The posting
Location: United States, Remote
A note on length: this posting is intentionally longer than most. That is deliberate. It gives you a realistic preview of the role and clear guidance on how to present your application, so we suggest reading it in full.
About SOVRA
SOVRA is a leading public procurement platform trusted by more than 7,000 government agencies and over 1 million suppliers across North America. Our work sits at the intersection of technology, public service, and accountability, helping governments operate more efficiently and transparently on behalf of the communities they serve.
What makes SOVRA unique is our deep focus on the public sector. Our solutions are purpose-built to solve real, complex procurement challenges, balancing compliance with usability and innovation. That commitment has been recognized with the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) Certification from the National Procurement Institute, reflecting our high standards and impact on the market.
At SOVRA, the work you do matters. Every improvement we make helps public organizations stretch taxpayer dollars further, operate with greater transparency, and deliver better outcomes for millions of people. We're a growing, mission-driven company where smart, curious people come together to build technology that serves the public good.
Learn more at sovra.com http://sovra.com.
About the job
SOVRA's Professional Services team implements and optimizes our products for customers. The Director of Project Management will own how those projects get delivered: the team of Project Managers, the methods they use, and the results customers see. This role will make delivery predictable, on budget and repeatable as we continue to grow.
The role leads a team of Project Managers as a player-coach, setting a clear standard for what great delivery looks like and coaching the team toward it. It also builds the foundation that delivery runs on: the processes, templates, reporting and capacity planning that make customer implementations consistent across the SOVRA portfolio of products.
The work is customer-facing, and the person in this role brings an open, curious approach to how delivery runs today, questioning what works and recommending change where it will make a difference. Their work reaches cross-functional partners across the business and the public sector customers who depend on projects delivered on time, on budget and to the agreed scope.
What will your main responsibilities look like?
Management of the Project Management Function within the Professional Services Team:
· Supervise, coach and evaluate the Project Managers, acting as a player-coach who shows the team what great delivery looks like.
· Ensure quality and throughput objectives are met for external customer implementation and optimization projects across the SOVRA portfolio of products, as well as goal setting and attainment of departmental KPIs and initiatives.
· Design repeatable processes and templates, that can be used in project and change management, process improvement, and business analysis in a context of transversal projects delivery.
Project Management and Process:
· Generate and improve upon foundational artifacts of a project and scope; including project and milestone definitions, OKRs, WBS, POAMs, RACI, risk and change management, RAID, objectives and acceptance criteria, budget and timelines.
· Ensure daily and effective coordination of all stakeholders, including outsourced teams to achieve desired project outcomes, and track and analyze progress and project status of work activities across several methodologies including Waterfall, Agile, Kanban, etc.
· Manage change requests, risks, corrections, strategy and mitigation of project items, and ensure that the delivered solutions are compliant with the mutually agreed upon scope and meets stakeholders’ expectations and target outcome.
· In addition to managing a PM team delivering external implementation projects, work across various internal business units of the company to assist with launch and knowledge transfer of project delivery artifacts.
Communications, Reporting, and Metrics:
· Make data-informed decisions and define key metrics with which progress will be measured.
· Control and ensure the delivery of projects within budgets and schedules according to executive agreements.
· Drive stakeholder engagement, communications, and visibility to ongoing projects, and deliver status updates to C suite, and relevant stakeholders.
· Responsible for project data currency and accuracy from various sources, i.e. project management software and Jira.
What will you bring to this role?
· Project Management leadership: you have led a Project Management function or PMO, including 5+ years managing people, with at least 3 years at Director level or equivalent scope. Experience in consulting, development, or product management may be considered relevant experience.
· Customer-facing software delivery: you have a proven track record of delivering critical customer-facing software projects according to PMP standards; including phased go-live modules or otherwise lasting over 6 months. You also have experience managing projects and leading teams that include external partner workstream ownership. This experience is essential for the role.
· Education and certification: you hold a bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, technology, or other relevant field; or equivalent professional experience, and PMP certification.
· SaaS and implementation background: you have a background in SaaS delivery, Agile/Scrum development methodologies, enterprise-level customer delivery excellence in project management, consulting, or otherwise experience within implementation organizations.
