Director, Project Management Office

Job Title: Director, Project Management Office

Department: Strategic Planning - Project Management Office

Location: Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; Oakland, CA; Flexible for the Best Candidate

Reports To: Chief of Strategic Planning

Supervises: Up to eight project management and process improvement staff

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of interdependence. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel injustice, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our future. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it. Sierra Club has close to 800 staff across the country and a network of 64 local chapters that are led and fueled by thousands of volunteers. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with three labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

Scope: The Director, Project Management Office reports to the Chief of Strategic Planning and works to connect teams, designing and streamlining seamless processes and oversees the project management process, including governance, team leadership, tracking and monitoring, prioritization, communication, risk management, and quality controls. The PMO Director will be responsible for the management of resources, resource allocation and activity tracking. This role seeks to understand, create, document and manage the best way to accomplish the systems and communication of the organization. The Director, Project Management Office is a skilled communicator and adept at business analysis and project implementation. This senior role leads and contributes to projects while providing oversight to the Project Management Office team.

Job activities include but are not limited to:

• Design and lead organization-wide change management and high risk initiatives, including resource allocation, project risk management and scope;
• Lead the project governance for the organization and define the project management methodologies that are used to manage those projects;
• They standardize best practices and oversee related business administration, risk management and change management;
• Oversee the execution of projects, programs and portfolio to ensure compliance and alignment with strategic objectives, policies and standards while keeping to schedules, budget and and fostering a culture of continuous improvement;
• Provide regular updates to the Chief Strategy Officer and senior team on the portfolio of key initiatives throughout the Sierra Club;
• Design the strategy for the governance of the portfolio of projects, including the allocation of resources, management of the individual project managers who are responsible for organization-wide projects, and set standards for and in close coordination with project managers working for individual departments;
• Assess and analyze current processes, methods and tools; investigate shortfalls, issues and complaints in and propose solutions to improve overall project management and processes.
• Conduct regular project reviews and audits to assess performance, identify risks and implement corrective adjustments as needed;
• Train, mentor and guide team members in process improvement techniques, project management and share best practices, creating a culture of risk awareness and proactive risk management
• Develop and maintain positive relationships to identify organizational needs and understand complex organizational structures to have sound project analysis and recommendations.
• Coordinate with teams and produce accurate and comprehensive project work documentation and ensure that current progress is recorded, monitored, managed and reported
• Stay up to date with developments in management and process optimization.
• Work outside normal hours: This position will require occasional out-of-town travel. While traveling, it may be required to be present for evening and/or weekend meetings, retreats, or other discrete events
  
  
  

The successful candidate must demonstrate the following skills, experience and competencies:

• Project Management. You are highly skilled in tactical organization, including time, task, and project management, and are able to review and adjust associated metrics to accurately track progress
• Prioritization. You have the ability to manage competing priorities and work requirements by continuously evaluating the needs of the organization’s mission and annual priorities against on-going work; and planning/scheduling your own work and that of the Strategic Planning unit.
• Problem-solving and collaboration: You have demonstrated ability to use data for creative problem solving and experience collaborating with cross-functional teams and management.
• Superb communication: You have strong interpersonal skills necessary to elicit cooperation and support from others and to interact tactfully and effectively with co-workers, supervisors, and other teammates. Experience with discretion and diplomacy; respectful of confidential information and data; high integrity.
• Team Leadership: You can coach and mentor a team and share knowledge of best practices, setting annual performance targets.
• Software Skills: You can use or quickly learn software such as Monday.com, Google Suite, AirTable, Salesforce, Zapier, GPT, and other tools that can substantially enhance productivity and collaboration.
• Flexibility and Versatility: You can readily adapt to changes with an open mind while managing changing timelines and multiple deliverables with a team.
• Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a constructive approach, can-do attitude, a sense of humor, and authentic kindness wherever you go
  
  
  

To Apply

The Sierra Club provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, lived experience and skills. The Sierra Club does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Sierra Club values applicants who are people that identify as Black, Indigenous, and other minoritized groups; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender fluid people.

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

Compensation And Benefits

The salary range for this position is $150,000 annually.

The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.

This is a category 2, exempt, non-represented, supervisory position.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club People Department in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce belonging.