IT Project Manager

Beacon Technologies; Cedar Rapids (IA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Beacon Technologies seeks an IT Project Manager to lead front-end activities translating business needs into executable projects. The role involves managing the full lifecycle of complex technology initiatives across units, with emphasis on initiating, planning, and mobilization.

The ideal candidate combines strong analytical skills with project startup experience, capable of delivering technology solutions and leading cross‑functional teams.

Qualifications

• Strong business analysis skills to identify needs and document requirements.
• Ability to initiate, plan, mobilize, and manage projects through lifecycle.
• Experience leading cross‑functional teams and communicating with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to understand priorities and translate them into executable projects.
• Lead or support requirements discovery, feasibility, and business cases.
• Develop project plans, budgets, schedules, and governance artifacts.
• Manage risk, changes, and stakeholder communication throughout the lifecycle.
• Provide guidance and mentoring on project management practices.

Skills

Business analysis

Project initiation

Planning and mobilization

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Project Management Professional certification (PMP)

Tools

Project management software

Job description

Beacon Technologies is seeking an IT Project Manager for our client partner. Responsible for the successful initiation, planning, development, administration, risk management, implementation, control, and closure of one or more large, complex technology projects across multiple business units through the Program and Project Management department. This position will initially emphasize the front-end activities needed to translate business needs and strategic priorities into well-defined, executable projects. These activities may include business analysis, requirements discovery, business case development, solution evaluation, stakeholder alignment, governance preparation, resource planning, and project mobilization.

The successful candidate must also have demonstrated experience managing technology projects through execution, implementation, transition, and closeout. Based on program priorities and business needs, this individual may be assigned to lead approved projects through the full project lifecycle. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and project startup capabilities with the project management experience necessary to successfully deliver complex business and technology solutions.

Accountabilities

These accountabilities are not intended as a complete list of specific duties and responsibilities and do not limit or modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of individuals assigned to this position.

Project Initiation and Business Analysis

• Partners with business and technology leaders to understand strategic priorities, operational needs, business challenges, and desired outcomes.
• Leads or supports business analysis activities to define the business need, clarify the problem or opportunity, identify impacted stakeholders, and document high-level business and functional requirements.
• Translates business needs and strategic objectives into clearly defined project concepts, business cases, charters, implementation approaches, and executable project plans.
• Facilitates discovery sessions, requirements discussions, planning workshops, and stakeholder alignment activities across business, technology, and project teams.
• Develops or supports business cases, funding requests, cost-benefit analyses, feasibility assessments, and executive decision materials for proposed initiatives. Defines measurable business outcomes, success criteria, performance measures, assumptions, dependencies, constraints, and value realization objectives.
• Evaluates solution and implementation alternatives in collaboration with business and technology stakeholders. Documents recommendations, tradeoffs, risks, costs, resource needs, and organizational impacts to support informed decision-making.
• Monitors technical and business developments that may affect an initiative and provides recommendations regarding project direction, sourcing approach, sequencing, continuation, modification, or termination.

Project Planning and Mobilization

• Leads project startup and mobilization activities to establish the structure, resources, governance, plans, and controls required for successful project delivery.
• Develops project plans, schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk management plans, communication plans, stakeholder engagement plans, and other required project documentation.
• Determines appropriate project resource requirements and staffing skill sets, including the level of business, technical, vendor, and project management expertise needed to successfully complete the project.
• Assesses organizational capacity, implementation readiness, project interdependencies, and resource constraints when recommending project timing and sequencing.
• Identifies and coordinates required governance, architecture, technology, security, sourcing, financial, operational, and leadership reviews.
• Establishes clear project roles, responsibilities, decision-making authority, escalation paths, and working agreements across business, technology, vendor, and project teams.
• Develops transition and mobilization plans that enable the project team to move effectively from initiation and planning into execution.

Project Execution and Delivery

• Understands and utilizes project management methodologies and processes, based on Project Management Institute standards, to achieve scope, schedule, cost, quality, and business outcome objectives.
• May assume responsibility for managing approved projects from initiation through execution, monitoring and controlling, implementation, operational transition, and closeout.
• Leads cross‑functional teams consisting of business, technology, project management, vendor, and other resources to deliver agreed‑upon project outcomes.
• Establishes and manages project scope, costs, resources, performance measures, timelines, technical objectives, risks, issues, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Monitors project performance and takes appropriate action to address variances, barriers, resource constraints, delivery risks, or changes in business priorities.
• Facilitates timely project decisions and issue resolution. Escalates matters through the appropriate governance channels when decisions, risks, or issues cannot be resolved within the project team.
• Manages project dependencies and maintains awareness of the broader program and project portfolio to identify scheduling, resource, technology, and business impacts.
• Develops and executes communication and stakeholder management plans, including project status, risk, issue, financial, milestone, and progress reporting in the agreed‑upon format, frequency, level of detail, and audience.
• Ensures project decisions, requirements, assumptions, risks, changes, and approvals are appropriately documented and traceable throughout the project lifecycle.

