Data Management Program Manager (Principal IS Program Manager)

Data Management Program Manager

The Metropolitan Council, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, is seeking a Data Management Program Manager (DMPM). The DMPM is critical to the development and execution of key strategic Data Management (DM) projects across the Metropolitan Council's divisions. This position is eligible for a hybrid (both remote and onsite) telework arrangement. Candidate's permanent residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin. This posting will create a six-month eligibility list for current and future openings.

The DMPM is a leader, advisor, and facilitator. They are driven, organized, detailed, and results oriented. They excel in program/project management. They are flexible, resilient, and communicate with ease at all levels. They are a self-starter and self-motivated to succeed in ambiguous environments. They leverage their strong technical expertise, experience, and knowledge across transportation, planning, communities, housing, parks and trails, and wastewater to meet the DM needs of the Council. They collaborate across data, engineering, application, security, regulatory, financial, procurement, and other teams, as well as with business units and vendors to create positive and successful outcomes for significant projects. They help lead the execution of DM strategic initiatives from start to finish, ensuring alignment across the multiple organizations of the Council. They demonstrate a strong sense of ownership and autonomy in driving projects forward, taking initiative to overcome obstacles and deliver results. They build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external partners of DM. They learn and dive deep into details and processes, seeking to understand underlying complexities and specifics, communicating requirements and timelines to facilitate technical readiness. They influence teams and outcomes in project areas outside of DM. They facilitate communications, upward and downward through the organization, and raise key issues and related options for resolution with executive teams. They drive quality, cost, labor initiatives and efficiencies across Council organizations. They bring diverse business units and teams together to align on funding strategies and collaborate across those teams to identify and implement common goals.

The DMPM works cross-functionally to ensure DM obligations and objectives are met, supporting and leading efforts to anticipate and resolve issues and inter-group challenges and conflict. They create and deliver presentations, interface with senior management, corporate-level managers, and high-ranking customers on all matters affecting the status of DM. They help identify, develop, improve, and mature DM standards, processes, policies, and ways of work. They oversee and encourage the coordination and implementation of DM project work across diverse teams and business divisions. They partner with internal and external stakeholders to support expansion and optimization of Council data solutions, data platforms, and data products. They own program strategy, proactively identifying risks and solving ambiguous problems, streamlining processes, fostering innovation, building trust, reducing risk, escalating issues for resolution, ensuring on-time delivery of planned projects, and applying process improvement methodologies to drive the vision of the DM program. They own and manage the lifecycle of new and existing DM programs and initiatives, successfully delivering concurrent complex projects aligned with business objectives. They engage the right stakeholders, customers, and partner teams to communicate with and positively affect critical business initiatives, crafting and delivering cross-functional, scalable solutions. They develop, implement, and govern Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting for a portfolio of programs, providing visibility to stakeholders on program performance, and use this data to drive business decisions. They advise and help partner with stakeholder teams and make trade-offs by considering the impact to the business and customer (e.g. customer experience, quality, efficiency, supportability, etc.). They proactively identify opportunities to continuously improve program quality, efficiency, and operational excellence.

Minimum qualifications include any of the following combinations of experience managing IT and business projects/programs AND completed education in Computer Science/Engineering, Business/Project Management, or a related field: Master's degree and 5 years of experience, of which 3 or more years must be in a lead role requiring project management and collaboration across divisions and organizational levels. Bachelor's degree and 7 years of experience, of which 3 or more years must be in a lead role requiring project management and collaboration across divisions and organizational levels. Associate's degree and 9 years of experience, of which 3 or more years must be in a lead role requiring project management and collaboration across divisions and organizational levels. High school diploma/GED and 11 years of experience, of which 3 or more years must be in a lead role requiring project management and collaboration across divisions and organizational levels. Experience managing projects/programs should include successfully delivering solutions within designated timelines while managing multiple projects and demonstrating sound knowledge of project management tools and techniques, including up-to-date knowledge of industry standards and best practices.

Desired qualifications include experience working with municipal or similar partners to co-develop and design DM solutions in areas such as transportation, planning, communities, housing, parks, and wastewater. Familiarity with the varied communities served by the Council. Commitment to supporting DM solutions that support sustainable, efficient, and economic growth for a prosperous region. Experience managing multiple vendors and contractors to support projects. Experience promoting an equitable, positive, and respectful work environment.

Within the first 6 months on the job, the DMPM should have an understanding of the various Council business units and what they do, their way of working, and their needs and requirements. They should be able to juggle diverse projects and their regulatory aspects and budget constraints. They should be able to communicate across the various business units and form strong interpersonal relationships to remove barriers, reduce risk, build trust, and improve insights across the Council. They should be able to set others up to be successful in their work, providing a helping hand through servant leadership. They should be comfortable with delivering strategic guidance to all levels of leadership across multiple divisions and business units of the Council.

The Metropolitan Council offers the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area. They encourage their employees to develop their skills through on-site training and tuition reimbursement. They provide a comprehensive salary, excellent benefits, and good work/life balance.