PMO Senior Project Manager

Service Corporation International; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Service Corporation International (SCI) is seeking a Senior Project Manager in Houston to oversee a portfolio of large, cross-functional initiatives. You will coordinate business and technical teams, manage resources, budgets, risks, and schedules, and ensure delivery of intended outcomes with governance and stage-gate controls.

You will lead traditional, Agile, Scrum, or hybrid delivery, drive process improvements, and mentor PMO practitioners while collaborating with stakeholders to achieve

Qualifications

• Eight years of experience managing complex projects, programs, or portfolios.
• Experience leading cross-functional, multi-workstream initiatives.
• Experience with traditional, Agile, Scrum, or hybrid delivery.
• Experience with data governance, reporting, and data quality initiatives.
• Vendor management and RFP experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of complex, cross-functional projects from initiation to closure.
• Develop business cases, charters, benefit assumptions, success measures, and approvals.
• Lead Agile planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and backlog management.
• Deliver executive-level reporting on milestones, risks, issues, and finances.
• Mentor PMO team and promote effective project management practices.
• Support data governance and dashboards for leadership.

Skills

PMP certification

Agile methodologies

Stakeholder management

Project leadership

Data governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

Tools

Microsoft Project

Smartsheet

Azure DevOps

Microsoft 365

SharePoint

Job description

Our associates celebrate lives. We celebrate our associates. The Senior Project Manager is responsible for managing a portfolio of complex, large-scale projects spanning one or more areas of the business. This position manages resources, schedules, financials, risks, issues, dependencies, and project change requests while adhering to PMO governance and stage-gate quality control guidelines throughout the full project life cycle. The Senior Project Manager leads projects using traditional, Agile, Scrum, or hybrid delivery approaches based on the needs of the initiative. The role partners with business and technical teams to improve processes, strengthen data quality and governance, support organizational readiness, and ensure projects deliver measurable business outcomes. The Senior Project Manager has the authority to manage assigned projects on a day-to-day basis and verify that each project produces the required deliverables at the expected level of quality, within approved time and cost constraints, and achieves the potential benefits defined in the business case.

Job Responsibilities

Project & Portfolio Leadership

Manage a portfolio of complex, cross-functional projects and programs from initiation through implementation and closure.

Partner with business stakeholders to develop project business cases, charters, benefit assumptions, success measures, and project approval documentation.

Develop and maintain project plans, budgets, schedules, risk mitigation strategies, and governance processes.

Manage project scope, change control, prioritization, and governance processes to ensure alignment with business objectives and approved business cases.

Provide leadership and direction to project teams while ensuring alignment with strategic business objectives.

Deliver executive-level reporting on milestones, risks, issues, dependencies, financial performance, and project outcomes.

Ensure expected business outcomes and benefits are achieved through effective planning, execution, adoption, measurement, and transition to operational ownership.

Agile & Scrum Delivery

Lead or support projects utilizing Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid delivery methodologies.

Facilitate Agile planning, prioritization, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and continuous improvement activities.

Partner with business and technical teams to manage delivery roadmaps, backlogs, and project priorities.

Promote collaboration, accountability, and efficient delivery of business value.

Select and apply the most appropriate delivery methodology based on project complexity, stakeholder needs, and organizational objectives.

Data Management & Reporting

Support data governance, data quality, reporting, and portfolio management initiatives.

Develop dashboards, metrics, and reporting tools that provide actionable insights to leadership.

Ensure project and portfolio information is maintained accurately within enterprise systems.

Identify opportunities to improve data integrity, reporting effectiveness, and decision-making.

Analyze trends, performance metrics, and project data to support informed business decisions.

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

Lead process improvement initiatives that enhance efficiency, scalability, and business outcomes.

Partner with stakeholders to assess current-state processes and implement sustainable improvements.

Apply continuous improvement principles to optimize project delivery and operational effectiveness.

Support adoption of new processes, tools, and ways of working across the organization.

Facilitate process assessments, root cause analysis, and workflow optimization activities.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

Build strong relationships with executives, business leaders, technical teams, vendors, and project sponsors.

Lead and facilitate project governance, steering committee, executive leadership, and stakeholder meetings to drive decision-making and alignment.

Lead vendor evaluation, RFP, demonstration, selection, contracting, implementation, and delivery management activities as required.

Collaborate with Change Management resources to support organizational readiness, training, communications, and adoption.