· Project and program management methods: you are well versed in project or program management techniques and methodologies, with experience writing project plans, template creation, reporting and dashboarding, communicating effectively to executives and delivering project visuals that communicate positive and negative project insights.
· Project management software and resource planning: you have excellent command of Enterprise-level Project Management Software, e.g. SaaS offerings such as Workfront, Kantata/Mavenlink, Smartsheet as well as Office suite (MS Project, PowerPoint, Excel), and a proven track record of having developed and optimized resource management and capacity planning models.
· Travel: you are able to travel for on-site project work within the US and Canada, at roughly 10% of the time.
· Authorization to work in the US: we are not able to sponsor work visas or transfers at this time.
What are the assets that would make you stand out?
· Industry experience: previous experience within Procurement, ERP, HR, Fintech, or other large enterprise software industries is an extra asset.
· Public sector delivery: experience delivering enterprise-level projects for public sector customers, such as state or local government agencies.
You should apply if
· You are focused on results and customer satisfaction, with strong attention to detail, a beginner’s mind approach, and the ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
· You are organized, able to take initiative and a team player, a collaborative motivator with the ability to lead no matter the team’s skillset, and you bring a love of metrics and data to assist with key decisions.
· You have strong leadership competencies, with proven strategic thinking and ability to inspire and lead people through change and align cross-functional teams, along with conflict management and resolution skills to build consensus, anticipate, and solve problems.
· You enjoy working with various people, cultures, skillsets, and motivations, with a proven ability to complete projects with different levels of stakeholders without being a direct report and coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and the ability to juggle multiple projects, goals, and deadlines in the context of the big picture, setting your own priorities and objectives that advance the company.
What we look for in applications
We review every application individually and assess it on its own merits rather than screening for keywords. The most useful applications are specific: the delivery teams led, the customer projects and processes delivered or improved, who they affected, and the outcome, with numbers wherever possible. Where a tool or methodology is named, a brief note on how it was used is helpful. Specific detail about the work itself tells us far more than a general summary of responsibilities.
What does success look like?
· By 3 months: The Project Manager role and its capacity model are refined, with a defined progression to senior and principal levels for the team.
· By 6 months: Delivery shows significant movement toward a shorter time to value, with clear expectations for the time from kickoff to go live for each type of project, and leading and lagging indicators guiding the team.
· By 12 months: Recognized as a thought leader on delivery, with cross-functional partnerships, authored best practices, and process improvements that raise quality and efficiency across the business.
Our interview process
Our process is designed to be thorough and respectful of each candidate’s time. Five conversations cover the substance of the role and the working relationships it involves across the team.
· Conversation with the Director, Solution Delivery.
· Conversation with the Manager, Instructional Design.
· Conversation with the VP, Customer Experience.
· Conversation with the VP, Services and Support.
· Conversation with the Chief Customer Officer.
Why you should join us
SOVRA serves the public sector, and the work carries the weight that comes with that purpose. Every improvement to our platform helps government agencies operate more efficiently and deliver greater value to the communities they serve. We are a company in a period of deliberate growth, and we are looking for professionals who want genuine ownership of their work and a direct hand in building the organization around them. In this role, that ownership is real: the work in Professional Services shapes how SOVRA delivers to the agencies it serves.
Our benefits include the following, with full details shared during the hiring process:
· Comprehensive health and medical coverage.
· Paid time off.
· A structured learning and development program.
· Paid parental leave.
Candidates whose experience aligns with this role are encouraged to apply.
Thank you for your interest in SOVRA. However, only selected candidates will be contacted.
At SOVRA, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We provide a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. In addition, we are committed to ensuring pay equity across our organization and regularly review our compensation practices.
International Data Base Corp doing business under SOVRA™ participates in E-Verify. If selected for employment, you will be required to provide your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States.
International Data Base Corp, que opera bajo el nombre comercial SOVRA™, participa en E-Verify. Si es seleccionado para el empleo, se le solicitará que proporcione la información de su Formulario I-9 para confirmar que está autorizado a trabajar en los Estados Unidos.
