Manager, Project Practice

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

ABOUT UPP

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 39,000 members across four universities and fourteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities.

Together, we’re a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact.

Our culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDIR). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace.

As a long-term investor, we recognize that environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors support risk management and value creation. As stated in our Responsible Investing Policy , we are committed to incorporating ESG considerations into our investment management activities and we collaborate with other industry participants in the promotion of a sustainable economy and society.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE

The Manager, Project Practice & Control will play a crucial role in advancing tailored project delivery frameworks and processes, fostering the evolution of data-driven decision-making within the Strategic Initiatives Delivery team (Enterprise Project Management Office). This position reports directly to the Senior Director of Delivery Practice & Portfolio Reporting.

In addition to supporting and implementing effective project management processes and tools, ensuring that every project manager adheres to them, your role will involve collaborating with senior leaders, project managers, and stakeholders to define reporting needs, and synthesize data into insightful presentations you will make to various levels of leadership.

Your responsibilities will span project delivery framework and practices, strategic project portfolio analytics, operational and financial reporting. This includes building a comprehensive understanding of our project portfolio, optimizing financial and reporting tools, and generating reports for various leadership committees. You'll play a vital role in maintaining the balance between demand and capacity, facilitating effective resource allocation. Your role extends to collaborating with Corporate Finance to develop and update budgets.

Additionally, you will drive continuous improvement by simplifying processes, and look for opportunities for automation to enhance efficiency.

All roles are hybrid with a minimum commitment of 2 days a week in the office.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Conduct regular project status updates and manage their financial reporting.
• Monitor and control project status and milestones, ensuring timely delivery and quality standards.
• Drive risk and issue mitigation activities, including maintenance of Risk, Action, Issue, and Decision (RAID) logs.
• Collaborate with senior leaders, project managers, and Corporate Finance to understand the entire portfolio's data, including budget, resources, and capacity.
• Act as the point of contact between Portfolio team and other financial & planning related functions (e.g., Corporate planning, Corporate Finance) for accruals, budget allocation, general Q&A, etc.
• Lead strategic resource planning, ensuring alignment between demand and capacity for organizational objectives.
• Analyze critical project and resources data, identifying historical trends, risks, and areas for improvement to optimize project delivery.
• Track, generate, and analyze financial plans, collaborating with Corporate Finance on invoice management and monthly variance analysis.
• Establish project level analysis and monitoring of progress including budgets, forecasts, KPIs, risks and recovery.
• Create and deliver reports and presentations for UPP committees, ensuring essential project updates and progress reports.
• Develop visually impactful project presentations tailored to diverse audiences, spotlighting leadership focus areas.
• Drive continuous improvement in portfolio and project status and financial reporting, transitioning to more efficient tools.
• Design and implement automated solutions for recurring reporting cycles, streamlining reporting processes.
• Create automated control processes to maintain accuracy and integrity.

Project Management & Delivery Framework:

• Collaborate with Portfolio Leads and Project Managers to improve delivery & project management framework.
• Ensure adherence to project management guidelines, practices, and standards (e.g. PMBOK).
• Maintain common project and practice templates and standards across UPP projects.
• Support portfolio management delivery capabilities, including processes, tools, and reporting.
• Continuously assess and improve project management practices to align with industry standards and UPP organizational goals.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• 7+ years of experience working with and understanding of portfolio and project management methodologies, including knowledge of project lifecycle, project financials, status reporting, risk management, resource allocation, and stakeholder communication.
• 5+ years in applying portfolio and project management principles to plan, execute, monitor, and control projects effectively.
• In-depth working knowledge of Project Management framework(s) and practices.
• Advanced knowledge and skills in project management and project controls (cost control, risk management, scheduling, and planning)
• Proficiency in financial tracking and reporting, including the ability to create and interpret financial statements, budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis.
• Strong analytical skills to perform financial data analysis, identify trends, and provide insights to support decision-making and business performance evaluation.
• Capability to interact with senior leaders and teams through ambiguity to develop organizational scorecards.
• Experience with both waterfall and agile delivery frameworks & practices (Scrum, Kanban).
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or other PMI designation would be an asset.

Technical Skills:

• Comprehensive and advanced skillset with Office 365 (PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, including extensive knowledge of functions, formulas, data manipulation, pivot tables, macros, and data visualization techniques.
• Expert PowerPoint user with experience in context-based and captivating presentations.

Nice-To-Have Skills:

• Familiarity with NetSuite.
• Familiarity with flow metrics.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, Advances Roadmaps.
• Experience with Portfolio & Capacity Planning tools.

ATTRIBUTES:

• Curious mindset constantly questioning project status, financials, and risks to ensure context and validity.
• Good analytical skills, a passion for metrics and figures, you have very high attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, start-up environment and execute while maintaining momentum and fluidity.
• Well-rounded individual who can "wear many different hats" within the team and have a "can-do" attitude.
• Experience working within a matrix environment, can build strong cross-functional relationships and always go the extra mile to satisfy your clients.
• A high degree of self-motivation, professionalism, and integrity.
• A confident, versatile communicator who can connect with, and adapt to, an array of audiences.
• Committed to continuous growth and innovation.
• Continuous learner who’s constantly looking to develop your skillset and improve processes.
• You believe in delivering quality solutions. Meeting the client need is your highest priority.

PERSONALITY TRAITS:

• Highly Organized
• Self-driven
• Humble
• Strong work ethic
• Passion for learning
• Personable
• Confident

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters . We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together . Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day . You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness . At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:

• Work from abroad up to eight weeks/year
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process, so if you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. It would be our honor to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate.