Agile Project Manager

• Ref: 12/01/APM

  About Us

  At Allstate Northern Ireland, we believe it’s more than just a job.  We believe in allowing our people to choose the direction of their careers.  It’s about you, your future and where you want to get to.

  Opportunity is the hallmark of the Allstate career experience.  We invest heavily in our employees, offering long term career development, personal growth and investment in new technologies.  Every day is different, with new ideas, challenges, and rewards — no matter which team you join.

  We believe that inclusive diversity is crucial to creating a culture of mutual respect where the strengths and talents of each individual are recognised.  We like to leave things better than we found them and deliver results.  We do all of this while having fun and exploring personal passions.

  Join our team and you’ll find challenge and reward in a culture of innovation, support and balance.

  Location

  Belfast / Derry / Londonderry / Strabane

  Your role in the team

  Allstate Canada is looking to recruit a Senior Project Manager, responsible for directing strategic, enterprise level initiatives of the highest complexity and impact. Accountable for leading all aspects of the project, you will have the ability to provide project management on projects with the highest level of risk, organizational span, business complexity, team size, and interdependencies. The role is to provide leadership for projects operating within a matrix organization, which may include geographically distributed teams. The role requires working experience in scrum and waterfall methodologies and is responsible for managing project governance and adherence to defined agile/waterfall practices at Allstate Canada.

  The ideal candidate will have strong Agile experience and experience in large data driven initiatives.

  The successful candidate will have to demonstrate the ability to quickly develop relationships and hit the ground running due to the tight timescales, and the criticality of the project.

  Although based within Northern Ireland, you will be part of a successful PMO based within Canada.

  Responsibilities include (but aren't limited to):

  • Directs strategic initiatives of the highest complexity and impact
  • Demonstrates mastery of best practices in project management and communication processes and contributes to the improvement of these processes at Allstate
  • Agile Project Management
    • Overall Project Planning
      • BRP / PI planning, Feature Roadmap, Resource plan
    • Execution and Control –
      • Progress tracking via Jira, Service Now and MS project
      • Risk Management
      • Financial Forecast based on feature roadmap and resource plan
      • Cross-Functional dependency management
      • Coordinate retrospectives and follow up on action items
    • Release and Close
      • Coordinate release and deployment activities on a quarterly basis, and during launch
      • Close project releases and coordinate retrospective at release level
  • Demonstrates thought leadership in problem solving, staff development and effective interaction with senior management
  • Takes the lead role in highly pressurized situations when there is a need to communicate critical project information while remaining sensitive to organizational politics
  • Trains project management techniques and leads by example in raising the level of performance in the PMO
  • Customizes solutions for complex issues typically involving enterprise level considerations
  • Drives achievement of enterprise level projects/program success factors
  • Drives agenda and facilitate projects/program steering committee meetings
  • Represents the projects/program and its objectives in all governance/compliance/regulatory and gating forums
  • Vendor Engagement and Relationship Management
    • Coordinate of pre-SOW phase
    • Establish working model and act as a liaison during SOW execution
    • Manage and Control scope, cost and schedule
    • Conflict resolution
    • Coordinate a formal Closure of engagement as per contract terms
  • Assesses and reports health of all projects in an objective manner, maintains project transparency and accurate status; keeps managers, delivery area and portfolio manager informed
  • Proactively identifies, resolves, and escalates (as needed) projects/program risks/issues
  • Acts as an internal advocate for the project
  • Identifies, coordinates, and communicates project dependency impact
  • Coordinates department requirements on cross-functional projects and with vendors
  • Coordinates, documents, and communicates project plans and requirements
  • Provides feedback on team member competencies
  • Accountable for understanding business objectives and how the projects/program delivers them; driving adjustments in projects/program to more effectively achieve desired business results
  • Adapts and responds to changes both inside and outside the projects/program
  • Ability to predict risk areas, design mitigation/contingency strategies and execute on these strategies to avoid issues
  • Ability to lead across a wide variety of project types 

  So, what are the essential criteria to apply?

  • All candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK
  • 5+ years’ experience working in a SAFe Agile environment and experience with Agile development methodologies
  • Experience of delivering multiple complex projects with a strong focus on execution
  • Experience in the following tools (Jira, Service Now, MS Project)
  • Demonstratable experience of leading large data dependent initiatives
  • Ability to lead by influence up, down, and across an organization
  • Ability to communicate complex and innovative concepts to all levels of leadership
  • Excellent written/verbal communication and facilitation skills for communicating at all levels; including strong presentation skills

  We also have some desirable criteria

  • Project Management certifications
  • Certified Release Train Engineer or Advanced Certified Scrum Master professional with delivery experience in multiple technology environments
  • Experience of implementing Compensation Systems
  • Clear passion for topics of technology products and an ability to identify possibilities to innovate in our product space.
  • Ability to triage issues across multiple systems and drive technical issues to resolution

  What we offer

  As Digital DNA’s Workplace of the Year 2020 winners, we offer a generous benefits package that includes flexible annual leave entitlement, dental and healthcare insurance, an attractive pension package and discounts on gym memberships, public transport and parking.

  Allstate invests heavily in your development, as an employee you will have access to multiple world-class learning platforms and courses from our award-winning in-house Learning & Development team.

  We pride ourselves in providing clear career paths and opportunities for internal mobility allowing you to further develop within the organisation.

  We encourage a better work life balance and you’ll have the opportunity to apply for various flexible working arrangements. 

  Statement on Fair Employment and Equal Opportunities

  Allstate NI wishes to ensure equal opportunity is given to all job applicants.  This company will not discriminate on the grounds of race, gender (including gender reassignment status), sexual orientation, religious belief, political opinion, marital status, age or disability.

  We are an equal opportunities employer.  We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons. However, as women are currently under-represented in our workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from women.  All appointments will be made on merit.

  Applicants should note Allstate NI complete AccessNI background checks on all candidates offered a position.

  Closing Date:  Tuesday 26th January 2021