Vice President (Project Management)

About the Department

The Technology Solutions (“TS”) Department is responsible for designing and delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions that create efficiency, mitigate risk, and grow revenue for the Firm. TS defines, manages, and executes a robust Cyber Security program following the NIST Cyber Security Framework. The department focuses on technical excellence through innovative application designs, robust data integration and analytics, high-availability infrastructure, and gold-level service for key stakeholders, with information security embedded throughout.

Critical functions within Technology Solutions include Project Management, Vendor Management, Business Analysis, Enterprise Data Governance and Stewardship, Application Development and 3rd Party Integration, Strategic and Secure Infrastructure, and Operations. The department collaborates closely with Firm leadership and business unit heads to develop plans aligned with business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Project Leadership and Governance
  • Own the full lifecycle management of programs within Technology Solutions, from initiation through planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.
  • Establish and maintain the program governance structure (steering committees, working groups, RACI tables, decision logs).
  • Ensure alignment with organizational goals, TS standards, and enterprise architecture.
• Planning, Scheduling, and Resource Management
  • Develop and maintain the integrated project plan, including scope, milestones, timelines, dependencies, and critical path.
  • Identify and coordinate required resources across business units, TS, and vendors.
  • Manage workstreams across configuration, integrations, data migration, testing, change management, training, and deployment.
• Vendor and Stakeholder Management
  • Serve as the primary liaison with 3rd-party vendors, managing deliverables, SLAs, risks, and change requests.
  • Facilitate communication between the vendor and internal technical teams to ensure requirements are fully understood and met.
  • Build strong relationships with business partners, executives, SMEs, and technical teams to ensure shared understanding and alignment.
• Project Lifecycle Management
  • Work with functional and technical SMEs to define future-state architecture and integration needs.
  • Ensure all integration points (APIs, middleware, authentication, data flows) are documented, validated, and approved.
  • Support gap analyses between legacy functionality and the new solution.
  • Oversee planning and execution of system testing, integration testing, UAT, and performance testing.
  • Track defects, ensure timely remediation, and coordinate re-testing cycles.
  • Validate readiness criteria before go-live.
  • Lead development of cutover strategy, runbooks, and contingency plans.
  • Coordinate data migration activities (mapping, validation, and reconciliation).
  • Ensure controlled decommissioning of legacy systems, including data retention, archival, and dependency removal.
  • Manage post-implementation support and issue triage.
  • Ensure operational handoff to support and maintenance teams.
  • Conduct lessons-learned sessions and create a project close-out report.
• Risk, Issue & Change Control
  • Identify risks early and maintain a proactive mitigation strategy.
  • Facilitate issue resolution, escalation management, and decision tracking.
  • Maintain change control processes for scope, schedule, and budget adjustments.
• Communication & Reporting
  • Create and own the communication plan (executive updates, team status, milestones, and roadmap visuals).
  • Deliver concise, transparent updates to senior leadership and stakeholders.
  • Ensure all project documentation is organized, current, and accessible.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, business, or a related field is required.
• 10–15 years of experience in a similar role.
• Subject matter expert in Microsoft Project.
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Visio).
• Self-motivated, team-oriented, flexible, and able to multi-task.
• Proactive self-starter with a positive can-do and “no job too small” attitude.
• Detail-oriented with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Results-oriented with a high level of personal and team accountability.
• Enthusiastic about working in-office and creating a Gold Standard hybrid work culture.

Critical Competencies for Success

• Leadership: Role models focus on the right goals and priorities, develop themselves and others, and foster a supportive and inclusive culture.
• Achieving Results: High achievers who develop careful plans, deliver consistently, and hold themselves and others accountable for high-quality results.
• Personal Effectiveness: Build strong relationships, treat others with respect, communicate effectively, and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Thinking Critically: Understand the business, rely on analytical reasoning, seek diverse perspectives, and anticipate issues proactively.

The department-specific competencies include:

• Technical Support: Triages, troubleshoots, and resolves technical support issues.
• Software Development Principles: Utilizes secure programming principles and knowledge of programming languages.
• Business Needs Assessment: Identifies business needs and proposes technical solutions.
• Data Management and Information Security: Manipulates and secures data while adhering to governance principles.
• Risk Management: Identifies, forecasts, and manages risks in complex situations.
• Testing: Evaluates functionality to ensure requirements are met and defects are identified.
• Industry Knowledge: Understands the Firm’s position in the industry and monitors relevant trends.
• Technical Communication and Documentation: Documents and communicates technical processes to stakeholders.
• Vendor Management: Manages external vendors, monitors performance, and identifies new vendors as needed.
• Relationship Management: Builds and maintains effective partnerships with internal clients and end users.
• Project/Program Management: Manages project elements considering priorities, interdependencies, and resources.
• Innovative Mindset: Drives value creation, process improvement, and proactive learning.

Pay

For Illinois only: The expected base salary range for this position is $115,000 to $180,000. Actual salaries may vary based on skills, experience, and qualifications. The total compensation package may also include other elements such as discretionary awards, medical, financial, and other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and paid time off such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave).