Project Manager

This job will remain open until January 13, 2025.

Company Overview

Focus Strategies is a national consulting firm based on the West Coast dedicated to helping communities improve efforts to end homelessness through community-based planning, informed by local data and national best practices. For more than 18 years, we have provided consulting to jurisdictional and community leadership in communities across the country to support their efforts to reduce homelessness.

We are dedicated to partnering with communities through strategic consulting and technical assistance to design and implement housing-focused, equity-informed, and person-centered solutions that reduce homelessness. We are committed to working with our clients to understand their community’s context, including the experience and dynamics of homelessness in the region as well as the unique strengths and challenges of existing strategies. Together, we partner with our clients to develop programs, create strategic action plans, identify policy solutions, and evaluate efforts to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.

Position Overview

The Focus Strategies Project Manager works closely with the Associate Director/Senior Project Manager to administer our clients’ diverse and complex project needs. This is a highly collaborative role, requiring strong communication and interpersonal skills. Focus Strategies’ calendars on Monday will look significantly different from the way things turn out by Friday, and the Project Manager is comfortable with dynamically steering workplans across client accounts based on changing priorities and navigating ambiguity. The Project Manager has a passion for ending homelessness and uses business acumen, advanced project management experience, and excellent interpersonal skills to coordinate workflows and support team members to lead a variety of meaningful projects.

Position Responsibilities

Resource Planning and Allocation

• Dynamically update project plans aligning the resources and client needs/requests with timelines.
• Understand, communicate, and link project outputs with inputs including engagement and/or project-level budget management and aligning deliverable dates with the availability of staff/resources.
• Collaborate to create and manage systems for sharing project management knowledge and learning among staff with a focus on continuous improvement.
• In collaboration with leadership, Senior Project Manager, and project leads, maintain reporting on resource utilization, productivity, and project progress.
• Analyze data and communicate results to leadership, highlighting areas of improvement and any issues or risks.

Project Management

• Apply effective project governance and employ active engagement of stakeholders at all levels.
• Provide support across the project lifecycle, targeting support at key phases and points where project management expertise is needed.
• Coordinate with others to create, document, and manage project workflows, including defining and continually monitoring and updating project plans (for example, identifying key project activities and resource requirements), communicating, and following up on project plans and tasks.
• Deliver a range of planning and design activities to manage complex projects with often-changing deliverables and priorities.
• Ensure that team members have adequate information to successfully move client work forward, including directing flow within information systems and championing project management processes.
• Collaborate with project teams to develop project management and coordination infrastructure, preparing for a warm handoff of project management responsibilities to other project team members.
• At the direction of the Associate Director/Senior Project Manager, perform analyses of both existing and prospective work and create client-specific materials and reports.
• Coordinate with others on project-related activities, including the management and advancement of project assignments, timelines and contracts in project management tools and software.
• Assist in the management of all aspects of client relationships including scheduling, communication, coordination, and reporting.
• Expand and maintain relationships with internal and external partners.
• Proactively track project schedules, milestones, and deliverables.
• Facilitate project assessments and retrospectives for projects that are transitioning phases or nearing completion, identifying key insights and lessons learned to improve future project performance and streamline processes.

Additional Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Associate Director/Senior Project Manager, continually refine and enhance the project management process with documentation of and training staff on Standard Operating Procedures that ensure consistent, efficient, and effective elite level client engagement and project delivery practices.
• In collaboration with leadership, document existing processes and structures, which may include organizing electronic materials to ensure accurate documentation for procedures and workflow.
• In collaboration with leadership, develop and pilot new and refined procedures, processes, and structures. 
• Actively participate in continuous learning and process and product improvement efforts with the Focus team.
• Support organizational leaders and other staff with identifying, executing, and driving internal projects.
• Engage in Focus Strategies collective processes (e.g., discussions, readings, committees) to advance equity both internally and externally.
• Contribute to team efforts by accomplishing related tasks as needed.

What the Project Manager will gain from position

• Opportunity to support communities working to reduce homelessness.
• Opportunity to assist in the development of complex plans, evaluations, and reports.
• Opportunity to build up the company-wide Project Management Office (PMO).
• Experience consulting with government agencies for public benefit.
• Increasing responsibility over time.
• Opportunity to be part of an evolving and growing consultation practice.
• Opportunity to work with an expert and dedicated team of professionals in a fast-paced and supportive work environment.

Location: Remote, United States (preferably California or West Coast)

Reports to: Associate Director or Senior Project Manager

Status: Full-time, exempt

• At least 3 years of experience managing multiple, diverse, and complex projects, within a consulting firm or health and human services context.
• Strong knowledge of multiple approaches to project management, monitoring, and metrics including the use of project management/PSA software.
• Skilled at generating project plans, able to read and understand basic financial reports, and to prepare financial budgets and projections.
• Solid organizational ability, meticulous attention to detail, high level of adaptability.
• Knowledge of the homelessness landscape and common issues, particularly on the West Coast; general knowledge about homelessness funding streams; and system design and housing options for communities working to reduce homelessness.
• Ability to work effectively with people of diverse races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expression, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, ages, English-speaking abilities, immigration status, and physical abilities in a multicultural environment.
• Understanding of diversity, racism, and oppression and a commitment to furthering equity and belonging.
• Excellent interpersonal and public speaking skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients of all levels.
• Aptitude in decision-making and problem-solving.
• Able to travel occasionally throughout the West Coast and rarely to other areas.
• Flexibility - must be able to work with shifts in priorities on a daily and weekly basis.
• Willingness to do whatever is needed to support projects and staff in accomplishing work.
• Highly self-directed and flexible.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Asana or other project/workflow management software.
• Ability to operate a computer for 8 hours per day.
• Ability to give and receive detailed information through verbal and written communication.
• Ability to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing, expansive reading.
• Ability to set up and maintain a safe and ergonomic workspace in a home environment with minimal paper file management, including receiving occasional office supply shipments, rare shipping of equipment for repair, and carrying a laptop and files or occasional all-day travel.

Preferred Skills and Aptitudes

• Interpreting quantitative and qualitative data about homelessness and homeless programs and systems.
• Certifications in project management methodologies, such as PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2, or AgilePM.
• Bilingual skills (English and Spanish written and oral fluency preferred).

• Paid time off (vacation, sick time, and 10 holidays)
• 401(k) with 4% salary match and profit sharing
• Health, dental, and vision
• Flexible spending plans
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Compensation: $105,000-$120,000 annually (most candidates join us at the lower half of the range to leave room for growth, learning, and development; we negotiate actual salaries with final candidates based on experience in similar roles and expertise related to qualifications)