IT PROJECT MANAGER

Job Description: Location: Issaquah- Hybrid, Tuesdays and Thursday on site. We are looking for an experienced IT Project Manager to support a government agency through a series of critical system upgrades that are already underway. This person will step into active projects, quickly get up to speed on scope, schedule, budget and risk, and drive them to a successful finish. The ideal candidate is calm under pressure, comfortable inheriting work midstream, and skilled at upgrading live production systems without disrupting the public services that depend on them. Key Responsibilities: Inflight Project Recovery and Delivery Take ownership of upgrade projects already in progress, assessing current status, open issues, schedule health and budget position within the first few weeks. Review existing project documentation, contracts and plans, identify gaps, and rebaseline scope, schedule and cost where needed. Build a clear recovery plan for projects that are behind schedule or over budget, and present it to leadership for approval. Keep work moving during the transition by maintaining continuity with vendors, technical teams and business owners. Upgrade Planning and Execution Plan and coordinate upgrades to live production systems, including enterprise applications, infrastructure, databases and network components. Develop detailed cutover, rollback and contingency plans that keep service interruptions to a minimum. Schedule maintenance windows and coordinate testing, including system, integration, regression and user acceptance testing. Work through the agency's change management process and Change Advisory Board to get upgrades approved and documented. Oversee go live activities and post implementation support, making sure issues are resolved and lessons learned are captured. Stakeholder and Vendor Management Serve as the main point of contact between agency leadership, technical teams, business units and outside vendors. Manage vendor deliverables, milestones and invoices against contract terms and statements of work. Coordinate communication and training for staff and end users affected by system changes. Required Qualifications: Five or more years of IT project management experience, with a focus on system upgrades, migrations or modernization. Proven experience taking over and recovering inflight projects. Experience upgrading live production systems with minimal downtime, including cutover and rollback planning. Strong knowledge of project management methods, including Waterfall, Agile and hybrid approaches. Experience managing vendors and outside contractors against contract terms. Proficiency with MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira or similar project management tools. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical topics to non technical audiences. Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience working with state, county, city or federal government agencies. Familiarity with public sector procurement, budgeting and oversight processes. Experience with ERP, permitting, financial, public safety or other enterprise system upgrades. Working knowledge of ITIL change and release management practices. Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience. Certifications: PMP (Project Management Professional) strongly preferred. PgMP, CSM, PMI ACP, PRINCE2 or ITIL Foundation are a plus. Pay Range: $65.00 - $75.00 per hour, depending upon experience. Health & Medical Benefits, 401K, Employee Assistance Program, and Sick Time applicable by state.