W-2 Contract

Duration - 1 Year

Location - Newport Beach, CA

Pay - Up to $85.20/hour

Role Summary:

As a contract Sr. Project Manager, you'll play a key role in supporting our client's projects related to technology, data, strategy, people and processes. You will be responsible for the delivery of Engineering Excellence projects, translating strategy into executable plans and driving outcomes across cross-functional teams. Operating in an Agile environment, you will ensure disciplined execution, strong decision-making, and transparent communication from planning through delivery.

Would like to see less of...

· Candidates with solid PM skills, but not much else. We want more than someone who can manage a project. That is a good skill to have but the finding is that these candidates aren't well rounded enough to be able to provide a different perspective for a project and find the gaps.

Would like to see more of...

· Candidates with solid foundational PM skills. We want someone who can manage a project while also being a strategic thought partner to key stakeholders and underlying delivery team(s).

· Demonstrated consultative mindset, strong problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to identify solutions, evaluate alternatives and make sound decisions.

· We are looking for agents of change. Someone who can look at our PMO operation and how we work critically and identify opportunities for improvement.

· Be able to identify technical activities, connect the dots, identify gaps, and drive output to achieve project goals. Someone who can ask poignant questions of developers and engineers.

· Coaching others. While this is a contract role we want to see candidates who can help drive change within the organization and share experiences with others to help the entire team grow.

How You Will Make an Impact:

· Lead end-to-end delivery of Engineering Excellence projects, translating strategy and priorities into sequenced plans with clear ownership, milestones, and measurable outcomes.

· Operate within Agile frameworks using Azure DevOps (ADO) as the system of record to plan, track, and communicate work, ensuring alignment to defined structures (epics, features, tagging, and goal alignment).

· Own core delivery disciplines including scope, integrated plans, resourcing, schedule, budget, and roadmap integrity, ensuring execution remains aligned to business priorities and commitments.

· Drive decision-making and prioritization to closure, establishing clear ownership and pushing back on work that does not align to goals, timelines, or expected outcomes.

· Orchestrate delivery across internal teams and external partners, managing dependencies and establishing clear decision rights and escalation paths.

· Maintain visibility into delivery health by communicating progress, risks, dependencies, and trade-offs clearly in project and governance forums.

· Partner with stakeholders to define and prioritize epics and features, enabling structured, iterative delivery of business value.

· Translate technical concepts and risks into clear, actionable delivery plans in partnership with engineering and architecture teams.

· Embed change management and adoption into delivery, ensuring behavior change, data quality, and business readiness are achieved alongside technical outcomes.

The experience you will bring:

· 7-10 years progressive experience in program/project management skills, techniques and methodology (Waterfall & Agile).

· Demonstrated experience in Agile methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.

· Strong understanding of Agile principles and practices, and ability to coach teams on Agile adoption and continuous improvement.

· Experience in breaking Epics into smaller, manageable Features and user stories.

· Strong analytical skills to assess the impact of new features and changes on the overall project timeline and deliverables.

· Excellent interpersonal skills, exhibit poise and exercise diplomacy in communication, ability to influence others toward consensus, conflict management and decision-making, and to direct work for project office colleague(s).

· Must be a self-starter, have demonstrated experience in a lead role, be well organized, able to coordinate multiple work streams, effectively manage their time and be a strong leader who can adapt rapidly to new developments and changing priorities.

· Experience working with and demonstrated ability to motivate and inspire, cross-functional teams, including IT and third-party vendors.

· Proficiency in using varied project management tools including Jira, Trello, Azure DevOps, SmartSheet, and any capacity/resource management tools.

· Highly skilled in MS productivity tools (SharePoint, MS Teams, PowerPoint, Excel).

· Working knowledge of visualization/analytics tools including PowerBI.

· Strong in critical thinking, data analysis and reporting, risk and controls, and process improvement.

· Knowledge of IT topics such as infrastructure, software development, data, cloud, digital transformation and technology solutions commonly used in the industry.

· Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, managing multiple priorities and adapting to changing business needs.

· A passion for learning and a desire to grow.

· Ability to apply new skills while dealing with ambiguity.

· A bachelor's degree in information systems or it related field.

What will make you stand out:

· Background in strategic management and/or management consulting advantageous.

· MBA, PMP and/or Agile certifications, or other relevant study.

· Experience working in the insurance or related financial services industry.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Must Have

• Be able to identify technical activities, connect the dots, identify gaps, and drive output to achieve project goals. Someone who can ask poignant questions of developers and engineers.
• Candidates with solid foundational PM skills. We want someone who can manage a project while also being a strategic thought partner to key stakeholders and underlying delivery team(s).
• Coaching others. While this is a contract role we want to see candidates who can help drive change within the organization and share experiences with others to help the entire team grow
• Demonstrated consultative mindset, strong problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to identify solutions, evaluate alternatives and make sound decisions.
• We are looking for agents of change. Someone who can look at our PMO operation and how we work critically and identify opportunities for improvement.

Nice To Have

• Experience working in the insurance or related financial services industry.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.