Senior Project Manager
Founded in 1917, the National Hockey League (NHL®) is the premier professional ice hockey league in the world and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
WHAT WE EXPECT OF YOU
SUMMARY
As a key member of the Information Technology department, this individual will lead complex initiatives and support one or more lines of business. This role also emphasizes leadership development through the management of project team members.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Project Management
- Ensure strategic project governance by adhering to established standards, processes, and tools for effective delivery
- Confirm that League security policies and procedures are properly applied to all new and existing applications
Initiation
- Partner with business owners to define clear project scope and objectives
- Guide stakeholders through the project approval process, demonstrating a strong understanding of business goals and collaborating with technical teams as needed
- Support vendor selection by identifying key requirements, coordinating demonstrations, and documenting evaluation feedback
- Assist IT leadership in developing project budgets, forecasting costs, and tracking expenditures
Planning
- Identify required project resources and define roles and responsibilities
- Develop comprehensive project and change management plans aligned with scope and business objectives
- Lead interviews with business owners and subject matter experts to document detailed business requirements and process flows (As-Is and To-Be)
Execution
- Provide consistent project updates to stakeholders and resource groups regarding strategy, progress, and adjustments
- Ensure timely and accurate documentation and communication through the project lifecycle
- Identify and escalate risks, decisions, issues, and actions to senior leadership as appropriate
- Motivate and guide project teams to meet goals, fulfill responsibilities, and achieve milestones
- Ensure the technical team understands the business requirements and collaborate with solution architects to design the solution aligned with business objectives
- Present and explain design changes and their impact on original objectives
- Monitor deliverables and timelines while managing risks to ensure timely, goal-aligned project completion
- Conduct organizational change management (OCM) analysis and tailor communications to various audiences
- Implement OCM strategies to drive user adoption
- Secure stakeholder approval on specifications, testing, and deployments
Closure
- Lead project retrospectives and apply lessons learned to future initiatives
- Provide implementation and post-launch support, ensuring a smooth handoff to business owners
- Complete all operational documentation and transition support responsibilities to the ServiceDesk
- Assist in defining disaster recovery/business continuity (DR/BC) processes and develop SLAs and recovery targets to meet business expectations
Additional Responsibilities
- Contribute to project prioritization discussions based on business needs
- Support the development of strategic IT roadmaps for business units
- Mentor and guide junior project managers in methodology and best practices
- Promote the professional growth of direct reports through coaching and feedback
- Serve as a role model by mentoring others, offering guidance, support, and clear direction to help them succeed in their work
- Build and maintain partnerships with third-party vendors and consultants
QUALIFICATIONS
Knowledge Areas/Experience
- Minimum of 4 years of hands-on experience as a Project Manager or Project Lead
- Proven understanding of project management principles
- PMP certification preferred but not required
Education/Certifications
- Bachelor’s degree from a four-year university or equivalent experience
- Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple tasks across various projects.
- Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority.
- Results-driven with a strong sense of accountability.
- Solid grasp of technical concepts and a demonstrated ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.
- Highly organized with excellent attention to detail and follow-through.
- Ability to see the big picture and contribute to projects with diverse, often competing goals by aligning efforts with overarching strategic objectives.
- Skilled in decision-making and analytical problem-solving.
- Analytical thinker with the ability to develop creative solutions to complex business challenges.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels.
- Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with business owners and project teams.
- Comfortable working in an ambiguous environment and collaborating across functions to achieve a common business objective.
- Proficient with Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Project.
- Experienced with Visio or similar workflow/process mapping tools.
- Experience with JIRA, GitLab Issues, or other project planning and development.
These core competencies reflect the underlying values that are necessary to represent the National Hockey League:
- Accountability
- Adaptability
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Inclusion
- Professionalism
- Teamwork & Collaboration
The NHL offers U.S. regular, full-time employees:
Job Questions:
This position will be based in our New York City Office. Are you willing and able to commute to our office for this position?
If you are not currently living in the tri-state area, are you willing and able to relocate at your own expense for this position?
Do you have the legal right to work in the United States?
Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship to continue work in the United States?
What are your salary expectations for this role? (NOTE: We are NOT asking for your current salary or salary history)
How did you hear about this position? Where did you first see this role posted?
Do you have experience working as a project manager or project lead? If yes, what types of projects did you work on?
What project management methodologies have you worked with (e.g. waterfall, agile, scrum, Kanban, lean) and how do you determine which one to use?
What tactics do you like to use to gain stakeholder consensus?