Senior Project Manager

About IDP

IDP is the global leader in international education services, delivering global success to students, test takers and our partners, through trusted human relationships, digital technology and customer research. An Australian-listed company, we operate in more than 50 countries around the world.

Our team is comprised of over 7,000 people of various nationalities, ages and cultural backgrounds. Proudly customer-first, our expert people are powered by global technology. Together, we offer unmatched services, helping local dreams become realities, all over the world.

Learn more at www.careers.idp.com

Role purpose

The Senior Project Manager leads, manages and successfully delivers multiple initiatives across the enterprise investment portfolio. The enterprise investment portfolio is comprised of multiple portfolios, which are broadly categorised as:

• Lines of business such as Student Placement, Language Testing, and Digital Marketing (IDP Connect); or

• Business areas/functions such as Finance, Technology, People Experience

This role could work within a single portfolio or across several based on the needs of the business and provides ownership, structure, direction and is the driving force taking new initiatives from ideation through design and all the way to production, go to market and benefit realisation. The role involves close liaison with Initiative Owners, other Project Managers, Sponsors, Product Managers, Business teams as well as our Technology Leaders to understand priorities, plan delivery, and execute the required deliverables including the expected outcomes and benefits.

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for the financial management and governance of their assigned initiatives, collaborating closely with the Commercial Manager, Finance and Department Leads to manage investments aligned to IDP’s Project Expenditure Global Policy.

The Senior Project Manager is a member of the Technology Strategy & Enterprise Delivery team and is required to manage initiatives with team member and stakeholder engagement across various global time zones, including but not limited to Melbourne, Chennai, and London.

Strategy, Governance and Compliance

Work with Portfolio Management, Initiative Owners, Product Managers and the Commercial Manager to: 

Document, submit and seek endorsement of initiative level business cases and associated artefacts (eg. benefits modelling, financial investment, resource requirements, initiative phases/milestones etc).

Understand, order and prioritise within initiatives to deliver on the commercial and strategic goals for the organisation

Use best practice organisation tailoring, initiating and planning tools and processes from initiation to commencement and apply the appropriate structure for the individual complexity/nature of each initiative.

Be responsible for financial tracking and reporting of initiatives to governance bodies including but not limited to the steering committee.

Act as escalation point for anything originating within an initiative that requires escalation to portfolio management and/or capability owners as required.

Identify, manage and appropriately record risks, issues, decisions and actions at initiative level and subsidiary portfolio level in line with the overarching portfolio framework, tools and processes.  

Upholding of all IDP Policies, including Security and Data Privacy at all times, in all initiatives and jurisdictions.

Work with tech management to ensure that data privacy and data security is built into the products we create from the outset - and that the non-functional requirements are clearly established.

Manage the initiative’s outlook and resources and highlight changes and risks appropriately to initiative owners and portfolio management

Delivery and Benefits tracking

Manage a subsidiary portfolio of complex initiatives that may span one or more user groups across the enterprise.

Ensure the correct tools and processes are leveraged to ensure team efficiency, productivity, and satisfactory time to value across each initiative lifecycle.

Creatively, intelligently, and collaboratively resolve challenges and hurdles to deliver

Work closely with other responsible delivery team members such as Scrum Masters, Engineering Managers, Change Managers etc. to track and monitor schedules and tasks to completion, and addressing potential blockers in a timely and effective manner.

Structure forums, channels and meetings to be lightweight, fit for purpose and effective with clear outputs, communications and documentation. 

Work with Initiative Owners, Product Managers and the Commercial Manager to create clear success metrics at initiative level and ensure that financial and non-financial benefits and goals are documented and clear to all within the initiative team, portfolio management and key stakeholders.

Ensure tracking of outcomes against all initiative business cases is transparent to key stakeholders, portfolio management and other business stakeholders in line with organisation expectations and standards.

Put in place processes to monitor initiative goals and metrics as well as leading indicators towards that goal including adoption.

Business implementation and Transition to BAU

Responsible for the successful implementation of all initiatives into the business and associated go to market activity.

Leverage IDP common ways of working for implementation to the Network (regional business areas) that ensures relevant internal and external teams are aware, trained, communicated and have adopted change.

Develop trusted relationships with initiative stakeholders, sponsors and business network representatives.

Actively lead the coordination and completion of business user acceptance testing to support quality controls within the initiative lifecycle.

With the wider change team, measure adoption as part of success

Where relevant, ensure that products and solutions delivered to the business are successfully transitioned to BAU so that the ongoing maintenance and iterative development of those products continues in line with the product lifecycle.

Ensure IP and documentation is supplied, inducted and transitioned to operational management at the end of an initiative lifecycle.

Ensure that delivered risks are understood and accepted, or managed and mitigated as required.

Work with operational management in evaluating the size of resources required to support the products in BAU so that the business is adequately resourced to support the ongoing management.

Work with the Commercial Manager, Initiative Owner and Head of Program Delivery to close each initiative with adequate documentation, financial records, and a full post implementation review.

Representation and Collaboration

Represent the initiatives in relevant internal and external forums and company communications.

Commit to continuing professional development to stay abreast of modern project practices, emerging technologies, delivery methods and our industry landscape.

Participate in and own the establishment of practices, templates, policies, tools and partnerships to expand and mature our portfolio and project practice within Student Placement and the organisation.

Respectfully collaborate with IDP teams worldwide.

Provide leadership for initiative teams by building and motivating team members to meet initiative goals, adhering to their responsibilities, key milestones and celebrating wins.

Essential requisites

A proven, bold, modern senior project manager.

Experience and proven results across multiple project management methodologies.  

Experience in delivering projects that drive strong financial & commercial outcomes (e.g. cost savings/efficiencies, revenue/EBIT uplift)

Effective communication and facilitation skills.

Relationship management – building and maintaining strong and trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders up to executive level.

Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity, respecting diversity.

Comfortable in influencing outcomes in a matrix-based organisation.

Influencing and setting the culture of teams you are in to become outcome-focused that delivers tangible value to our customers.

Highly analytical - ability to capture and use data and insights to drive decisions and manage budgets.

Experience managing multiple initiatives in a portfolio.

Flexibility in a working week to work across time zones, particularly India and UK.

Desirable Experience:

Minimum 10 years’ experience in managing projects and delivery.

Industry recognised project management certification (CSM, ACP, Prince2, PMP etc).

Consulting experience, particularly in strategy or finance/actuarial, highly desirable

Workshop facilitation experience (virtual and hybrid).

More about us

We are evolving rapidly. This is an exciting time to join us as we transform the way people access global education and opportunities, through leveraging innovative technology and a creating a connected world.

As a Great place to work and WGEA certified organisation, our people are always at the forefront of what we do.  We strive to provide workplaces that are truly diverse and representative of the communities that we work in, so our people feel empowered to bring their best and authentic selves to work.  We are focused on continuing to build a culture of inclusion and belonging by providing a safe work environment where all our people are encouraged to excel, be agile and creative, and seek new ways to solve meaningful problems.