Senior Innovation Project Manager
Chicago, IL

Job Description

Sr. Innovation Project Manager

At Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, we understand that as technology and the greater financial market changes, the needs of our internal and external clients are also constantly changing. We recognize that the way we do business and the tools that we use must change as well. Our newly created Innovation Office was formed to foster a culture of innovation within the bank. Our Innovation team will serve as consultants to internal partners and use collaboration and recognized best practices to expand our capacity of innovation.

As a Senior Innovation Project Manager, you will play a key role in helping to launch our new Innovation team. You will be responsible for working with internal partners to lead business and technical conversations and advise our partners as they seek innovative solutions to their business needs. You will work in a project consultative capacity with our partners to identify challenges, provide guidance and solutions, and establish development timelines. You will also integrate with the various business and technology teams, to help lead experimentation and evaluation of new innovation projects.

As a member of the Innovation team, you will lead innovation team-led business and technical projects and manage the idea lifecycle, from concept through experimentation and final delivery. You will also support our team in assessing internal training and education needs and identifying appropriate training opportunities. You will help craft and implement new departmental processes and engagement procedures, and help define the tools we use to support clients.

If you are an outside-the-box-thinker who can help bring creative ideas to the forefront and lead others in brainstorming, you're who we are looking for!

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

* Project manages the full Innovation lifecycle from idea capture, through concept experimentation, and final project delivery
* Plans, directs, and coordinates Bank and/or System project activities and resources to ensure project goals are completed on time, within budget and with optimum quality, or reconsidered due to experimentation or other lessons-learned
* Provides management, direction, prioritization, and conflict resolution for project teams to accomplish project objectives and/or innovation goals
* Assists with preparation and implementation of detailed project plans, including definition of scope, requirements, objectives, resource allocation, budget and task schedules and milestones
* Communicates project goals and results to clients, Bank, and/or System management
* Ensures ongoing use of and adherence to Federal Reserve policies and practices, including established project management methodologies and Innovation workflow practices
* May provide input on training, development, goal development and guidance to staff; may make hiring recommendations and evaluate performance and/or provide feedback to staff
* Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks and participating in professional organizations
* Serves as a thought leader and incorporates broader knowledge of business strategies into project management
* Partners with IT development and support providers to coordinate experimentation and testing testing, including selection of testing environment, investigation of issues, and approval of code deployments
* Maintains familiarity with technology management best practices and IT development approaches industry-wide

Education and Experience

* Bachelor's degree in related technical field or equivalent experience
* Master`s Degree desirable
* Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or other related field preferred
* 7-10 years of direct work related experience

Knowledge and Skills

* Project Management certification (i.e. PMI) or equivalent knowledge
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills
* Demonstrated project and risk management skills including ability to manage multiple priorities, resources, customers and management with a focus on consistency and accuracy
* Self-motivated with excellent teamwork skills
* Ability to think independently, make decisions and perform objective analyses
* Possesses and applies broad and specific knowledge of principles, practices and procedures in the field of specialization to the completion of assignments
* Ability to explain and present complex topics to senior level stakeholders
* In-depth knowledge of project-management software applications and methodologies (i.e., Agile / Waterfall, JIRA Tool, MS Project)
* Knowledge of IT Governance and Infrastructure, Application Development Lifecycle, Information Security Infrastructure
* Flexibility to handle fast changing conditions

Other Requirements

As a condition of employment, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago employees must comply with the Bank's ethics rules, which generally prohibit employees, their spouses/domestic partners, and minor children from owning securities, such as stock, of banks or savings associations or their affiliates, such as bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies. If you or your spouse/domestic partner or minor child own such securities, and would not be willing or able to divest them if you accepted an offer of Bank employment, you should raise this issue with the recruiter for this posting, who can provide you contact information for our ethics official if necessary.