Project Manager

About the role

As a Project Manager, you will lead enterprise-wide, cross-functional projects from planning through implementation and completion. You'll partner with project sponsors, business leaders, subject matter experts, and project teams to turn approved objectives into clear, actionable plans and keep work moving toward successful outcomes. As part of our newly established Project Management Office (PMO), you'll have the opportunity to help shape and strengthen how project management is practiced across Community First. This role blends strategic thinking, strong organization, communication, and problem-solving with the ability to influence and guide teams without formal authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects from start to finish.
• Guide assigned enterprise-wide and cross-functional projects through planning, execution, implementation, and closeout while keeping scope, timelines, budgets, and project objectives on track.
• Bring structure and clarity to complex work.
• Partner with project sponsors, business leaders, subject matter experts, and stakeholders to define objectives, scope, success measures, responsibilities, deliverables, and expected outcomes.
• Turn ideas into actionable plans.
• Develop project charters, schedules, communication and implementation plans, training activities, and other documentation needed to support successful project delivery.
• Keep projects moving forward.
• Identify and actively manage dependencies, critical paths, risks, issues, decisions, and barriers to success, resolving matters within established authority and escalating when additional support or decisions are needed.
• Keep people informed and aligned.
• Provide timely, objective updates to project sponsors, teams, stakeholders, and PMO leadership while clearly communicating project status, risks, decisions, dependencies, and resource needs.
• Lead through influence.
• Facilitate project meetings, working sessions, and stakeholder presentations while creating clarity around responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and accountability across teams.
• Support change and adoption.
• Partner with business owners and other stakeholders to help teams prepare for, navigate, and adopt changes associated with project initiatives.
• Help shape the future of project management.
• Partner with PMO leadership to implement and refine project management standards, tools, and practices, sharing lessons learned and identifying opportunities to improve how work gets done across the organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of related experience leading projects, process improvement efforts, operations, or cross-functional initiatives; or an equivalent combination of education, formal project management training, and relevant experience.
• Formal project management training required, with PMP, CAPM, or another industry-recognized project management certification preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex projects and cross-functional teams through influence rather than formal authority.
• Strong problem-solving, sound judgment, conflict resolution, and decision-making skills, including knowing when to escalate risks or decisions.
• Experience using project management tools and applications.
• Experience supporting change management and organizational adoption efforts.
• Highly effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to tailor information to different audiences.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and keep complex work moving forward.
• Experience in financial services is a plus.