Implementation Project Manager (Early Career)
Cary, NC location required
Are you a problem solver, explorer, and knowledge seeker – always asking, “What if?”
If so, then you may be the new team member we’re looking for. Because at SAS, your curiosity matters – whether you’re developing algorithms, creating customer experiences or answering critical questions. Curiosity is our code, and the opportunities here are endless.
What we do
We’re the leader in analytics. Through our software and services, we inspire customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. Our curiosity fuels innovation, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo and changing the way we live.
What you’ll do
As an Early Career Implementation Project Manager, you will be a customer liaison and consultant on projects to assure success throughout the entire customer life cycle. You will also interact with external clients/customers, staff, management, and applicable departments at SAS.
This role will be responsible for all aspects of project management: the direction, planning and budgeting, coordination, implementation, execution, and completion of specific projects while ensuring consistency with SAS’ overall strategy, commitments, and goals.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Assumes fiscal responsibility for the portions of the projects managed, including managing budget, expense management, timely invoicing, receivables tracking and monitoring /managing subcontractor expenses as applicable.
- Identifies, documents, and escalates any project issues and potential dependencies to the project team to the appropriate management team.
- Manages assigned projects against key business targets and time-to-value key performance indicators to help ensure high quality and high customer satisfaction.
- Prepares sample or high-level project plans to satisfy customer requirements to close deals, identify potential implementation options and provide recommendations on implementation approaches.
- Participates and leads in project review sessions with stakeholders, customers, and senior management.
- Completes risk assessment documents for projects, meeting articulated criteria (sizeable financial concerns, heavy use of subcontractors, implementation of new solutions, etc.).
- May support Senior Project Managers or Program Managers on large projects and may independently manage small to medium scale projects.
- Manages internal or external customer expectations fully and acts as customer liaison.
- Manages implementation projects throughout the project life cycle.
- Monitors performance and recommends schedule changes, cost adjustments and resource additions.
- Identifies and matches skills of project team members with the implementation requirements and tasks, including subcontractors if required, and verifies that team members know and understand their assignments.
- Ensures quality assurance and test plans are developed for the project.
- Maintains an accurate project plan, adheres to deadlines and communicates weekly project status reports, issues, alerts, signoffs and closure to the team, management and the customer.
- Forecasts revenue and resource requirements for the duration of the project.
- Follows established change management procedures should project plans or schedules be adjusted.
- Ensures project designs and specifications provide a reliable blueprint for implementation.
- Resolves any conflict between the project and other organizational units in a satisfactory manner, including engaging management as necessary.
- Communicates project goals to those outside the project and engages management or leadership in other units as needed to ensure customer success.
- Completes engagement/project summary, project closeout procedures and skills inventory updates, when applicable, at end of project.
- Assures overall customer satisfaction through project health checks, surveys and Delivery Excellence agreements according the governing Project Management Methodology.
Additional Responsibilities:
- Leverages methodologies, enablers and best practices to accelerate project delivery.
- Oversees knowledge management activities of the delivery team using knowledge server or comparable tool.
- Builds relationships with clients that characterize partnership, cooperation and trust.
- Provides leadership and drives customer success while overcoming barriers and satisfying staff, management, and stakeholder commitments.
- Performs other duties, as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Project Management Professional, known as PMP, certification is desired.
- MS Project experience is preferred.
- Excellent facilitation skills, including meeting content/agenda and proactive/creative management of issues.
- Very good domain and industry expertise as well as an understanding of SAS internal processes and organization.
- Very good problem-solving, organizational, written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and with a team.
- Travel as business requirements as required by management discretion.
Preferences:
- Cary, NC location required.
Education & Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business, Marketing, Accounting or related field.
- A minimum of five years of customer project management experience.
Equivalency:
- Equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience may be considered in place of the requirements stated above, including military service.
- The level of this position will be determined based on the applicant's education, skills and experience.
Why SAS
- We’re the leader in analytics. Through our software and services, we inspire customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. Our curiosity fuels innovation, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo and changing the way we live.
- We love living the #saslife and believe that happy, healthy people have a passion for life, and bring that energy to work. No matter what your specialty or where you are in the world, your unique contributions will make a difference. Our multi-dimensional culture blends our different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Here, it isn’t about fitting into our culture, it’s about adding to it - and we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring.
- SAS looks not only for the right skills, but also for a cultural fit. We seek colleagues who will contribute to the unique culture that makes SAS such a great place to work. We look for the total candidate: technical skills, culture fit, relationship skills, problem solvers, good communicators and, of course, innovators. Candidates must be ready to make an impact.
Additional Information:
To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States, and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status. SAS is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. Read more: Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law. Also view the supplement EEO is the Law, and the notice Pay Transparency
Equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be considered in place of the above qualifications. The level of this position will be determined based on the applicant's education, skills and experience. Resumes may be considered in the order they are received. SAS employees performing certain job functions may require access to technology or software subject to export or import regulations. To comply with these regulations, SAS may obtain nationality or citizenship information from applicants for employment. SAS collects this information solely for trade law compliance purposes and does not use it to discriminate unfairly in the hiring process
In order to work at SAS, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If there is a medical or religious reason preventing you from receiving an available COVID-19 vaccination, and you are selected as a candidate for consideration, we have an accommodations process in place to evaluate those requests.