Technical Project Manager

About the job

The department of Epidemiology, National Alzheimer’s Coordination Center (NACC), has an outstanding opportunity for a Technical Project Manager (Payroll Title: Technology Project Manager).

POSITION PURPOSE

This role will require a Technical Project Manager who is technically proficient, an effective communicator, and able to operate independently. The Technical Project Manager works with internal teams and external stakeholders to define requirements, determine milestones, facilitate coordination, track progress, and ensure timely delivery of applications and research engineering deliverables. The Technical Project Manager provides diplomatic and timely communication in an agile work environment with repetitive planning and delivery cycles.

The Technical Project Manager is responsible for developing novel and innovative projects for new functionality provided by NACC to national ADRCs. This position will be managing high-impact, high-volume, mission critical cross-functional projects involving members of the Technology Team, Research Team, Grants and Finance teams, and external project contacts, including members of the Technology Steering Committees, vendors such as Flywheel, AWS, and others while working to advance key strategic projects including the new NACC Data Platform, Data Front Door and advanced research cohort selection tool. This position entails managing complex project logistics with a steadfast focus on the critical details of deliverables to meet deadlines effectively. The Technical Project Manager is responsible for ensuring timely and clear communication between teams, including those with varying skill sets and backgrounds to ensure project success. Most importantly, this position carries out their responsibilities with a high degree of autonomy, accuracy, timeliness, and awareness to help set priorities and identify potential problems to find solutions that keep the project progressing on tight timelines. This position has full autonomy to make decisions regarding the management of Technology programs related to the advanced technical projects, including, by not limited to, the NACC Data Front Door, Cohort Selection Tool, and NACC Data Platform.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Planning and Execution (60%)

• Design and manage up to 15 new projects spanning across 4 teams. The purpose of these teams will be to develop innovative approaches to creating and maintaining the Data Front Door that will house ADRC data.
• Develop novel projects, including the Alzheimer’s Research Cohort Selection Tool, and integrate them into the redesigned NACC Data Front Door.
• Utilize agile software development methodologies to support the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and NACC’s Tech team operations.
• Implement new policies and procedures to ensure the necessary infrastructure supports the Alzheimer’s Research Cohort Selection Tool’s development and ongoing maintenance within NACC and in collaboration with ADRCs.
• Attain a deep understanding of NACC's software systems, mapping them to research objectives to drive outcomes and improvements.
• Convert complex research outcomes into clear, actionable development requirements aligned with project goals and stakeholder needs.
• Manage comprehensive project workflows, collaborating with team leads to define, communicate, and validate requirements and dependencies.
• Lead project workflows across NACC teams and external stakeholders, such as Flywheel, AWS, and Leaf, to ensure alignment and integration of efforts.
• Detail and document analytic processes using Critical Path Method (CPM), creating flowcharts and requirements documentation.
• Develop, implement, and maintain Statements of Work (SoW), project charters, and dashboards to monitor progress and resource allocation.
• Conduct risk assessments for projects, evaluating deployment strategies to optimize outcomes.
• Gather and analyze requirements for technical products, scheduling Sprint tasks for timely completion.
• Manage User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to test technical requirements, ensuring seamless product delivery.
• Serve as the liaison between NACC teams and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication of project status and challenges.
• Collaborate closely with NACC leadership and team members to utilize expertise effectively, meeting project deliverables within timelines, budget constraints, and quality standards.
• Provide strategic project management support, developing and documenting project scope, timelines, resources, agendas, and status reports.
• Produce detailed summaries, roadmaps, user flows, wireframes, and prototypes to support projects and facilitate stakeholder understanding.

Project Leadership (20%)

• Develop and implement strategies to increase the visibility and impact of the ADRC program, contributing to its growth and effectiveness.
• Navigate and collaborate across supervisory structures to identify and execute high-priority tasks efficiently, aligning with organizational goals.
• Lead coordination of tasks across a multidisciplinary team of engineers and non-technical staff, ensuring alignment with project timelines and objectives.
• Mentor team members on project management tools and techniques, providing guidance and support to facilitate team success.
• Champion and facilitate effective collaboration between the team and other groups within NACC, driving cross-organizational teamwork and synergy.
• Lead the preparation and management of activities to deliver NACC’s Strategic Technical Roadmap, ensuring meetings are productive and aligned with project objectives.
• Manage and regulate access to externally shared resources within NACC’s SharePoint drive, enhancing collaboration through dashboards and data visualizations using tools like Smartsheet and SharePoint.
• Maintain vendor relationships, track and manage priorities within the NACC Data Platform’s technical landscape, forecast capacity needs, and audit professional services reports.

Technical Application Learning (10%)

• Lead the adoption of internal strategic initiatives by developing, promoting, and operationalizing departmental innovations.
• Standardize project planning methodologies across the NACC Project Portfolio to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Master Smartsheet, Trello, Asana, and GitHub project management software, and provide strategic recommendations for leveraging additional tools to enhance project execution and collaboration.
• Analyze, manage, and enhance operational processes related to the NACC Data Platform and Data Front Door projects, focusing on maximizing efficiency, streamlining processes, and implementing best practices within a cloud-hosted database.
• Work directly with faculty and staff to develop and implement smooth and efficient processes to support the achievement of project objectives and NACC’s goals.
• Optimize operations and implement automated systems, including updating quality-control and data validation technologies within Flywheel and REDCap, using automated workflows, standardized processes, and templates to streamline data collection, reviewing and editing communications, and improving business operations practices to save time and promote collaboration.

Other Duties (10%)

• ·Manage event logistics for assigned projects and assist with operational support including technology, meeting coordination, drafting agendas and other duties as needed.
• Lead efforts that bring efficiency to our portfolio of products over time while maintaining data expectations.
• Other operational and project support duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, business management, journalism, communication, computer science, or related field.

Minimum 4 years' experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver projects with multiple dependencies and constraints.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Experience with multiple Project Management software including Asana, Smartsheet, Trello, Jira, and Confluence

Experience with data management tools such as SQL and Oracle.

Experience with the software development lifecycle, including Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid methodologies.

Advanced experience with technical project documentation including Statements of Work, Requirements and Analysis, Risk Assessments, Critical Path Project Plans, Gap Analysis, Bug Tracking and Support Ticketing software.

Strong interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills – must be able to work well with a diversity of personalities and forge effective partnerships.

Ability to communicate effectively and establish credibility with technical and non-technical stakeholders including executive staff.

Possess a strong desire and capability to swiftly grasp new intellectual content across diverse disciplines.

Commitment to inclusivity and diversity in the workplace to illuminate the health impacts of systemic racism.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience with a comprehensive approach to strategic planning and organization development.

PMP or equivalent certification.

Familiarity with Alzheimer’s Disease research.

Proven record of accomplishment of meeting project milestones and timelines.

The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.

• Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.