Project Director

Potomac Haven is committed to empowering the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS) on its trajectory to modernize the technical infrastructure, systems, and applications required to successfully manage, monitor, and provide oversight of OHS grant recipient organizations and program operations. We are seeking a highly experienced and civic-minded Project Director to lead a dynamic technical team as it optimizes OHS's Aligned Monitoring System 2.0 Digital Services (IT-AMS) platform, a data management system designed to help OHS program staff to monitor performance, compliance, and effective use of federal funds for grants at the local, state, regional, and national levels.

Requirements

The Project Director serves as the linchpin for all project work streams. In addition to ensuring overall service delivery on contract management tasks, the Project Director empowers our team of roughly 20 personnel to achieve and succeed across a broad spectrum of work which includes integrated technology maintenance, development of efficient links between oversight activities, automated measurement techniques, multimedia data collection, and effective project management.

The Project Director is a meticulously organized manager and skilled communicator/advisor who supervises and coordinates with team leads across all major task areas (e.g., integrated systems operations, maintenance, and enhancement; technology support for monitoring and review scheduling; technology support for monitoring report development and quality control; national support for review team management and deployment; technology support for data and management analytics; technology support for monitoring tool integration; technology support for the Classroom Assessment Scoring system; and innovation and special projects). Responsibilities include:

Project Management:

• Lead and manage the day-to-day operations of the IT-AMS project team to ensure successful delivery.
• Implement Agile methodologies and ceremonies, including daily scrum, sprint planning, sprint review, sprint retrospective, backlog grooming, and estimating activities.
• Coordinate with OHS stakeholders to ensure alignment of project work with user needs and business goals.
• Manage resourcing and budget effectively to maintain overall project cost controls.
• Manage project schedule, performance, risks, warranties, subcontracts, compliance and reporting.
• Develop, maintain, and update the project management plan to control project activities in accordance with the contract requirements.
• Manage onboarding and off-boarding of project team members.
• Facilitate program management meetings, including the project kickoff; facilitate transition-in sessions and project execution meetings; prepare meeting agenda; coordinate scheduling; and facilitate meetings, capturing notes, issues, and action items.
• Manage task order reporting; prepare and distribute weekly and monthly status reports as well as monthly utilization and financial reports.
• Ensure good coordination and process compliance. Verify that activities corresponding to tasks and their subtasks are coordinated effectively and conducted according to established OHS process(es).
• Cultivate positive, trusting, and cooperative working relationships with the Government and all other vendors supporting this work.

Technical Oversight:

• Facilitate regular and open communication between OHS and the project team, involving users in the design of all solutions.
• Overall accountable for the technical, applications and help desk support functions.
• Ensure the successful integration and operations of IT-AMS with other OHS systems, such as the Office of Head Start Enterprise System (HSES), TA Hub, and regional monitoring systems.
• Oversee the production of on-demand data analytics, including monitoring reports, data trends analysis, reviewer competency, training statistics, risk analysis, user issues, and system failures.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in program management, with a focus on IT systems design, development and maintenance.
• Proven experience in managing large-scale, complex projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to supervise a project team, collaborate with staff to get a job done, and cultivate team spirit and synergy.
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies and user-centered design principles.
• Excellent communication, leadership, interpersonal and reporting skills.
• Ability to manage risks, resolve issues, and ensure project success.
• Familiarity with federal regulations and compliance requirements related to IT systems and data management.
• Exhibit strong executive function -- organizational skills, ability to prioritize.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and leadership skills.
• Must be able to demonstrate ability to communicate risks, obstacles or issues as early as possible.
• Must be able to demonstrate experience of coordination and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure alignment of product work with user needs and business goals of the organization.
• Experience working within the federal sector, with preference given to candidates with experience in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, OHS, and ACF.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a public trust clearance.

Work Schedule:

• 8-hour shift between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm, Monday - Friday

Work Location:

• McLean, VA

Our Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Simple IRA and corporate match
• Simple IRA matching
• Paid leave (three weeks)

More about Potomac Haven: Potomac Haven is dedicated to enhancing government efficiency and promoting economic growth at the grassroots -- one community at a time. We offer a comprehensive suite of information technology services to support various missions including national security and defense, economic stability, and innovation. We are committed to supporting agencies to align with key national priorities, delivering excellence, and supporting our nation's goals.