Senior IT Project Manager

Senior IT Project Manager About Us Looking for more than just a job? At Thompson Machinery, we've been powering progress since 1944. We are the go‑to Caterpillar dealer for Middle and West Tennessee and North Mississippi. Come join a team where our mission is simple: deliver smart solutions, build lasting partnerships, strengthen the communities we call home, and invest in your growth. What You Will Do This position leads the planning and delivery of technology initiatives across Thompson's IT Department. Reporting to the Director of IT, the Senior IT Project Manager partners with business and IT stakeholders to define scope, establish capacity‑aligned delivery plans, and provide executive‑level visibility throughout the project lifecycle. This role is accountable for driving disciplined delivery in a hybrid environment (Agile and/or waterfall as appropriate), coordinating cross‑team release readiness, and ensuring solutions transition smoothly into support with clear operational ownership. Essential Duties & Responsibilities Project Delivery: Lead end‑to‑end delivery of multiple concurrent IT projects, from initiation through closeout, ensuring alignment to business objectives. Develop and maintain project charters, scope statements, work plans, schedules, and resource plans. Coordinate cross‑functional teams (applications, infrastructure, security, and business partners) to execute project tasks and remove blockers. Select and apply the appropriate delivery approach (Agile, waterfall, or hybrid) and establish the operating cadence (planning, standups/check‑ins, demos, retrospectives, and phase gates) to ensure predictable execution. Stakeholder Management & Communication: Serve as the primary point of contact for project stakeholders, providing timely, accurate status updates and clear escalation paths. Facilitate project meetings, steering committee updates, and working sessions; document decisions, actions, and follow‑ups. Translate business needs into actionable delivery plans and communicate technical concepts in an understandable manner. Scope, Schedule, Budget & Quality Control: Manage scope, schedule, and budget baselines; drive change control and ensure impacts are evaluated and approved. Define delivery milestones and acceptance criteria; coordinate testing, cutover, and go‑live readiness activities. Coordinate release management and organizational readiness activities, partnering with IT Support/Infrastructure and business owners to plan change communications, training, cutover windows, rollback plans, and post‑go‑live stabilization (hypercare) as needed. Ensure operational readiness and supportability prior to go‑live, including documented support procedures/runbooks, clear Primary/Secondary ownership, access provisioning, monitoring/alerting considerations, and a defined handoff to steady‑state support. Track dependencies and constraints, ensuring delivery commitments are realistic and achievable. Identify, assess, and actively manage risks and issues; develop mitigation plans and expedite appropriate actions. Manage inter‑project dependencies and coordinate sequencing to minimise business disruption. Ensure lessons learned are captured and applied to improve future delivery. Governance, Process & Continuous Improvement: Apply standard project management methodologies and tools to drive consistent execution and reporting. Support portfolio prioritization by providing effort estimates, timelines, resource needs, and risk/complexity assessments. Support intake and demand shaping by clarifying objectives, success measures, assumptions, and high‑level solution options; ensure work enters the portfolio with an agreed owner, priority, and decision path. Track delivery outcomes against agreed success measures (e.g., adoption, process performance, risk reduction) and facilitate post‑implementation reviews to confirm value realization and identify follow‑up work. Promote continuous improvement of delivery practices, templates, and metrics (e.g., schedule performance, budget variance, and stakeholder satisfaction). Security, Compliance & Controls: Partner with IT Security and system owners to ensure required security reviews, data/privacy controls, access/role design, and compliance checkpoints are included in the plan and completed before go‑live. Coordinate risk acceptance and exception handling (when applicable), ensuring documentation, approvals, and remediation plans are captured and communicated. Coordinate work with external vendors and implementation partners; manage deliverables, timelines, and service expectations. Support contract and purchasing processes as needed (e.g., SOW reviews, quote comparisons, and deliverable sign‑off). Coordinate vendor onboarding and governance activities as required (e.g., security questionnaires, access requirements, implementation readiness, and third‑party risk/compliance reviews) in partnership with IT and Procurement. Ensure vendor‑provided solutions meet Thompson's security, compliance, and operational requirements. Build and maintain integrated, realistic, capacity‑based delivery plans across multiple workstreams. Re‑plan quickly when constraints or priorities change; make scope, schedule, and trade‑offs explicit. Experience identifying and escalating delivery risk before deadlines are threatened. Operate effectively without positional authority, influencing through clarity, facts, and alignment. Partner effectively with functional managers and technical leads to maintain delivery integrity, clarify ownership, and coordinate execution across teams. Contribute to a consistent delivery culture by sharing templates/standards, and mentoring less‑experienced project coordinators or team members on planning, communication, and risk management practices. Demonstrated predictability and transparency in delivery reporting, with proactive signaling to minimize late surprises. Education & Experience Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, or a related field (preferred); equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. 7-10+ years of experience managing IT delivery with end‑to‑end accountability (initiation through implementation and stabilization). Knowledge, Technical Skill & Abilities Experience delivering complex, cross‑functional initiatives (e.g., ERP/line‑of‑business systems, integrations, infrastructure upgrades, cloud migrations, cybersecurity initiatives, or process automation). Strong understanding of project delivery approaches (Agile, waterfall, and hybrid), including planning cadences, scope/change control, and release/go‑live governance in an IT environment. Experience managing budgets/forecasts and coordinating vendor/partner deliverables, timelines, and outcomes. Working knowledge of common delivery and tracking tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira/Azure DevOps, and Microsoft 365 collaboration tools) sufficient to drive consistent planning and reporting. PMP, Prince2, or Agile certifications welcome but not required; real‑world delivery experience and outcomes weigh more than credentials. Benefits Basics Various medical plan options, including a no‑cost option Vision and dental insurance Employer‑paid short‑term and long‑term disability insurance Employer‑paid basic life insurance 401(k) matching Profit sharing 8 paid holidays annually Initially up to 15 days of Paid Time Off annually with increase after five years of service Employee Assistance Program (EAP) What Sets Us Apart Competitive pay Exposure to world‑class CAT training and development Tuition reimbursement Tool purchase assistance to buy high‑quality tools at deep discounts Annual stipend toward the purchase of work boots Company incentive bonus program Paid veteran holiday annually to all service members Training and development programs Work uniforms and professional cleaning services Financial wellness programs Thompson Machinery offers competitive salaries and a complete benefits package. Compensation for this position will be commensurate with candidate experience and background. Thompson Machinery is an equal opportunity employer: Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled. #J-18808-Ljbffr