Project Manager

JK Partners; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

JK Partners is seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead a portfolio of high-budget projects. The role requires hands-on PMO expertise, strong financial oversight, and excellent communication with senior leaders.

You will collaborate across teams, automate workflows with AI tools, and present decisions with clear analysis. Adaptability in a fast-growth environment is essential for success.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of hands-on project management with multiple budgets.
• Familiarity with PMO frameworks, governance, and approval workflows.
• Strong financial oversight: budget tracking and forecasting.
• Proficiency with Jira and AI tools for communications.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for exec materials.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
• Comfort presenting to Managing Director or senior leaders.
• Adaptable in fast-moving, startup-like environments.
• Interpersonal agility and discretion with sensitive data.
• Curiosity and structured problem-solving approach.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of projects with significant budgets, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Review project documentation with PMO rigor and ensure compliance.
• Oversee budget tracking, forecasting, and time allocation across teams.
• Create program communications and automate recurring workflows using AI tools.
• Synthesize data into clear, executive-ready materials for leadership.
• Collaborate across teams and surface decisions to senior leaders with analysis.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Independent work

Executive communication

Education

PMP certification

Tools

Jira

Claude

Copilot

Cowork

Job description

NO THIRD PARTIES AND MUST BE OPEN FOR A LONG TERM CONTRACT

NO SPONSORSHIP

Key Responsibilities

• 5–8 years of hands-on project management experience, including demonstrated management of a simultaneous book of multiple projects each with significant budgets, consistently delivered on time and within budget.
• Deep practical familiarity with PMO frameworks, project governance standards, approval workflows, and compliance requirements — sufficient to review and validate project documentation with the rigor of an embedded PMO professional.
• Strong working knowledge of financial oversight in a project context: budget tracking, forecast alignment, cost variance analysis, and time allocation across a multi-person, multi-project department.
• Proficiency with Jira and modern AI tools for building program communications, automating recurring workflows, and accelerating content production (e.g., Claude, Cowork, Copilot, or equivalent).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex program and financial data into clear, executive-ready materials.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and proactively surface decision points to senior leaders — always arriving with analysis and recommended options rather than open questions.
• Adept at navigating a flat organization: equally comfortable presenting to a Managing Director or working at a granular operational level with individual contributors.
• High adaptability and composure in a fast-moving, high-growth, startup-like environment where change is constant and surprises are frequent.
• Strong interpersonal agility — able to quickly read and adapt communication style to a wide range of personalities and seniority levels.
• Inherent discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive people data, financial information, and department-confidential matters.
• A naturally inquisitive approach: asks the right questions, in the right way, to get the information needed without creating friction.
• Collaborative, positive, ego-free orientation — able to operate within a high-performance team with patience, perspective, and calm under pressure.
• Comfortable working independently while knowing instinctively when to escape a decision to the Chief of Staff / COO and consistently arriving with the heavy lifting already done.

Nice-to-haves

• PMP, CSM, SAFe, or equivalent project / program management certification.
• Experience working within a financial services, asset management, or investment management organization.
• Familiarity with data engineering team structures, project types, and delivery patterns.
• Experience building lightweight tooling or workflow automation using Python, no-code / low-code platforms, or AI coding assistants.
• Prior experience in a Chief of Staff, PMO, or COO-adjacent support function.
• Experience managing or contributing to executive-level communications, board materials, or senior leadership reporting.

Success looks like

• PMO documentation for every project is complete and comment-ready before it reaches the PMO — the approval workflow moves without delay.
• Monthly program communications are assembled ahead of schedule, factually accurate, and require only light editing from the Chief of Staff / COO before going to the Managing Director.
• Department timesheets are 100% complete on time every month, with time allocations clearly communicated and aligned to the financial forecast.
• Staff roster and org tree reporting is always current, accessible, and trusted by leadership.
• Recurring workflows are progressively automated — the team delivers the same quality outcomes with less manual effort over time.
• Ad-hoc requests are handled independently and thoroughly, without requiring senior leaders to re-explain context or provide follow-up.