Manage stakeholder expectations and ensure alignment between project objectives and business priorities.

PMO Leadership

Contribute to PMO standards, governance, reporting, methodologies, and best practices.

Mentor team members and promote effective project management and Agile delivery techniques.

Stay current on emerging project management, Agile, reporting, data management, and process improvement practices.

Positively represent and market PMO services across the organization.

Support continuous improvement of PMO processes, tools, and service offerings.

Minimum Requirements

• Education Bachelor's degree in Business, Project Management, Information Systems, Data Management, Marketing, or a related field.
• Certification or License PMP certification required.
• Agile, Scrum, Lean, Six Sigma, or Process Improvement certification preferred.
• Experience Eight (8) years of experience managing complex projects, programs, or portfolios.
• Experience leading cross-functional, multi-workstream initiatives from initiation through implementation and closure.
• Demonstrated experience using traditional, Agile, Scrum, or hybrid project delivery methodologies.
• Experience supporting data management, reporting, data governance, or data quality improvement initiatives.
• Experience leading business process improvement, workflow optimization, or operational excellence efforts.
• Experience managing project governance, executive steering committees, business case development, scope management, change control, and benefits realization.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders, business stakeholders, technical teams, vendors, and Change Management professionals.
• Experience working with Marketing teams or supporting Marketing initiatives is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proven ability to partner and collaborate across multiple business and technical areas to achieve common objectives.
• Strong working knowledge of project, program, and portfolio management principles.
• Working knowledge of Agile and Scrum principles, roles, ceremonies, artifacts, and delivery practices.
• Ability to facilitate Agile ceremonies and support backlog, user story, sprint, release, and roadmap management.
• Ability to select and apply Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, or hybrid delivery approaches based on project needs.
• Knowledge of data management, data governance, data quality, reporting, and data integrity principles.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends or inconsistencies, and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Experience developing dashboards, reports, metrics, and executive-level presentations.
• Knowledge of process assessment, process mapping, root cause analysis, workflow design, and continuous improvement techniques.
• Ability to document current-state and future-state processes and develop sustainable implementation plans.
• Demonstrated ability to develop business cases, perform cost-benefit analyses, and measure realization of projected business outcomes.
• Ability to train and mentor others on effective project management and delivery techniques.
• Awareness of emerging project management, Agile, data management, and process improvement trends.
• Thorough working knowledge of vendor management processes, with proven ability to lead projects through vendor evaluation, selection, contracting, and implementation.
• Sound judgment and decisiveness in resolving business problems, making decisions, and identifying priorities.
• Strong financial management and analytical skills.
• Effective time management and ability to manage multiple complex priorities simultaneously.
• Exceptional written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Excellent critical thinking, problem-solving, negotiation, and conflict management skills.
• Strong diplomacy and influence skills, with the ability to gain alignment without direct authority.
• Excellent team leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and lead organizational change with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Proficiency with project planning and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Azure DevOps, Microsoft 365, and SharePoint.
• Knowledge of enterprise-level project and portfolio management tools, including portfolio management, dashboard and report creation, resource optimization, integrations, and data management.
• Knowledge of Sales, Marketing, and Operations processes, business technology platforms, customer engagement strategies, performance metrics, and process improvement practices is a plus.
• Knowledge of Organizational Change Management principles and practices is a plus.
• Ability to travel to delivery centers or field locations as required.

Work Conditions

Work indoors during all seasons and weather conditions.

Some local and/or multiple-location travel may be required.

Professional dress is required.

Physical Requirements

Sitting continuously for extended periods of time.

Climbing stairs to access buildings as needed.

Physical effort requiring manual dexterity, including use of computers, phones, and other office equipment.

Working beyond standard business hours as business needs require.

Postal Code: 77019 Category (Portal Searching): Administration and Clerical Job Location: US-TX - Houston

Who we are. What we do. We are a company committed to supporting families at difficult times. Nowhere will you find a group of caregivers and teams more passionate about the work they do or more invested in the well‑being of the families they serve. The Dignity Memorial name is a symbol of trust and a mark of excellence. As the largest provider of funeral, cemetery and cremation services in North America, we're dedicated to celebrating the life and legacy of every loved one with professionalism, compassion and attention to detail that is second to none.

"SCI” refers to Service Corporation International and its affiliates.

Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D/V SCI Shared Resources, LLC is committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process. On request, we will seek to provide appropriate accessibility options to all applicants with disabilities.