Director, Strategic Initiatives

In this role, you will be responsible for helping create and executing the strategic vision of Amherst Residential, including new business development, creating and ownership of the management framework to bring projects from the ideation phase through execution. You will also be responsible for leading projects to success by engaging internal and external resources, preparing analysis, gathering data, and delivering work products and results.

Responsibilities/Duties:

• Provides leadership and project management for assigned projects – from initial thought/strategy to actualization

• Has responsibility for leading and managing through all phases of assigned project life cycle to include all relevant work streams such as: project concept vetting, business case development, goal setting, requirements gathering and scope development, project plan and schedule development, execution and closure activities.

• Ensures appropriate project documentation is developed and maintained throughout the life of the project and after project closure. Documentation may include: project charter, project requirements, design documentation, financials, project plan and schedule, communications plan, meeting minutes, risk management plan, issue management, change management and other project specific operational documents.

• Schedules and leads meetings for all phases of assigned project life cycles.

• Prepares presentation materials as needed for project committee, key stakeholder and internal department meetings.

• Escalates any project-related concerns, issues, and risks to senior leadership and executives. Develops plan recommendations for issue resolution and risks’ mitigation.

• Coordinates and balances multiple projects effectively in a time-sensitive environment, under pressure, and meeting hyper-sensitive deadlines.

• Complete ad-hoc projects as assigned by senior executives.

Qualifications/Experience:

• 10+ years of Project Management experience, most recently in a fast-paced environment in construction, real estate or other high-growth firms.

• Provides leadership and project management for assigned projects – from initial thought/strategy to actualization for senior leaders within each dept

• PMP certification required

• Proven experience in managing and executing complex projects across an enterprise matrix organization using Waterfall and Agile project management methodologies.

• Ability to produce high-quality project documents and messaging, facilitate project internal and external communications, ensure all project stakeholders are kept informed based on project communication plan, accurately communicate project status, risks and issues to company and customer leadership

• Working knowledge and proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JIRA and Confluence, and Microsoft Project (or equivalent Project Management software), Salesforce

• Strong communications skills; ability to effectively interact with a diverse group of technical and functional teams as well as senior and executive leadership

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment