Project Manager

Overview

Join a leading organization in the financial services sector, renowned for its commitment to innovation and delivering exceptional value to its customers. This is an incredible opportunity to drive significant impact by leading complex, enterprise-wide real estate and construction initiatives that are pivotal to our strategic growth and operational excellence. As a key leader within our Enterprise Portfolio Management Office, you will be at the forefront of shaping our physical footprint and ensuring the successful deployment of critical solutions, directly influencing our business trajectory and customer experience.

This is a hybrid role, working onsite in Richmond, VA 3 days per week.

**About the Role**

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Project Manager to spearhead large-scale, cross-functional real estate and construction projects. You will be instrumental in guiding diverse project teams, including agile squads, and collaborating directly with Senior Executive sponsors to deliver impactful business solutions within critical scope, schedule, and budget constraints. This role is for a passionate leader who thrives in a hands-on environment, leveraging robust project management methodologies to drive success and foster a culture of excellence.

**Key Responsibilities**

* **Project Leadership & Accountability:** Take full ownership and accountability for project outcomes, meticulously crafting project plans to meet executive and customer needs within defined triple constraints.
* **Define Project Structure:** Clearly define project objectives, structure, roles, and responsibilities, ensuring all team members understand expectations and foster seamless collaboration.
* **Strategic Partnership:** Act as a strategic thought partner to executive sponsors and key stakeholders, deeply understanding business strategies to identify solution options, drive problem-solving, and influence critical decision-making across all levels.
* **Proactive Project Tracking:** Prepare and maintain clear, concise status and stakeholder reports, proactively identifying and mitigating potential problems before they arise by diligently tracking team progress against commitments.
* **Consensus Building & Contingency Planning:** Expertly build consensus across diverse teams and organizations, developing robust contingency plans and recommending effective solutions for complex challenges.
* **Champion Best Practices:** Define, teach, and enforce best-in-class project management methodologies, adapting approaches to fit each project’s unique context and continuously improving team skills through lessons learned.
* **Drive Results:** Possess the knowledge and urgency to recognize and articulate problems, assemble the right resources for resolution, and ensure timely and proper addressal of issues.
* **Customer-Centric Focus:** Champion customer involvement, ensuring project success by building the right solutions and maintaining transparent communication with sponsors and internal customers.
* **Continuous Improvement:** Apply lessons learned from previous projects to inform and enhance new initiatives, fostering a culture of continuous growth.
* **Effective Escalation Management:** Proactively communicate project milestones, status updates, and potential customer escalation issues, establishing a project culture where escalations are viewed as a positive step towards resolution.
* **Foster Collaboration:** Serve as a role model for promoting strong working relationships across projects, mentoring less experienced project managers, and cultivating trust and communication among all stakeholders.
* **Rigorous Change Control:** Meticulously manage scope creep, communications, and quality, ensuring effective change control throughout the project lifecycle.
* **Empower Decision-Making:** Drive decision-making to the lowest possible level of accountability, empowering project members to rise to expectations through proper training and coaching.
* **Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing:** Act as a teacher and mentor, sharing knowledge and skills across the organization and educating others on best practices in portfolio, program, and project management.
* **Detailed Documentation:** Maintain comprehensive project records and ensure timely information sharing with teams and management.
* **Priority Management:** Maintain focus on top project priorities, adapting quickly to unexpected changes and shifting directions as required.
* **Staff Leadership & Development:** Provide leadership to assigned staff, setting clear performance objectives, monitoring results, and fostering an environment for professional growth, feedback, and performance recognition.

**Qualifications**

**Must-Have Qualifications:**

* Bachelor’s degree.
* 10+ years of direct, hands-on project leadership and project management experience, specifically with real estate and construction-related projects, preferably within a financial services or corporate environment.
* Minimum 5 years of experience managing various sizes of construction projects.
* Expert knowledge of project management best practices and methodologies.
* Proficiency in various project delivery methodologies (waterfall, agile, kanban, hybrid).
* Self-motivated, assertive, and extremely detail-oriented with exceptional time management skills.
* Excellent written communication and verbal presentation skills.
* Ability to remain calm, collected, and collaborative under pressure, navigating change and complexity in dynamic environments while balancing big-picture vision with crucial details.
* Proven ability to develop detailed project plans and schedules to manage individual deadlines and goals.
* Deep knowledge of project and quality metrics, including gathering, reporting, and trend analysis.
* Strong analytical skills to identify issues, generate options, and choose appropriate alternatives using root cause analysis.
* Experience managing project scope, assessing requirement changes, and determining impact on budget, time, and risk.
* Adept at managing client expectations, anticipating operational and tactical risks, and tracking them; capable of clarifying requirements, removing barriers, resolving minor project issues, and escalating as needed.
* Proficient in standard office applications, project management software, and diagramming tools.
* Commitment to staying abreast of current industry trends and new technology through professional development.

**Nice-to-Have Qualifications:**

* Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent experience.
* SCRUM Master certification and experience.
* Experience with industry-standard construction project management software.

**About Aquent Talent:**

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world’s biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. More information on our awesome benefits! Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment—one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.

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