Project Manager

We are looking for a Project Manager! Reach out if you are interested and feel free to refer friends/colleagues!

Type of Employment: Contract
Title: Project Manager
Term: 9-month – 37.5 hours
Location: Toronto – Hybrid
Job ID number: C1024

Brief description of duties:

Manulife North America Procurement is looking for a driven, motivated, and hands-on Project Leader to manage the Contingent Workforce Program strategic initiatives. The Project Manager reports to the Program Director, Contingent Workforce Management Program within North America Procurement. This role will be responsible to lead the implementation process of the Program’s strategic roadmap and govern the scope of business initiatives and activities of all workstream leaders and team members. In this role, the individual will partner with the functional groups to communicate and clarify business needs, lead the development of project and system plans, process flows, and ensure products and services are aligned. In addition, the role holder will be accountable to conduct business process analysis, needs assessments, discovery sessions, and communicate trends and requirements. The holder will work collaboratively with global partners and stakeholders, supporting both regional and global initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for management of the entire project lifecycle from project definition/scope through implementation
• Leads the development of client and team presentations
• Manage all communication plans, training, and documentation – develop project plan and drive project milestones
• Communicate project status to all stakeholders on a regular basis throughout the lifecycle of the project.
• Deliver projects on time, at/under budget and within scope
• Provide strategic consultancy support in defining or designing business processes
• Assess needs utilizing structured interview processes to establish business priorities; consult with technical subject matter experts; advise on options, risks, costs versus benefits, and impact on other business processes and system priorities
• Responsible for proactively identifying opportunities to apply best practices
• Develop and maintain credibility and effective working relations in a way that demonstrates an understanding of business problems, as well as implementation strategies, issues, and priorities
• Partner with other functional areas to remain apprised of project status, and inform of progress; equally, keep management issues and potential risks.
• Work closely with Program Management Office to develop training to ensure all functions understand business processes and the integration of technologies.
• Act as the key contact to assure accurate and consistent communication throughout the project
• Drive key decisions and assures a best-in-class solution is delivered on time and within budget
• Coordinates the activities of all workstream leads and team members, such as but not limited to; Solution Design, Change Management, Communications, Vendor Engagement, Data, Reporting & Analytics, Technology, Operations, etc.
• Plans and coordinates project scheduling and all project administrative tasks; Supports project team by facilitating project logistics such as meetings, conference rooms, conference calls, etc.
• Assures that meeting minutes and action items are accurate and distributed to all stakeholders in a timely manner and performs basic follow-up with all workstream leads/team members
• Support the day-to-day operational activities including ad hoc project execution relating to the continuous improvement of the program.
• Understand all facets of the program operations and identify areas of process improvement including interacting and providing direction to the MSP of the Program
• Document and operationalize new processes or requirements as brought forward by internal or external team
• Support the roll out, change management, process updates as part of technology enhancements and adjustments within the vendor managed system (e.g., functional expansion, system changes, workflow adjustments, etc.)
• Work with IT partners to resolve any integration issues and improve integration function between VMS and HR System
• Lead operational initiatives relating to cross BU teams and vendors on an as needed basis
• Attend and participate in weekly MSP/VMS program activity meeting and quarterly business reviews

Skills and Competencies:

• Technical and professional knowledge – demonstrated understanding and application of procurement and contracting principles and best practices.
• Problem analyzer and decision maker – effectively searches and uses industry and market insights; able to assimilate, synthesize, and present complex information in a value-added form; attention to detail; evaluates feasibility and practicality of ideas and options; takes ownership and makes informed and timely decisions.
• Proven innovator – expert in identifying and implementing change management and business process transformation; consistently challenges the status quo; takes balanced risks to promote growth of ideas; comfortable in high pressure environments.
• Strategic thinker – thinks conceptually beyond day-to-day business realities; creates a clear vision and goals and adopts a long-term perspective; anticipates emerging issues.
• Global thinker – dedicated to improving the Company’s competitive position on an enterprise and global level; understands and is respectful of what works in different parts of the world and what doesn’t.
• Team builder – builds strategic partnerships with internal clients and vendors; builds buy-in and engagement with key stakeholders.
• Skilled communicator – communicates complexity with clarity and ease; articulates a clear view of concepts, ideas, and objectives; able to interface with different stakeholders at all levels; represents the company externally with confidence; skilled in both oral and written communication.
• Collaborator – shares resources and leverages knowledge across the organization; builds and nurtures an extensive network

MUST haves:

• University degree required
• Project Management: Project Management Certification or equivalent experience (Preferred)
• Experience in managing mid to large-scale initiatives relating to; a source to pay procurement model; experience in a related industry (Staffing and/or Financial Services); experience in global supply chain management and/or vendor management and/or contract management and/or staffing industry
• 3+ years of relevant business area experience in which one or more of the following occurred:
  • Demonstrated competency in project management and execution
  • Demonstrated competency in strategic thinking with strong abilities in relationship management
  • Gained experience in management of resources to meet goals and multiple projects
  • Participated on multidiscipline, high-performance work teams, preferably in a leadership capacity
  • Demonstrated competency in developing efficient and effective solutions to diverse and complex business problems
  • Committed to continuous improvement.
• Working knowledge of procurement practices and vendor management
• Experience with a Vendor Management System (Beeline, Fieldglass, etc. Preferred) and/or P2P System
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to demonstrate excellent listening skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical individuals.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Capability to multi-task and execute on several deliverables simultaneously in an organized fashion
• Solid analytical skills
• Excellence presentation skills and strong comfort level with key audiences. Ability to engage and present to all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated ability to present complex information and concepts to executive levels both clients and internal
• Strong ability to work with and influence a variety of stakeholders, while representing their requirements and VOC
• Experience in working with teams remotely where locations are international and within different time zones
• Previous experience in business process re-engineering or process improvement is desirable, involving broad-based information systems and utilizing tools and techniques to effect business change
• Expert knowledge of MS Project, Excel, MS Word, and Visio.