Principal Advisory Consultant

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW.

The CDW Program Manager (PgM) is a trusted consultant that provides program or portfolio management across multiple technology stacks and services for Enterprise clients. The PgM provides strategic, consultative guidance and manages complex programs, including oversight of Project Managers assigned to workstreams. The PgM owns all aspects of products or service delivery for a client, from initiation to closure. This role is integrally involved with pre-sales, engineering, and client stakeholders. Programs are typically of significant complexity and incorporate mainstream, legacy, and emerging technologies. The PgM leads large, cross functional teams, to ensure a consistent and seamless customer experience. The PgM works well within ambiguous circumstances – bringing process and order, transforming uncertainty into actionable plans and deliverables. The successful consultative PgM balances scope, risks, dependencies, and budget of multiple projects to drive program or portfolio success and reach the desired business outcomes of the client.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Manage Project Managers to ensure accurate tracking of program budgets and resources while managing actuals vs. planned hours against the resource allocation and budget. Timely reporting of project financials and budgets to stakeholders. Ties project outcomes to clients’ business strategies, helping to generate additional new business.  Understands the economics of financial decisions across the program and its impact to the client and CDW.

• Validates initial program/project scope and estimates. Understands and articulates the impact of project changes on the program. Influences and makes program recommendations at executive stakeholder level. Sets strategy for minimizing impact and risk to the client due to project changes.

• Maintains continuous alignment of program scope with the client’s strategic business objectives. Makes recommendations to modify the program to enhance effectiveness toward the business results or strategic intent.

• Identifies and interprets risks from dependent CDW projects and client landscapes. Understands how they impact the program and mitigation strategies.

• Proactively conducts resource planning and optimizing billable schedules, monitoring and adjusting assignments as necessary. Acts as an escalation point to address resource constraints in order to minimize impact to the program.

• Establishes and owns program communication plan. Consolidates, manages and executes project communication plans into program communications plan for all stakeholders and work streams.
• Master tools and methodologies for solution delivery excellence.
• Mentor Program and Project Managers on tools, methodologies, and consultative skills to provide value to our customers.
• Strong influencing skills
• Demonstrated experience with Agile Project Management Tools - JIRA, ADO, etc.
• Previous experience navigating a matrix organization
• Relevant Certifications (e.g., CSM, PSM, CSP, SPC, PMP, SAFe, etc.)

Leadership

• Takes accountability for project results and holds all project team members accountable for their scope of work. Is fiscally responsible to the client, the program/project and to CDW.

• Instills trust with our clients by building strong relationships with stakeholders.

• Demonstrates ability to diffuse uncomfortable situations with client and/or project team.

• Leads efforts to continuously define, contribute and to improve our overall project management knowledge base across solution areas. Develops standards, best practices and training for team members.

Communication

• Assimilates information from across all projects in the program and distills the information for the appropriate stakeholders. Integrates new information on the fly, synthesizes the information and charts a new course as appropriate.

• Has clear and concise communication. Leads and facilitates both live and virtual meetings. Keeps meetings on track, on topic and summarizes, assigns and publishes follow up items in a timely manner.

• Adapts communication style and medium to the audience needs. Adjusts communications based on