PROJECT MANAGER

Enterprise Project Manager - Executive – Columbia, SC - Hybrid

Creative Information Technology Inc (CITI) is an esteemed IT enterprise renowned for its exceptional customer service and innovation. We serve both government and commercial sectors, offering a range of solutions such as Healthcare IT, Human Services, Identity Credentialing, Cloud Computing, and Big Data Analytics. With clients in the US and abroad, we hold key contract vehicles including GSA IT Schedule 70, NIH CIO-SP3, GSA Alliant, and DHS-Eagle II. Join us in driving growth and seizing new business opportunities.

Role and Responsibilities: Candidate MUST be a SC, NC, GA resident and willing to relocate to SC prior to starting the role at their own expense.

Scope of the project: The Division of IT requires an experienced leader to provide immediate organizational stabilization and transformational leadership during a period of significant departmental change. The department is currently experiencing organizational, operational, and cultural challenges that require decisive leadership, objective assessment, and rapid implementation of corrective actions before recruiting a permanent Director.

The interim assignment is intended to serve as a transformational leadership role focused on rebuilding organizational culture, aligning resources with institutional priorities, improving operational effectiveness, and implementing sustainable management practices. The successful candidate will be empowered to make organizational decisions necessary to position the department for long-term success and ensure a smooth transition to permanent leadership.

Over a 9–12-month engagement, the Interim Director will lead a comprehensive organizational transformation initiative that includes:

• Stabilizing departmental operations while maintaining continuity of critical IT services and customer engagement
• Conducting an inventory of current research technology infrastructure, services, operational procedures, active/anticipated projects, and budget needs/requests
• Establishing or aligning operational procedures with divisional standards and practices for customer engagement, including leveraging the service desk ticketing system for managing support requests, client communications, task/project tracking, reporting analytics
• Establishing governance, communication, and decision-making processes that support long-term success
• Documenting organizational recommendations, strategic priorities, lifecycle budgets, professional development needs, and transition plans for the incoming permanent Director
• Recruiting, mentoring, and preparing team members where appropriate to support long-term organizational success

Success will be measured by demonstrable improvements in organizational culture, employee accountability, operational performance, customer satisfaction, governance maturity, and departmental readiness for permanent executive leadership.

Daily duties / responsibilities:

• Provide leadership for all departmental operations, research technology infrastructure, and related services.
• Supervise managers, professional, and student staff.
• Establish performance expectations and monitor organizational outcomes.
• Make timely operational and resource allocation decisions.
• Lead organizational change initiatives and culture transformation efforts.
• Evaluate organizational effectiveness and recommend structural improvements.
• Develop and monitor departmental priorities and performance metrics in collaboration with executive leadership.
• Coordinate departmental budgets and strategic resource allocation in collaboration with executive leadership.
• Ensure compliance with university policies, security standards, audit requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Remove organizational obstacles that inhibit productivity, innovation, and collaboration.
• Provide executive-level reports and recommendations to executive leadership.
• Develop succession planning and transition documentation for permanent leadership.

Required Skill:

• 6+ Years of Experience with Visual and/or Micro Focus COBOL
• Working Knowledge of Visual Cobol V9
• 10+ Years of Experience developing and maintaining complex, mission critical applications in a Windows based Client Server environment.
• 5+ Years of Experience leading a technical software development team in planning and deployment of software systems.
• 10+ Years of Experience coding and testing complex COBOL based business systems in an Oracle SQL database and Windows based client-server environment.
• 5+ Years Experience providing Level 3 (L3) production support
• 5+ Years Experience functioning as the primary contact with business units to develop and review business and technical specifications and ensure delivery of specified functionality.
• 10+ Years of experience with computer system analysis, design, coding, testing, debugging, and implementation techniques and practices for developing new systems or modifying existing systems.
• 8+ years of experience leading organizational transformation, change management, and service delivery optimization
• 8+ years of experience leading large, complex technology projects
• 8+ years of experience with personnel management, coaching, and performance accountability
• Requires a completed bachelor's degree

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with research cyberinfrastructure, high-performance computing, high-speed storage and networking technologies.
• Experience implementing governance and operational maturity frameworks
• Experience managing organizational change in higher education
• Master's degree in science, technology, or a related field.
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