Project Manager, Sr

1. REQUIRED AGENCY:
Department of Children and Families
DCF Strategic Planning Division
505 Hudson Street
Hartford, CT 06106

2. PROJECT/SYSTEM/PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) is seeking qualified candidates to fill the role of DCF Project Director to oversee the Project Management Office (PMO) and serve in a leadership role on the CT-KIND (Kid's Information Network Database) Project. The DCF PMO has been established for the purpose of ensuring the successful implementation and delivery of the CT-KIND project. The PMO will also work under the guidance of the Project Director to ensure the State of Connecticut's Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) platform is in full alignment with the CT Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (BITS) enterprise-wide strategy, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), and the Department's vision for Prevention and Child and Family Well-Being.

The CT-KIND Project is a collaborative effort between BITS and the Business Staff who work together in teams for the design, development, deployment and training. DCF is replacing their legacy system, LINK, with a federally compliant system using a hybrid methodology. CT-KIND is being built modularly and but is intended to be initially deployed in a "Big Bang " single release.

There are several modules outlined for CT-KIND including, Careline, Intake, Ongoing Services, Person Management, Staff Management, Case Planning, Fiscal, Eligibility, Provider Management, Common Functions and Administrative Functions. The project team is in the process of completing negotiations with a large systems integrator who will transfer a Salesforce based systems to CT DCF and provide the resources to perform the vast majority of the needed configuration and customization base on the output of an initial sprint 0 which will be used to identify the gaps that will need to be addressed in the transfer system.

A PMO vendor was selected and onboarded to help establish the right framework for the State's CCWIS approach and successful implementation, and a BITS Customer Success Manager (CSM) will work in partnership with the project director to ensure DCF's technology needs are met. The CSM will also serve as a liaison between BITS, PMO, Project Leadership and DCF Leadership to ensure alignment and effective delivery of the project.

The new Project Director will be specific to the CT-KIND Project and will be responsible for the successful delivery of the project. The PMO vendor will report to the Project Director, and both will work collaboratively with the Program Director representing the Business. The Project Director and CSM will work collaboratively to ensure alignment with BITS. The Project Director will report up to the Bureau Chief of Strategic Planning and the CSM has a dotted line to the Bureau Chief of Strategic Planning as well.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The purpose of the Project Director is to provide clear guidance, leadership and support on the technical solution to the CT-KIND Project Staff and Stakeholders and to serve as a central hub between DCF Leadership, DAS/BITS, and vendors. The CT-KIND Project would benefit from a Project Director with technical expertise on large, enterprise projects using hybrid agile development.

The CT-KIND Project Director will be responsible for the oversight of the technical solution inclusive of technical/project documentation and State and Federal compliance and will work collaboratively with the Business/Program staff and the Customer Success Manager. The Project Director will lead the established CT-KIND Project Management Office (PMO) and direct their activities. The duties and expectations of the Project Director are as follows:

Provide oversight, guidance and direction to CT-KIND Project Staff and the PMO vendor for the appropriate planning and timely and efficient development/procurement of the CT-KIND System
Project decision-making as needed and escalate issues to the project executive or designees
Responsibility for ensuring proper development and maintenance of integrated project schedules, and risk & issue logs
Ensure proper internal project communications and reporting
Work collaboratively with the Customer Success Manager to ensure appropriate and timely feedback and reports on the status of the project are provided to BITS
Ensure all vendors are abiding by a defined integrated schedule and notify the State immediately of deviations that comprise the CCWIS implementation
Provide a complete and thorough review of project deliverables and ensure review and approval milestones are met
Closely monitor and manage contract terms and language to ensure vendors, including the PMO vendor and Systems Integrator, deliver accordingly
Facilitate and own appropriate stakeholder engagement and communication
Support the collection, management, and dissemination of high-quality status reports
Ensure the PMO vendor employs structured change management methodology to create conditions for smooth transition changes and promote maximum enthusiasm to adapt to the changes
Ensure the PMO vendor establishes a communication plan or roadmap to ensure all stakeholders are fully aware of the impending changes
Work closely with technical staff on the project, and provide leadership in ensuring the appropriate documentation of requirements and the necessary IT resource planning and allocation
Oversight of system development or procurement of selected platforms and modules, and provision of recommendations for improvements
Assistance with organization, prioritization and supervision of team activities, project standards, and technical decisions
Oversight of vendors, project scopes, deliverables, timelines, and schedule
Oversight and assistance in developing a more comprehensive and attainable roadmap for the duration of the project
Continual assessment and remediation of identified risks, gaps, dependencies, and impediments
Coordination and alignment of project needs with Business strategies/processes
Oversight of State and Federal technical regulations and compliance functions related to the project
Assistance in facilitating project status meetings, participation in the project's governance processes and collaboration on stakeholder/customer communication
Assistance in identifying and prioritizing data exchanges/interfaces
Collaboration with the Business/Program staff for the development of training and to assess customer satisfaction/feedback
Assistance in setting project goals for high-level performance and quality to deliver exceptional business value to the end users across multiple DCF divisions
Implementation of processes to ensure exceptional and timely responses to all customer service issues, and will assist in team development, team building and leveraging the right resources

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The following outlines the preferred qualifications for this position:

Solid understanding of best practices related to modular system integration, system development life cycle requirements/models, and experience with software development and scrum/agile methodologies with enterprise-level application development projects
Significant project delivery and management experience, preferably as a private sector Client Partner
10 years related experience in project management, planning, and tracking of projects, including overseeing IT projects and schedules/roadmaps from conception to completion. Having this experience in a Child Welfare organization is a plus
Knowledge and experience in Child Welfare and Child Welfare systems (SACWIS, CCWIS), preferred
Experience with interoperability and data exchanges/interfaces
Proficient knowledge of industry best practices and standards (e.g., National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), Social Security Administration (SSA), etc.), preferred
Experience working with business stakeholders in related industries
Experience with and understanding of full project or product lifecycle
Proficiency with project management tools and related technology
Ability to lead, drive results, solve problems, and possess interpersonal skills from prior work situations
Experience leading teams responsible for requirements gathering, business analysis, program development, testing and version control
Proven communication skills, well-organized, and influential leadership skills, with demonstrated experience working in a team-oriented environment and proficiency with collaboration, including having excellent interpersonal and documentation skills
Proven team-building skills with technical and non-technical staff, as well as coaching and mentoring
Business acumen and political savvy
Change Management experience and expertise
Significant project delivery and management experience, preferably as a private sector Client Partner
Project budgeting, resource planning, allocation and capacity planning skills and experience
Experience with technology requirements for human service systems (e.g., business processing modeling, architecture, SDLC, interoperability, system integration, data management, security, etc.)
Experience with iterative and incremental development and the ability to adjust to changing requirements, policy changes and legislative mandates
Experience managing project timelines, deliverables, project scopes, risks, and leading project status meetings
Experience in best practice related to government procurement of technology vendors
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Management, Computer Science, or other related disciplines from an accredited institution, MBA preferred; however, a combination of education with significant project management and delivery experience will be highly considered
Knowledge of Salesforce preferred
Proficiencies in MS Project, SharePoint, Azure DevOps, and other project tools/software