Financial, Vendor, and Contract Management

• Develops and manages project budgets, forecasts, financial performance, and cost estimates in accordance with applicable financial practices and controls.
• May perform cost‑benefit and financial analyses to assess project feasibility and support investment decisions.
• Manages applicable project contracts in conjunction with sourcing personnel.
• Prepares or supports Requests for Proposals, evaluates vendor responses, participates in negotiations, interprets contract language, and manages vendor performance and project finances.
• Ensures vendor work is completed in accordance with contract requirements, project specifications, quality expectations, and approved schedules.

Change, Readiness, and Operational Transition

• Partners with business owners, operational teams, organizational change management resources, and technology teams to assess change impacts and implementation readiness.
• Ensures that communication, stakeholder engagement, training, adoption, and operational readiness needs are identified and incorporated into project plans.
• Ensures training needs are addressed for project team members, impacted stakeholders, and users of the implemented solution.
• Supports the development of transition plans that clearly define operational ownership, support responsibilities, process changes, documentation requirements, and post‑implementation activities.
• Provides business consulting and organizational change management support within the context of program and project management to help achieve strategic objectives and expected business outcomes.

Project Closeout and Continuous Improvement

• Upon project completion, ensures operational teams are prepared to support the implemented solution and that an orderly transition of project deliverables occurs.
• Ensures project and financial activities are appropriately completed, including closing applicable work orders, addressing related financial charges, reassigning project resources, and organizing required documentation.
• Confirms that outstanding risks, issues, decisions, support needs, and follow‑up activities have defined owners and appropriate transition plans.
• Facilitates project closeout, lessons learned, and post‑implementation review activities.
• May provide support for the maintenance and continuous improvement of Program and Project Management department tools, templates, standards, methodologies, and processes.
• Provides guidance and mentoring to project team members and others in the effective use of project management, business analysis, organizational change management, and project mobilization practices.

SUPERVISION

• Performs work under the direct supervision of a manager or director.

QUALIFICATIONS

The requirements listed below are representative of the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform this position.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Certification

• Project Management Professional certification required.

Required Experience

• Five or more years of project management experience managing medium‑to‑large, complex projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing technology, software implementation, enterprise application, or technology‑enabled business projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading projects through initiation, planning, execution, implementation, transition, and closeout.
• Experience working with cross‑functional teams that include business, technology, project management, vendor, and operational stakeholders.

Preferred Experience

• Experience performing or leading business analysis, requirements discovery, business case development, feasibility assessment, solution evaluation, or project initiation activities.
• Experience establishing new projects through chartering, resource planning, governance preparation, scheduling, risk assessment, and mobilization.
• Experience developing executive‑level recommendations, decision materials, project status reports, and presentations.
• Experience supporting enterprise work and asset management, utility operations, ERP, EAM, or other large‑scale business and technology initiatives.
• Experience managing vendor‑delivered solutions, contracts, Requests for Proposals, and third‑party project resources.
• Experience working in a matrixed environment in which project resources report to multiple business or functional areas.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Strong business analysis skills, including the ability to identify business needs, facilitate requirements discussions, assess alternatives, and translate strategic objectives into executable initiatives.
• Strong project initiation, planning, and mobilization skills, with the ability to establish the foundation necessary for successful project delivery.
• Ability to transition effectively between strategic analysis, front‑end project development, detailed planning, and hands‑on project execution.
• Ability to analyze and solve moderately complex business, technology, resource, and project delivery problems and implement effective solutions.
• Ability to organize large and complex project plans and maintain complete, accurate, and effective project documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and carry out responsibilities with a minimum of direction.
• Demonstrated leadership, facilitation, collaboration, negotiation, and team‑building skills.
• Ability to establish and apply meaningful performance measures, success criteria, and project controls.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, ambiguity, dependencies, resource constraints, risks, and changing business needs.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex business and technology information clearly to project teams, business leaders, technology leaders, governance groups, and executive stakeholders.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
• Ability to build alignment and influence outcomes across business and technology organizations without relying on direct authority.
• Working knowledge of project financial management, vendor management, governance, organizational change management, and operational readiness practices.
• Demonstrated ability to use business productivity and project management software, including email, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, collaboration, scheduling, and project reporting tools.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse and matrixed work environment.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

The ideal candidate is a seasoned Technology Project Manager whose strengths include business analysis, project initiation, planning, and mobilization. This individual is skilled at working through ambiguity, defining business needs, facilitating stakeholder alignment, developing business cases, assessing solution options, identifying resource requirements, and preparing initiatives for approval and delivery. The candidate must also be a well‑rounded project delivery leader with experience managing complex technology projects through execution, implementation, operational transition, and closeout. The individual should be comfortable moving between front‑end analytical work and hands‑on project delivery as program priorities evolve.

About Beacon Technologies

Are you looking to advance your career in information technology? Beacon Technologies offers career advancement opportunities, extensive training, and excellent benefits including paying for health and dental premiums for salaried employees. In addition to providing interesting opportunities, Beacon Technologies provides that old fashioned, personal touch, so you feel like a part of the Beacon team.

Beacon Technologies, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer with a functioning Affi… (full equal‑opportunity statement is omitted for brevity)