Senior Project Manager, CAF Project Management

9002 - Carmax Auto Finance - 225 Chastain Meadows Ct NW, Kennesaw, Georgia, 30144

CarMax, the way your career should be! 

About this job

The Senior Project Manager, CAF Project Management is responsible for the development and management of cross-functional projects led by the CarMax Auto Finance (CAF) Strategic Planning and Delivery (SP&D) team. This role is responsible for converting high-level business objectives into actionable plans that meet project goals within expected timelines. This will include project budgeting, resourcing, documenting project plans, risk escalation/mitigation, scope management, and communicating project updates to stakeholders and the senior management team. CAF Senior Project Managers are empowered self-starters who are comfortable in taking the lead in managing multiple initiatives with an ability to effectively collaborate across teams.

What you will do

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to both develop and deliver on project requirements, budget, OKRs, deadlines, training, documentation, and measuring return on investment (ROI). 
• Manage the work of cross-functional project teams, including outside entities, assigning and prioritizing tasks, identification/mitigation of risks, and addressing conflicts as needed.
• Perform delivery management activities as required, facilitating Agile team ceremonies/rituals, guiding resources to achieve sprint goals and objectives.
• Negotiate scope and set agreed upon expectations with CAF business partners. Work with senior management to ensure strategic delivery plans have adequate resources and a supporting timeline. Manage the risk of scope creep and monitor progress against delivery milestones to avoid a minimum viable product scenario.
• Work with all stakeholders/functional leads to identify all necessary project resources throughout the entire project lifecycle, partner with senior management team to resolve resource availability conflicts across the SP&D portfolio.
• Complete quality check points throughout the project lifecycle, present on the project’s performance against milestones, risk mitigation, and report on project health metrics.
• Develop effective contingency plans to overcome obstacles and gather lessons learned.
• Identify and manage cross-project dependencies within both the SP&D portfolio and enterprise-led strategic initiatives, escalate risk/impact of timeline shifts and/or scope creep to future planned work and support mitigation efforts to resolve.
• Facilitate decision making between senior business leaders and leads necessary meetings to address issues and concerns.
• Clearly communicate project details (project plan, delivery approach, test plan, etc.), status, and outcomes to stakeholders and senior management.
• Confirm all project artifacts are complete, current, and stored appropriately.
• Partner with multiple teams across the CAF organization to ensure end-to-end delivery of all projects:
  • Strategic Business Analytics to track business requirements and ROI through initial business case, execution, delivery, and post-deployment.
  • CAF Legal and Audit Services to ensure compliance, gather requirements, and set expectations on delivery timing and communication.
  • Technology, business, and CAF Learning to ensure appropriate change management processes are in place to create a successful transition.
• Develop the knowledge necessary to represent CAF as a subject matter expert during various technical and non-technical initiatives.
• Support senior management in defining capacity for CAF Project Management and CAF Technology teams, reconcile initial planned effort against actuals and provide insights/recommendations that could improve efficiencies in planning future work.
• Stay current on best practices in Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies and support the adoption of new technologies/methodologies that drive operational efficiency and support business objectives.
• Provide training, mentorship, and consultative support to junior project managers.
• Advocate for the SP&D programs, articulate the vision and value to both the customer and the CAF business model.
• Create and deliver presentations, flexing the approach to ensure the content resonates with various levels of associates, management, and executives.

Purpose of the role

Senior Project Managers have a passion for knowledge, project management best practices, and establishing the best-in-class delivery organization to support CAF. Using a strong understanding the CarMax business, Senior Project Managers will work with business and leaders across all functional areas, leading project teams, and provi