Vice President - Project Management Office

At Cresa, we believe our clients deserve better. A better space to work, create, build, grow. A better outcome for their people and organization. A better partner who puts their needs first, helping them navigate the landscape, tilting the playing field in their favor and giving them an insider’s edge.

Our mission is to find and foster the best environment for every business. Our purpose is to think beyond space - strengthening those we serve and enhancing quality of life for our clients and employees. We are built to champion our clients’ aspirations through real estate. When considering partnership, we strive to connect with those who share our values: Work Together, Create Value, Be Tenacious, Enhance Community, and Embrace Diversity.

We believe in being the change. We work together to find new ways of doing things that create value for our clients — and for each other. Because there is not much that feels better than collaborating to make a positive difference each day.

At Cresa, we offer an opportunity to be part of something bigger. To learn, advance, mentor and be recognized. Your voice will be heard, and you will be valued for both your individual and team contributions.

Summary

The Vice President – Project Management Office, Center of Excellence role is responsible for leading and setting the direction of the Program Management Office across Cresa Project Management and Portfolio Project Management including leadership, strategy, business planning, implementation, process improvement, and controls, with P&L accountability over the functions managed. This role is an enterprise leader working closely with the Cresa President of Project Management division of Cresa to set the strategic direction for the function and translates this strategy into specific business objectives to support the growth of the business. This role may be located in any major city in the U.S.

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Create and build the PMO within the Portfolio Project Management for use across all Cresa Project Management; assess the landscape, understand objectives and then, define goals and priorities.
• Establish PMO quality standards and deploy enterprise-wide; define the project management methodologies that will be used to manage projects.
• Standardize best practices and oversee related risk management and change management.
• Deploy lean 6-sigma competencies/methodologies as needed and/or use business process reengineering (BPR) where needed for larger scale redesign of processes.
• Develop the mechanism to manage and allocate resources across projects according to priorities, schedules and budgets.
• Monitor project performance, identify risks, and provide guidance to teams to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to quality standards established by the PMO.
• Lead process improvement initiatives focused on client accounts to understand, redefine and manage the implementation in partnership with account leadership and finance to help add continuous value and better financial competitiveness.
• Monitor continuous improvement process and measurements.
• Unite teams around common goals of continuous improvement within Project Management.
• Create clarity for teams, bridge relationships with internal and external clients, and provide strategic counsel to senior leadership around process improvement.
• Manage the P&L for the function including management of a small direct or matrix team to include full employee lifecycle (selection, development, promotion and exit) as needed for the success of the PMO.
• Lead cross-functional projects and programs end-to-end using a formal PMO process.
• Accountable to ensure all functions remain on schedule, that issues get escalated and resolved, and that the program is completed successfully.
• Facilitate regular meetings to review project status for active and pending projects (project pipeline).
• Collaborate with the core team to develop solutions and lead project through implementation and completion.
• Provide appropriate levels of detail and also be able to summarize complex issues succinctly.
• Manages internal and external relationships in support of program; may contract and manage vendors.
• Provide consultation on complex large scale projects that integrate into an organized program.
• Lead by example and model behaviors that are consistent with the company's values.
• Ability to travel to our different markets and clients to learn, develop and train project managers on process improvement strategies.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial real estate (CRE) lifecycle understanding on how the CRE industry transacts, develops and manages the space requirements for clients.
• Deep understanding of how project management integrates into the CRE lifecycle.
• Proven project management /owner representation history, preferably with client portfolio account management background.
• Affinity, credentials, and expertise in PM Continuous Process Improvement.
• Knowledgeable and remains current in PM best practices and technologies to integrate into the PMO.
• Significant experience developing and documenting standardized project management processes, workflows, and templates.
• Builds strong relationships with stakeholders, clients, and team members to build trust, consensus, and oversee the change management necessary to bring strategies through implementation.
• Deep understanding of process management methodologies (e.g., Lean Six Sigma, BPR).
• Ability to lead and collaborate with PM leaders to roll out new processes and tools across the organization.
• Team player, who can balance and prioritize multiple stakeholder requirements.
• Good person with high moral integrity.
• Excellent at developing and training PM practices that create consistency and efficiency, but allows flexibility to the PM teams depending on the client or industry.

Education/Experience

• 10+ years of experience in commercial real estate portfolio program and or project management
• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, Engineering, Business Administration, or equivalent experience
• Have led and developed teams
• Experience with CRE PMO or Professional Services PMO organizations
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt Certified
• Management consulting experience is a plus
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive presentations
• Strong problem solver and facilitator, especially in highly ambiguous situations

EEOC

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.