Overview
The Office of Analytics, Technology and Planning (ATP) within Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) is hiring a Project Manager to work on its Planning and Innovation team.
ATP supports innovation, quality improvement, and evidence-based decision-making at DHS. Within ATP, the Planning and Innovation unit develops DHS strategy, plans, and budgets and supports implementation of strategic improvements to systems and key processes. Planning and Innovation team members are results-focused and highly adaptable. They can write effective plans and proposals, facilitate meetings, apply data analyses, and manage projects. They succeed when driving collaborative projects as well as when working independently.
The Planning and Innovation team’s Project Manager will drive change efforts and quality improvements across DHS Offices and programs by:
- Working with DHS leaders to clarify project objectives and define scope.
- Supporting project teams to organize and coordinate work.
- Identifying and tracking completion of tasks and milestones.
- Contributing to, or leading the production of, key project deliverables (including, but not limited to, written analyses and proposals, plans and budgets, and reports and presentations).
The Project Manager will take responsibility for a project’s final outcome or deliverable, relying on a flexible approach and diverse skillset. They will gain expertise in local government and human services through work with teams across DHS and in multiple subject areas.
A career with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. As a DHS employee, you will be part of a culture of innovation and data-driven decision making within local government, with a high-level perspective of the spectrum of work undertaken each day to ensure a safe, healthy, and thriving county. As the region’s largest funder and administrator for human services, DHS is a place where smart, driven people can make an impact.
Essential Functions
- Apply project management best practices to establish and manage project scope, workplans, and deliverables.
- Inform DHS leaders about key projects by reporting on tasks and milestones and identifying risks and proposed options for action.
- Communicate effectively and serve as a liaison among adjacent staff and teams including program managers, data analysts, fiscal staff, external consultants, and subcontractors to successfully execute project work.
- Prepare or contribute to well-written, visually appealing, plans, proposals, presentations, and reports.
- Conduct project-related cost analyses and forecasts.
- Develop collaboration tools using Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, Teams, Planner) and other project management applications.
- Coordinate and conduct analyses and research-oriented tasks in support of project objectives, including literature reviews, stakeholder interviews/surveys, and analyses of available client or financial data.
- Ensure project adherence to relevant policy, regulations and requirements, as defined by DHS’s governing bodies and funders.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with diverse audiences using excellent writing, public speaking, and meeting facilitation skills.
- Strong analytical skills, including ability to perform cost analyses and create budgets.
- Track record of driving collaborative projects and organizing work of project teams where no reporting relationship exists between you and other team members.
- Ability to lead multidisciplinary, in-person, and virtual teams, including program managers, data analysts, fiscal staff, and subcontractors.
- Accuracy with work, strong organizational skill, and attention to detail
- Ability to synthesize data and information from multiple sources in order to form and substantiate a proposal or recommendation for action.
- Ability to manage competing deadlines and priorities while delivering high-quality work.
- Ability to employ a high degree of flexibility while maintaining quality of work product and focus on org strategy and project objectives.
- Ability and willingness to take on challenges, learn new subject matter, and assume responsibility for project deliverables and objectives.
- Ability to see how projects fit within the broader aims of Allegheny County DHS.
Education/Experience Requirements
- A Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business, Management, Operations, Economics, Public Health, Social Science, or a relevant field AND at least two (2) years of experience in a related field.
The preferred candidate will additionally possess:
- Master’s degree in Public Administration, Business, Management, Operations, Economics, Public Health, Social Science, or a relevant field.
- Certifications demonstrating management proficiency and expertise, such as Project Management Professional (PMP).
Please provide a cover letter, customized to this role, that explains your interest in the job and why you are well-suited for it.
If hired for a position, candidates would work for Allegheny County, Department of Human Services and be employed by Great Lakes Behavioral Research Institute.
About Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS)
In Allegheny County, we appreciate people who think big, act boldly, and care about making a difference. You don’t have to be from here to feel at home, or to make your mark. With only 1.3 million people in the County, it’s small enough for motivated people to get things done. Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services (DHS) is a perfect place to get things done that directly affect people in need in a positive and lasting way. We help children grow up safer and healthier, older adults remain able to live independently, and neighborhoods to thrive. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of people in Allegheny County.
DHS is the largest agency in Allegheny County government, with a budget of nearly $1 billion. DHS serves over 200,000 people a year through services that include: Protecting children and youth from abuse and neglect and preventing future occurrences of maltreatment; improving child wellness through family support, home visiting, early intervention and in-home services; providing treatment for behavioral health issues such as substance use disorders and mental illness; managing the care of adults with intellectual disabilities; preventing unnecessary nursing home stays; and services that prevent homelessness and provide shelter and housing for families and individuals.
Why DHS?
- It is innovative. Most recently, the national attention and awards we’ve gotten are for how DHS integrates data and uses it to improve the safety and well-being of children through tools that support front-line staff in making decisions (using predictive analytics).
- DHS is committed to equity – for our staff, our providers, and community members.
- DHS values strong, assertive leaders. We do not hire yes-people.
- You can make a big impact here. We stand out as one of the best human services organizations in the country. But we need problem-solvers, innovators, and terrific leaders to make sure we are smart in how we use our funding so that we reach the people who most need our help to make their lives better.
DHS strives to be the kind of place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come to grow and do their best work.