Project Manager - West Des Moines Office

Strategic Project Leadership

• Collaborate with senior leadership to plan, manage, and oversee multiple projects in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, ensuring alignment with business objectives and defined project timelines.
• Develop and implement a lightweight, adaptable project management framework that drives efficiency while maintaining strategic focus.
• Establish best practices and standards for efficient and scalable project execution.
• Assist department leads in defining key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with strategic company objectives and track project success.
• Balance competing priorities while maintaining a clear focus on delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Provide regular updates to executives on key milestones, risks, and outcomes through reports, dashboards, and presentations.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Apply agile methodologies, tailoring them to fit the company's unique operational needs and culture.
• Continuously refine processes and Advocate for and implement simple, user-friendly technology tools and templates for tracking project progress and performance.
• Establish best practices for project execution, ensuring clarity in scope, timelines, and deliverables.
• Use data-driven insights to identify opportunities for improvement, solve problems, and drive continuous enhancements across project lifecycles.
• Identify project risks early and develop mitigation strategies to minimize potential impacts on business operations.
• Serve as a point of escalation for resolving significant project issues and roadblocks.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Capacity Building

• Coordinate cross-functional teams, ensuring clarity in roles, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Foster a collaborative, team-oriented leadership style to encourage alignment and shared accountability across departments.
• Engage with stakeholders to ensure alignment, secure necessary resources, and mitigate project risks.
• Provide mentorship and training to enhance project management capabilities across the organization.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, guiding teams in the adoption of agile and lightweight project methodologies.
• Empower team members to take ownership of projects while maintaining alignment with broader organizational goals.

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or a related field; PMP certification preferred. The ideal candidate will have minimum of 7 years of project management experience, with a minimum of 3 years in a leadership role. Proven experience implementing and managing agile project methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban. Experience in the insurance or financial services industry, particularly in surety insurance, is highly desirable. Additionally, proficiency in project management software (e.g., Jira, Trello, Asana, Smartsheet), along with the Microsoft Office Suite, is strongly preferred. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in agile project management methodologies, with expertise in applying agile principles to enhance adaptability, team collaboration, and project outcomes.

Competencies: Strong project management skills with the ability to effectively plan, ma