Senior It Project Manager

Who is Allstate:

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada is a leading home and auto insurer focused on providing its customers prevention and protection products and services for every stage of life. The company is proud to have been named a Best Employer in Canada for nine consecutive years and prioritizes supporting employees and fostering an inclusive, welcoming corporate culture. Allstate is committed to making a positive difference in the communities in which it operates through partnerships with charitable organizations, employee giving and volunteerism. Serving Canadians since 1953, Allstate strives to provide reassurance with its "You’re in Good Hands®" promise.

Through our Employee Value Proposition, Opportunity, Flexibility, Community, Diversity and Family, we have worked hard to develop and nurture a culture where employees feel valued, experience personal growth, have career options and truly enjoy the work they do.

Role Designation: Hybrid 1-2 days in office

Benefits to joining Allstate

• Comprehensive Retirement Savings Program with employer matched contributions
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Working within the community and giving back!
• Employee discounts (15% on auto and property insurance, plus many other products and services)
• Student Loan Payment Matching Program for Government Student loans
• Flexible Work Arrangements
• Good Office program (receive up to 400$ back after purchasing office equipment)
• Annual Wellness allowance to support employees with improving health and wellbeing
• Personal reflection day

The Senior IT Project Manager manages the execution of highly complex strategic change and/or regulatory initiatives. They are responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating cross-functional project / program activities with business and global technology teams to meet program goals and objectives within approved timeframe, scope, and budget. They ensure that a successful business outcome is the prime measure of project success to meet quality standards to the satisfaction of the project sponsor.

Accountabilities:

• Manages project activities with external vendors and third parties (e.g. consultants, offshoring, outsourcing, etc.) and manages the relationships at the project level. Identifies resources and skills required.
• Works with ACG IT Finance to track expected benefits against business case assumptions, invoice and cost accruals, submission of monthly project forecasting, and the evolution of the project cost baseline.
• Allocates the duties of project teams to ensure that all tasks and deliverables are proceeding according to schedule.
• Conducts project retrospectives to harness lessons-learned and drive efficiency and effectiveness of future workstreams and investments.
• Supports the Program Manager / Owner with day-to-day execution and management of strategic and/or regulatory initiatives with multiple work streams through the full project lifecycle (I.e. initiation, definition, financials, resourcing, implementation, delivery, enhancement, and maintenance).
• Develops integrated baseline project plans by applying estimation models; documenting estimating assumptions; refining plans, quality standards and overseeing the execution / production of management documents, project costs and budgets; tracks progress against plans and coordinates inter-work stream dependencies; manages performance against delivery plans.
• Creates change management plans for new releases (e.g. communication strategy, training, timing of release, benefits to partners, etc.).
• Raises and tracks issues and conflicts, removes barriers, and resolves or escalates project issues.
• Manages project / program communications (e.g. status reports to executives, stakeholders, business units, vendors, project team, etc.). Provides senior management with timely updates on project issues.
• Operates at a group / enterprise-wide level and serves as a specialist resource to senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Facilitates Project Sponsor awareness of internal factors affecting Organizational Change that need to be planned for and managed based on the degree of change being introduced into the organization by the project.
• Works with ACG Technology Owners/business units to ensure that initiatives successfully deliver against desired business outcomes and enable value creation using data-driven measures.
• Coaches and mentors project managers / team leaders and holds them accountable for managerial work.
• Plans and executes process discovery sessions to elucidate information from different levels in the organization.
• Monitors complex cross departmental dependencies and risks and develops solutions and risk mitigation plans.
• Directs, manages, and coordinates team members (e.g. other project managers, business and technology resources, user groups, internal and external consultants and contractors, vendors, external regulatory organizations, etc.).
• Assists with the vendor management and strategic sourcing process in partnership with Supplier Management; manages RFP activities and partnerships with vendors (e.g. contract management covering scope and change control, requirements management, etc.) to ensure efficient and effective project delivery and governance.
• Establishes appropriate governance, support, program delivery assurance, and oversight for assigned initiatives. Champions consistent implementation of and compliance with the ACG IT Delivery Management framework across all projects and programs.

Qualifications:

• Tough leadership and effective facilitation; challenges stakeholders & teams to ensure the most effective execution approach, focused on business value and customer needs.
• Strong problem-solving capabilities; Strong structured, analytical and methodological thinking.
• +2 years of experience with Agile delivery methodologies & tooling (JIRA, Confluence, SNOW).
• Advanced project management knowledge (e.g. plan development; scheduling methodology; gathering, analyzing, and reporting project metrics; risk assessment and quantification methodologies; cost / benefit analysis and alternatives identification; budgeting, financials, benefits management, etc.).
• 8+ years of transformational project management experience, preferably within the financial services or insurance industries from a business perspective spanning large projects (+$5MM) with high level of value (benefit / cost), complexity, strategic change and/or regulatory initiatives.
• Heavy tech/infra/security initiatives leadership background.
• An attitude for success, proactive approach to project management with excellent attention to detail and a passion for innovation.
• Ability to manage and forecast project budgets and schedules, review/validate estimates, report on project financials, and to ensure timely and accurate invoicing.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Project, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Collaborative team enabler with positive attitude.
• SAFe or Scrum of Scrums experience, certification.
• Advanced knowledge of change, issue, and risk management and working knowledge of Software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Advanced people management knowledge including talent management process (recruitment / selection, performance management, performance development / coaching, reward / recognition).
• Advanced communication, presentation, facilitation, and influencing skills with a strong executive presence.
• Agile, customer-focused mindset.
• Property and Casualty, or Financial Services, business knowledge.
• Complex technology refresh experience, preferable supporting Insurance Core Systems Modernization from on premises to the Guidewire Cloud Platform.
• Insurance Technology capabilities.
• Business Transformation and Legacy Technology Refresh expertise.

Allstate Canada Group has policies and practices that provide workplace accommodations. If you require accommodation, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.