Project Manager (Iowa City)

Project Manager (Iowa City)

Job ID: 2013-16108
# of Positions: 1
Posted Date: 7/26/2013
Job Location: US-IA-Iowa City
Position Type: Regular Full Time
Category: Project Management

Overview

Knowledge Technologies, a division of Pearson, (www.pearsonkt.com - PKT), provides products and services based on proprietary and patented machine-learning technology for language understanding and evaluation. We are a leader in automated spoken and written assessments, which utilize natural language processing techniques, advanced statistical modeling, and speech recognition technologies.

We have an outstanding opportunity for a Project Manager who will coordinate project delivery and product upgrades, while managing the product change process. He/she will facilitate communication between several departments, including Marketing, Product Development, Software Engineering, and IT. One must be able to gain a deep understanding of our business and capabilities, be aware of competing obligations and demands for resources, and present information to the management team to assist with prioritizing and resource allocation.

Responsibilities
- Manage simultaneous projects; involved with change requests to existing products and functionalities
- Interface/lead cross-functional teams to address escalated issues and critical project-related events
- Manage schedule development to ensure timely completion and final delivery of contracted solution
- Prepare and present internal/external reports on program status, risks, and all program related issues
- Manage contract requirements and changes, including obtaining costs and developing pricing estimates using accepted Pearson practices
- Implement process improvement initiatives in order to promote quality and cost reduction
- Analyze project requirements and propose solutions, taking into account cost, resources, expertise, existing systems architecture, capacity and utilization
- Author and prepare documentation such as: requirements, specifications, and user case scenarios
- Hold regular status meetings and facilitate team meetings
- Keep track of lessons learned, share lessons with team members, and suggest areas for improvement in internal processes along with possible solutions
- Some travel required

Qualifications

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities to be Successful in this Role:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Education, or related field
- 4+ years increasingly responsible experience as a project manager working on complex projects directly responsible for all project management functions including but not limited to initiating, planning, funding, executive, monitoring, controlling and closing projects involving multiple stakeholders
- 2+ years' experience in budget management and analysis required
- 3+ years resource capacity planning experience required
- Effective verbal/written communication skills, strong listening, negotiation and facilitation skills
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple, conflicting priorities
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to lead across organizational boundaries and to inspire others to find creative solutions to challenging situations or problems

Pearson is an international media company with world-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing. Pearson fuels the growing demand for effective education and high-quality information in the global knowledge economy, and share a common goal: to help people get on in their lives through education.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, and a member of E-Verify. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women, veterans, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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