You are a natural leader who is insight-driven, data-inspired and is passionate about user experience. You act as the key point of contact for clients and the internal project team and have no problem making decisions using the information on hand. You are an empathetic listener and creative thinker who is passionate about mobile solutions.

You have the experience of working in a complex, cross-functional environment and have extensive working knowledge on project management methodology and best practices. You understand the need to complete projects on time and on budget. You take pride in seeing a project through to delivery and exceeding both client and team expectations - even if that means you wind up putting in a few extra hours in the evening or on the weekend.

You have successfully managed a complex user interface project where one of the key objectives was creating an optimized user experience. You have the tools for managing scope creep and the skills to handle client expectations. You have a knack for being able to solve or eliminate challenges in ways your customers never would have thought of. Your negotiation skills are second to none.

In addition to being a top-notch project manager, you are an excellent communicator  and have an uncanny ability to build relationships with anyone you come into contact with. You are comfortable sharing insights and expectations with stakeholders, clients, team members and various levels of management.  Your priority is providing the best customer service possible to your clients while setting up your team for success.

What you'll do:

Client Management

• Build and maintain meaningful relationships with clients.
• Proactively identify client needs and offer up solutions.
• Continually assess, clarify and validate client needs and effectively communicate with our internal team.
• Manage client expectations and ensure they are met (or better yet exceeded) and managed effectively.

Project Envisioning

• Work with our Sales Team to fully define project work, including resource requirements, timeline and cost estimates, constraints, and items in and out of scope (SOW).
• Lead Design Doc creation and management.

Project Planning

• Work with discipline leads and project teams to develop and execute on project plans.
• Develop release plan(s) and sprint plans in project management tool.
• Schedule team, tasks, deadlines and key milestones.

Project Execution

• Manage schedules, budgets and overall project organization to ensure requirements and project deliverable dates are clearly communicated, understood and executed upon.
• Monitor project risks and scope to foresee and identify potential problems, and proactively identify solutions to correct course as needed.  
• Proactively work on meeting schedules and managing issues with team and client.
• Actively test and regularly communicate with Quality Assurance Lead during development.
• Act as the last point of quality assurance before the product goes to the client.

Project Reporting

• Manage client expectations through clear communication and documentation of project status.
• Report progress weekly to clients (or in accordance with client requests), using a client status report to identify key risks and issues.
• Balance work schedules and update talent allocation in our project management tool while monitoring for potential issues.
• Effectively manage scope creep with scope management tools appropriate for the project
• Manage change requests and build consensus on the necessity to change the original project plan and reallocate resources

Project Completion and Review

• Deliver project within budget and established timelines.
• Ensure clients are happy with the process and the product.
• Follow up with team and clients to review project status and maintain positive client relations, carrying learnings forward for future work.

Business Analysis

• Support and lead business and technical analysis sessions for new development efforts to meet current and projected business needs.
• Develop and recommend process design and improvements.
• Identify risks, dependencies and constraints while developing specific plans to mitigate or address these concerns.
• Support in the preparation of impact and opportunity assessments regarding the cost/benefit of proposed projects.
• Help develop and make recommendations to improve the solution determination process; assess impact of proposed changes.
• Align stakeholders’ business and system requirements to the overall client strategy.

Supervisory Responsibility

• Operate in a self-directed environment and direct/supervise the work of other project managers.
• Evaluate performance, set expectations, and determine goals for both the Project Management team and specific individuals.
• Recruit and train Project Managers while maintaining a positive work environment by promoting teamwork, open communication and all other core values of Robots and Pencils.

Travel:

• Due to the nature of this role and the need to be working closely with the client, travel will be required. The percentage of travel could be up to 75% depending on your location and the client requirements. We will do our best to be as accommodating and reasonable with travel should it be required.

Desired skills and experience:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent with minimum of four years of large-scale project management experience in an agency setting or for a service delivery company; or minimum of eight years related training and/or experience  managing the development and execution of projects in an agency setting or for a service delivery company; or equivalent combination of education and experience.  PMP certification is a plus.
• 8+ years of experience in cross-functional teams (specifically designers and developers).
• Proven ability to develop and continually maintain positive client relationships with the ability to resolve conflict in a professional manner.
• Strong knowledge of software development process and technologies, particularly native app and / or game development would be considered an asset.
• Strong understanding of mobile technologies, user experience and interaction design.
• Extensive knowledge and experience with scrum methodologies. Kanban or XP experience would be considered as well.
• In-depth knowledge of project management tools, best practices and processes.
• Excellent customer service, client-facing and internal communication skills.

Work perks:

• Working alongside smart, talented people who will push you and help you grow.
• The autonomy to make decisions to help grow our Project Management team in both breadth and depth.
• Support for professional development and access to as many books as you can read.
• A great work environment and health benefits.
• Fun activities (like book club and board game nights), biweekly Robo Brews and team parties.

About Robots and Pencils:

Robots and Pencils is an app development company known for its top-ranking consumer apps, transformative enterprise apps and world-first learning platforms. Started in 2009, Robots and Pencils has created more than 250 apps used by over 77 million people worldwide, and was named one of North America’s Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte in 2014.