-disciplinary technology initiatives established by the Chief Technology Officer and Deputy Chief Technology Officer (CTO) through strategic planning and evaluation.  These initiatives are categorized into several major programs such as: Capital Programs, Enterprise Asset Management, Transformation, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure initiatives.

Specifically, this position is responsible for providing management of the technology components delivery of the Capital Program projects for the MTA IT Department.

To achieve this, the position adheres to a structured and consistent project management framework to successfully lead, plan, direct, coordinate, execute, deliver, and implement large and highly complex, cross discipline, and technology programs.

There are hundreds of capital projects included in the various MTA Capital Programs. Many of these capital projects are IT centric designed to improve the IT infrastructure throughout the MTA. Even more of these capital projects relate to improved customer service and improved MTA-wide infrastructure. A significant number of these projects have IT components.

This position is responsible for all staff activities and interactions with business, IT and client personnel and for mentoring direct reports and delegation of tasks to develop their technical, administrative, supervisory, and customer service skills.

This position establishes and maintains an organization structure, framework and vision plan for the MTA IT focused on program leadership and management.  This position is responsible for standardizing and centralizing portfolio and program reporting for Executive visibility to provide greater transparency on the health of the Capital Program’s Project’s Technology components. All Capital Projects with technology components will be reviewed to ensure that proper rigor, structure and controls are applied to project planning, execution, implementation, and monitoring. This position is directly responsible for ensuring all Information Technology components within the Capital Projects are delivered on schedule and within budget. This position collaborates closely with all the Divisions within the MTA IT department to ensure flawless program execution.

This position is accountable and responsible for the quality of technology deliverables by establishing and reinforcing a formal Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA and QC) framework that include defined procedures, rules and policies. QA will ensure that quality is maintained throughout IT processes while QC will ensure quality in the systems and deliverables that technology provides within the Capital Projects.

Responsibilities

This position is ultimately responsible for building program and project management expertise within the MTA IT staff to manage and deliver the technology components of Capital Projects effectively and consistently.  This position will continuously evaluate both individual and overall enterprise project management maturity level and defines course of action for continually evolving that maturity level.  This position must closely coordinate with and influence all IT and Capital Projects PCEOs, executive management, vendors, and internal/external oversight agencies to ensure standards, procedures, and documentation are in compliance with the MTA IT Standards across Products, Infrastructure, Architecture and Cybersecurity.

Enterprise-Wide Planning

• Gather and leverage historical statistical data to better estimate future similar projects of size and complexity to deliver faster-to-market solutions to the business. 
• Ensure that the IT that supports the Capital Program and aligns and supports the direction of the MTA and provide optimal value to the enterprise.
• Ensure that IT resources within the Capital Program are aligned with key priorities of the enterprise.
• Provide expert rough order magnitude (ROM) estimations for schedules, costs and resources for projects that require technology within the Capital Program.
• Define and establish the necessary systems, processes, and tools to better support the facilitation, collection, and sharing of knowledge that is generated by the programs supported by the Information Technology Department and to ensure ongoing programmatic excellence.

Leadership

• Provide leadership in development of inter-team communication and cohesiveness; sustain culture and supporting staff during organizational growth/changes.
• Establish standards for managing projects such as risk management, change control mechanisms, communication/escalation standards, tools and processes to accommodate different size projects
• Promote and demonstrate commitment to commonly adopted processes and standards for project management both at the MTA and industry-wide, recommending process improvements when necessary.
• Coach, mentor and serve as the expert on IT project management processes and frameworks.
• Define and enforce a consistent monitoring program that will ensure successful delivery of projects based on agreed upon scope, cost and schedule
• Lead and guide a team of Technologists to execute and deliver initiatives to ensure consistent, high-quality project discipline for all technology related initiatives and endeavors.
• Provide direction on evaluation, selection, implementation, and maintenance of information systems, ensuring appropriate investment in strategic and operational systems.

Management and Oversight

• Standardize and centralize enterprise-wide reporting for Executive visibility and provide meaningful and timely project tracking and reporting information on the IT components of Capital Projects.
• Direct the management of large, complex projects/programs to an acceptable level of risk by balancing scope, time, cost and quality.
• Develop and maintain an appropriate organization structure for the Capital Projects Unit that is capable of supporting the long-term technology partnership needs of the company.
• Monitor and report on a portfolio of projects via management dashboards to include the status of all projects, summary of risks and costs versus plan to ensure projects are properly adhering to defined processes and procedures
• Provide a project scoreboard/dashboard on the health and progress of the Capital Programs portfolio of projects for technology areas. 
• Direct the engagement of up to 15 large, complex Capital Projects Technology components to an acceptable level of risk by balancing scope, time, cost and quality.
• Develop, supervise, and assign resources to manage and control all Capital Projects Technology components related to the selection, acquisition, development, and implementation phases.

Human Resource Management

• Attract, develop, coach and retain high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control and performance.
• Build expertise and competence to meet evolving demands within the IT department.
• Provide prompt and effective coaching and counseling of staff, review performance and provide career development plans for each title within the Capital Projects unit.

Financial Management

• Direct the development and monitoring of the Capital Projects Unit’s financial plan and costs.
• Track both Program-wide and individual project costs associated with labor, hardware, software and ongoing maintenance to define the actual cost for projects.
• Demonstrate consistent quality of finance and administration, funding, communications and systems; recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve the program / project goals.
• Maintain contact with key IT suppliers and collaborates with the Business Services Management to identify procurement contracts to support Capital Projects related activities.

·         Excellence in communications and issue escalation/resolution with executive leadership.

·         Proven knowledge of IT project management processes and methodologies.

·         Ability to work as a project delivery lead in key Technology projects in the areas of Hardware, Software, Messaging, Networks, Servers, Data Center Operations, Security, etc.

·         Experience in managing IT organizational change as it relates to people, processes and technology.

·         Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to programs and projects supervised.

·         Demonstrated ability to manage, mentor and coach an administrative staff of ten or more consisting of both technical and analytical staff.

·         Demonstrated ability to manage matrix team members for IT systems project delivery including teams from Applications, Security, Network, Telecommunications, Server, Database, Budgets, Procurement, and Release & Change Management.

·         Exceptional presentation, facilitation and written communications skills.

·         Advanced organizational skill, with the ability to create redesign and/or integrate complex organizational systems.

·         Exceptional experience navigating through the politics of a large multi-tiered, multi-agency public sector organization.

·         Ability to fit in with the constant shifting needs and demands of the business departments.

·         Proven team leader with effective and excellent communication and leadership skills in building teams.

·         Proven decision-making, critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills. 

·         Must be creative, innovative, and an adaptable professional.

·         Must be public relations oriented with excellent people management skills; with the ability to select, motivate, and develop personnel. 

·         High level of professional integrity and work ethic with a dedication in providing high quality service.

·         Demonstrated ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously.

·         Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain strong work relationships with individuals from all levels.

·         Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management.

·         Extensive knowledge of industry trends related to transportation information systems and related technology.

·         Demonstrated ability to identify gaps, conflicts, dependencies, and constraints in scope, requirements, delivery, training, and deployment and work with necessary parties for resolution.

·         Ability to provide in meeting / workshop facilitation in a client-service environment.

·         Excellence in communications and issue escalation/resolution with executive leadership.

·         Ability to negotiations and managing conflict.

·         Ability to work seamlessly with Org Unit Lead IT Senior Management team on all Capital Projects.

·         Demonstrated ability to manage matrix team members for IT systems project delivery including teams from Products, Cybersecurity, Architecture and Infrastructure.

·         PMP Certificate from credible organization such as Project Management Institute is preferred.

·         Hands on experience as a Project Manager/Delivery Lead in at least three of the following areas: Commercial-off-the-Shelf software products, custom software development, and systems implementer/integrator for enterprise systems.

·         Deep familiarity and experience with multiple development methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, SCRUM) used in technology product and/or solution design, build and implementation.

·         Comprehensive and proven knowledge of IT project management processes and methodologies.

• Advanced knowledge of information, mobile, Voice, Cloud, and Application Development technologies and/or Infrastructure technologies  

• Successful track record in design of software systems to meet the current and future needs of a complex transportation organization OR 

• Successful track record in design and implementation of IT Infrastructure and related hardware and software technologies to meet the current and future needs of a complex transportation organization  

• Experience in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, data analysis, data reporting, and statistical process control a plus 

• Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to areas supervised a plus 

• Excellent verbal/written communications skills 

• Organizational skill, to manage a complex organization within a complex organization 

• Financial/budgeting planning and management experience a plus 

• Ability to fit in with the constant shifting needs and demands of the business Departments. 

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Business Administration, Engineering, Finance, Information Services (or the equivalent of education and progressive responsible experience). Plus, a minimum of 12 years of Information Technology experience with at least 6 years of progressive IT managerial.

Other Information

Please be advised that pursuant to MTA Code of Ethics and New York State Ethics Law, you have been designated as a policy maker. Therefore, you will be required to file an annual financial disclosure statement with the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. The Commission will notify you of this filing requirement via your work email. Upon receipt of notification from the Commission you will have 30 days to complete your financial disclosure statement.

Equal Employment Opportunity 

MTA and its subsidiary and affiliated agencies are Equal Opportunity Employers, including with respect to veteran status and individuals with disabilities.

The MTA encourages qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities, including military service members, to apply.