Project Manager

Project Manager (Contract)

Location: Hybrid (St. Paul, MN) Duration: Through April 2027

Position Summary: Our financial services client is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead ongoing business initiatives requiring strong stakeholder engagement, issue resolution, and cross-functional coordination. This role will serve as the central point of communication among business partners, driving prioritization, facilitating decision-making, and ensuring successful execution of strategic objectives. The ideal candidate is a proactive leader who excels at navigating complex stakeholder environments, prioritizing competing demands, and driving projects to completion. Strong communication, organization, and relationship management skills are essential for success in this role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead project management efforts supporting the Basin Program and ongoing transition-related initiatives.
• Manage defects and issues that arise from the transition process, ensuring timely identification, prioritization, and resolution.
• Coordinate closely with stakeholders across Securian, Prosperity Life, and external partners.
• Facilitate discussions to drive alignment on priorities, timelines, and resolution strategies.
• Track project risks, issues, dependencies, and action items while maintaining clear visibility for leadership and stakeholders.
• Develop and execute communication plans to ensure stakeholders remain informed of project status, challenges, and progress.
• Lead project meetings, status updates, and escalation discussions.
• Drive accountability across teams to ensure commitments are met and deliverables are completed on schedule.
• Collaborate with business and operational leaders to evaluate impacts and implement sustainable solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of project management experience supporting complex business or operational initiatives.
• Proven ability to drive results in environments involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Strong communication skills with experience presenting to and influencing business leaders.
• Demonstrated success managing escalations, issue resolution, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Exceptional organizational and prioritization skills.
• Experience working with third-party vendors, external partners, or outsourced service providers.
• Ability to work independently and proactively identify opportunities to improve processes and outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience within financial services, insurance, or regulated industries.
• Experience supporting business transitions, integrations, conversions, or operational transformation initiatives.
• Familiarity with defect management, issue tracking, and governance processes.
• PMP, Agile, or other project management certifications are a plus.

Success Factors:

• Drive issues to resolution with a strong sense of ownership and urgency.
• Effectively navigate challenging stakeholder conversations.
• Balance competing priorities while maintaining focus on business outcomes.
• Build strong relationships across internal and external teams.
• Communicate clearly, proactively, and confidently at all levels of the organization.