Responsibilities
- Lead client projects from initiation to completion using agile, scrum, or blended approaches as appropriate
- Create comprehensive project plans with defined scope, schedules, resource needs, and budget estimates tied to contractual deliverables
- Monitor project scope in alignment with the statement of work, resolving variances through client negotiation and managing change requests effectively
- Enforce adherence to project timelines and objectives while safeguarding financial performance and preventing cost overruns
- Manage internal coordination for project execution, including budget oversight, forecasting, time tracking, invoicing support, and resourcing alignment with delivery leads
- Ensure compliance with project management standards through regular reporting, status updates, sprint reviews, and proactive risk and issue tracking
- Distinguish between risks and issues clearly, and escalate appropriately within the project and the organization
- Support backlog development with well-defined tickets, acceptance criteria, and effort estimates, and monitor delivery progress via Jira and team ceremonies
- Foster strong client relationships through dependable results and transparent, consistent communication, including difficult discussions when needed
- Focus on achieving client business goals beyond contractual requirements and partner with delivery and sales teams to identify growth opportunities
- Observe team dynamics and provide constructive, timely feedback centered on delivering client value
- Support the evolution of the project management function through contributions to processes, templates, and cross-team initiatives
Work Arrangement
Remote-first
Team
Consulting practice with diverse client engagements
Responsibilities
- Lead client engagements end-to-end, from kickoff through delivery and closeout, using agile, scrum, or hybrid methodologies as the engagement requires
- Develop detailed project plans including scope, timelines, resources, and budget estimates aligned to SOW deliverables
- Manage scope against the SOW: negotiate discrepancies with clients, drive prioritization decisions, and handle change orders cleanly
- Drive project schedule and scope while protecting engagement economics and avoiding budget overruns
- Own the internal logistics of running an engagement: budget tracking, forecasting, time tracking inputs, invoicing coordination, and resource alignment with delivery leadership
- Maintain PM compliance and reporting responsibilities: engagement health updates, weekly status reports, sprint reviews, and risk and issue management
- Properly identify and differentiate risks from issues, and know when to escalate within the engagement and within NextLink
- Facilitate backlog creation, ensuring tickets have clear definitions, acceptance criteria, and estimates, and manage delivery flow through Jira reports and team rituals
- Build and maintain client trust through reliable delivery and consistent communication; facilitate proactive, sometimes tough, client conversations
- Deliver against client business outcomes, not just the letter of the SOW, and collaborate with Delivery and Sales to surface expansion opportunities
- Observe project teams and provide timely feedback focused on client value
- Contribute to the broader NextLink PM practice through process improvements, templates, and cross-functional initiatives
Other
- Remote-first, with a strong written communication culture (docs, async updates, clear status reporting)
- Variety of clients, problems, and technologies across our consulting practice
- Investment in your growth, including exposure to senior delivery leadership and a path toward broader engagement management responsibilities
- Long-term independent contractor
- Must be comfortable working overlapping hours with US-based teams
