Principal Advisory Consultant

Description

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It's why we're coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we're headed. We're proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW.

The CDW Program Manager (PgM) is a trusted consultant that provides program or portfolio management across multiple technology stacks and services for Enterprise clients. The PgM provides strategic, consultative guidance and manages complex programs, including oversight of Project Managers assigned to workstreams. The PgM owns all aspects of products or service delivery for a client, from initiation to closure. This role is integrally involved with pre-sales, engineering, and client stakeholders. Programs are typically of significant complexity and incorporate mainstream, legacy, and emerging technologies. The PgM leads large, cross functional teams, to ensure a consistent and seamless customer experience. The PgM works well within ambiguous circumstances - bringing process and order, transforming uncertainty into actionable plans and deliverables. The successful consultative PgM balances scope, risks, dependencies, and budget of multiple projects to drive program or portfolio success and reach the desired business outcomes of the client.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Manage Project Managers to ensure accurate tracking of program budgets and resources while managing actuals vs. planned hours against the resource allocation and budget. Timely reporting of project financials and budgets to stakeholders. Ties project outcomes to clients' business strategies, helping to generate additional new business. Understands the economics of financial decisions across the program and its impact to the client and CDW.

• Validates initial program/project scope and estimates. Understands and articulates the impact of project changes on the program. Influences and makes program recommendations at executive stakeholder level. Sets strategy for minimizing impact and risk to the client due to project changes.

• Maintains continuous alignment of program scope with the client's strategic business objectives. Makes recommendations to modify the program to enhance effectiveness toward the business results or strategic intent.

• Identifies and interprets risks from dependent CDW projects and client landscapes. Understands how they impact the program and mitigation strategies.

• Proactively conducts resource planning and optimizing billable schedules, monitoring and adjusting assignments as necessary. Acts as an escalation point to address resource constraints in order to minimize impact to the program.

• Establishes and owns program communication plan. Consolidates, manages and executes project communication plans into program communications plan for all stakeholders and work streams.
• Master tools and methodologies for solution delivery excellence.
• Mentor Program and Project Managers on tools, methodologies, and consultative skills to provide value to our customers.
• Strong influencing skills
• Demonstrated experience with Agile Project Management Tools - JIRA, ADO, etc.
• Previous experience navigating a matrix organization
• Relevant Certifications (e.g., CSM, PSM, CSP, SPC, PMP, SAFe, etc.)

Leadership

• Takes accountability for project results and holds all project team members accountable for their scope of work. Is fiscally responsible to the client, the program/project and to CDW.

• Instills trust with our clients by building strong relationships with stakeholders.

• Demonstrates ability to diffuse uncomfortable situations with client and/or project team.

• Leads efforts to continuously define, contribute and to improve our overall project management knowledge base across solution areas. Develops standards, best practices and training for team members.

Communication

• Assimilates information from across all projects in the program and distills the information for the appropriate stakeholders. Integrates new information on the fly, synthesizes the information and charts a new course as appropriate.

• Has clear and concise communication. Leads and facilitates both live and virtual meetings. Keeps meetings on track, on topic and summarizes, assigns and publishes follow up items in a timely manner.

• Adapts communication style and medium to the audience needs. Adjusts communications based on complex political landscape.

• Defines strategy and content for formal presentations and coaches project managers on delivery. Creates talking points and strategic messaging.

• Uses political savviness, business acumen, and relevant personnel along with CDW experience to establish credibility.

Education and/or Experience Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business or computer related field or equivalent experience.

• 9 or more years of experience in delivering Program or Project Management.

• Seven or more years of experience leading programs or projects across multiple technology stacks and services (Cloud, Security, Infrastructure, etc).
• Three or more years of experience in leading projects with significant complexity within a professional services organization

Required Qualifications

• Project management or agile consulting experience as it pertains to advising clients of delivery best practices across multiple technology stacks (e.g., Cloud, Security, Infrastructure).
• Ability to support presales activities and look for new sales opportunities to help the client achieve organizational goals while growing CDW's portfolio of work.
• Participate productively in virtual teams in order to improve Project Management processes.

• Demonstrated ability to take accountability for programs and their results, be fiscally responsible and lead teams to meet program success factors.

• Working knowledge of one or more formal project management methodologies, proficiency with tools such as Microsoft Project/Office.

• Excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work weekends and/or off hours as necessary to meet clients' needs.

• Ability and willingness to travel up to 50% or as needed to other CDW locations, meetings and client sites.
• Applies discretion when dealing with sensitive/confidential information.

• Ability to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information. Ability to organize cross functional plans and strategies into understandable concepts.

Preferred Qualifications

• PgMP, PMP and/or Agile certification(s)

• Understands ITIL Framework

We make technology work so people can do great things.

CDW is a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index, CDW helps its customers to navigate an increasingly complex IT market and maximize return on their technology investments. Together, we unite. Together, we win. Together, we thrive.

CDW is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by state and local law.