Manager, Strategic PMO Opportunity
Atlanta, GA (preferred) | Westminster, CO | Lake Oswego, OR
Contract: 3-month contract, strong potential to convert to FTE
Location: Hybrid in Atlanta, GA preferred or Westminster, CO or Lake Oswego, OR
Compensation: $70.00/hr, 140K conversion
Schedule: 4 days/week in office
Type: W2 contract
Note: No visas or C2C at this time
We are seeking an experienced and transformational Manager, Strategic PMO to lead a high-performing team of Senior Project Managers supporting a large enterprise and strategic customer portfolio. This is a hands-on people leadership role responsible for overseeing complex, high-value customer engagements while driving operational excellence, portfolio performance, and continued maturity of the Strategic Project Management Office (PMO).
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in building and leading PMO organizations, managing senior-level project management professionals, and establishing governance and standardized delivery processes within a complex enterprise environment.
This individual will bring an entrepreneurial mindset, take ownership, and proactively identify opportunities to improve processes, solve challenges, and drive meaningful organizational change. The ability to bring structure to ambiguity, influence cross-functional partners, and develop strong project management talent will be essential to success.
The role will lead a team of six Project Managers within a highly strategic organization supporting large enterprise customer engagements.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and provide operational oversight of the Strategic PMO team, consisting of six Senior Project Managers.
- Oversee complex, high-value, and high-visibility enterprise customer engagements, ensuring effective governance, delivery execution, and strong customer outcomes.
- Establish delivery priorities, monitor project health, and proactively manage risks related to scope, schedule, financial performance, resources, and customer expectations.
- Lead executive-level customer engagements, escalations, recovery planning, and cross-functional issue resolution.
- Build trusted relationships with customer executives and internal stakeholders across Professional Services, Customer Success, Sales, Product, Support, and Engineering.
- Coach, mentor, and develop Senior Project Managers, establishing clear expectations around performance, ownership, communication, and accountability.
- Conduct performance reviews, provide ongoing feedback, and support professional development and team effectiveness.
- Monitor strategic portfolio financial performance, including budgets, revenue, margins, scope consumption, and forecasting accuracy.
- Partner with Resource Management and delivery leadership to address capacity constraints and resource requirements.
- Establish and maintain PMO governance, executive reporting, risk management, escalation protocols, and consistent operating rhythms.
- Provide leadership with actionable portfolio insights, recommendations, and visibility into delivery performance.
- Identify opportunities to improve strategic delivery processes, team effectiveness, and overall PMO maturity.
- Drive change management and transformational initiatives that improve operational efficiency and delivery consistency.
Required Qualifications
- 7+ years of overall professional experience in project management, program management, or professional services delivery.
- 3–5 years of direct people management experience, ideally leading experienced or senior-level Project Managers.
- Demonstrated experience building, establishing, or leading a Project Management Office (PMO).
- Experience managing large enterprise or strategic customer portfolios.
- Strong background in enterprise implementations, ideally involving ERP systems or complex software solutions.
- Experience with project financial management, including budgeting, revenue, margins, forecasting, and resource planning.
- Experience conducting performance reviews, coaching employees, and managing team development.
- Strong understanding of project governance, portfolio management, risk management, and delivery methodologies.
- Exceptional executive communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in a SaaS or software technology environment.
- Background in construction technology/software, FinTech, or other enterprise software industries.
- Experience with ERP implementations and large-scale enterprise customer engagements.
- Experience driving organizational transformation, change management, and operational improvements.
- PMP, PgMP, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, or other relevant project/program management certifications.
Key Competencies & Leadership Attributes
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Entrepreneurial Mindset: Brings fresh ideas, identifies opportunities, and approaches challenges with creativity and initiative.
- Ownership & Accountability: Takes responsibility, follows through, and establishes a culture of accountability across the team.
- Proactive Leadership: Anticipates challenges, addresses issues before they escalate, and drives solutions.
- Change Management: Comfortable leading teams through change and implementing new processes and ways of working.
- Transformational Leadership: Motivates and develops high-performing teams while driving continuous improvement.
- Adaptability: Can organize ambiguity and bring structure, clarity, and consistency to complex environments.
- Collaborative Mindset: Open to new ideas, receptive to feedback, and effective at building relationships across teams.
- Strategic Thinking: Connects project delivery performance to broader business objectives and customer outcomes.
Education & Certifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
- Equivalent relevant professional experience may be considered.
- PMP, PgMP, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, or other relevant project/program management certifications preferred.