Program Manager III

Location: Minneapolis, MN (preferred) or Denver, CO

Schedule: Hybrid (In-office Tuesday–Thursday; remote Monday & Friday)

Duration: 12-month contract (strong likelihood of extension)

Position Overview

The Program Manager III provides senior-level oversight and delivery accountability across a portfolio of Operations IT projects supporting business units such as Transmission, Energy Supply, Wildfire, and Nuclear. This role serves as the first level of escalation for assigned Project Managers and ensures high-quality delivery standards, forecast accuracy, and executive-level reporting consistency across a multi-project portfolio.

Projects are primarily IT-driven initiatives including commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) implementations, system integrations, upgrades, hardware refreshes, and occasional cloud migrations. The Program Manager operates in a large, matrixed enterprise environment and partners closely with Operations Portfolio leadership, PMO stakeholders, business leaders, and vendors.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide first-level oversight and escalation support for assigned Project Managers and their projects (7–8 projects per Program Manager).
• Serve as the accountable owner for delivery quality, governance standards, reporting cadence, and forecast accuracy.
• Conduct weekly 1:1 meetings with Project Managers to ensure alignment, remove obstacles, and reinforce PMO standards.
• Attend key project meetings and executive steering committees with senior business leadership.
• Review financial forecasts and drive improvements in cost and schedule accuracy.
• Support vendor management efforts, including resolving invoicing, performance, and contractual issues; escalate to leadership as appropriate.
• Ensure consistency in status reporting, risk management, issue resolution, and governance documentation.
• Occasionally step into short-term PM assignments when coverage gaps occur.
  
  

Team Structure

• Reports into Operations Portfolio Delivery leadership.
• Works closely with Project Managers who report to the PMO (with dotted-line alignment to Program Managers).
• Team includes 4 Program Managers overseeing ~30 active projects collectively.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive project/program management experience in large, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading and mentoring Project Managers.
• Experience supporting or leading executive steering committees.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and negotiation skills.
• Proven ability to manage scope, timeline, cost, and quality in complex environments.
• Experience overseeing projects ranging from approximately $200K to $15–20M; aggregate portfolio oversight around $40M preferred.
• Experience in predominantly Waterfall delivery environments (Agile/hybrid exposure beneficial).
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 tools (Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Experience with project management tools such as Microsoft Project and Jira.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Utility industry experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with ServiceNow SPM (project module).
• PMP certification (or equivalent) preferred but not required.
• Experience within large enterprise or Fortune 500 environments.
  
  

Work Environment

Hybrid schedule: In-office Tuesday–Thursday; remote Monday & Friday.

Flexible daytime schedule (7–9 a.m. start; 2–4 p.m. CT end), 40 hours per week.

Occasional travel (<10%) for site observations and workshops (primarily Minneapolis or Denver locations).

Overtime may be required during go-lives or critical weekend activities with prior approval.

Ramp-Up Expectations

• Weeks 1–4: Partner with an existing Program Manager; assume oversight of smaller projects; potentially lead a light-touch initiative to learn processes.
• Months 2–3: Expand portfolio oversight; lead steering committee preparation; improve forecast and reporting quality.
• Months 3–5: Fully independent in Program Manager responsibilities across assigned portfolio.
  
  

Assignment Details

• Initial 12-month contract.
• Strong likelihood of extension (~70%) based on capital planning and portfolio demand.
• Conversion to FTE possible but currently limited due to hiring constraints.
  
  

Ideal Candidate Profile

The Ideal Candidate Is a Confident, Strategic Leader Who

• Has successfully led portfolios of complex IT projects.
• Is comfortable holding Project Managers accountable to delivery standards.
• Can navigate executive conversations and manage competing stakeholder priorities.
• Demonstrates strong conflict resolution skills and boundary-setting around scope, timeline, and quality.
  
  

Pay Rate Range

73 - 97 USD hourly