Job Description
ABOUT THE ROLE
As a Senior Project Manager, you will play a key role in supporting Accela’s customers by leading the successful delivery of large, complex Professional Services implementations. You will be accountable for managing customer engagements end to end, partnering closely with cross-functional teams to ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and in alignment with contractual commitments.
You will lead multiple concurrent engagements, proactively managing delivery risks, dependencies, and timelines. Working closely with functional and technical stakeholders, you will drive execution against established plans, ensure alignment across teams, and contribute to the continuous improvement of implementation methodologies to enhance efficiency, quality, and customer outcomes.
You will establish and maintain project tracking and reporting that provides clear visibility into delivery health, financial performance, and overall project status. Throughout the delivery lifecycle, you will identify potential issues early, facilitate cross-functional problem solving, and drive resolution to keep engagements on track.
You are comfortable managing multiple complex customer projects at various stages of delivery and are accountable for delivering customer billable work according to schedule, budget, and contracted deliverables.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
As the owner of the cross-functional Professional Services delivery process, you will drive significant impact across customer outcomes and Accela’s business by providing senior-level leadership, influence, and accountability across complex delivery efforts, without direct people management responsibility.
Delivery Leadership & Governance: Provide senior oversight of large, complex Professional Services engagements; establish delivery standards and governance; ensure consistent application of project management methodologies; and serve as the accountable owner for delivery outcomes aligned to Statements of Work.
Portfolio Health & Risk Management: Drive on-time and on-budget delivery across multiple concurrent engagements; monitor portfolio-level performance, risks, and variability; proactively identify systemic delivery risks; and lead mitigation and escalation strategies in partnership with cross-functional and executive stakeholders.
Customer & Executive Relationship Management: Build trusted relationships with customer executives and internal leaders; serve as a senior escalation point for complex or high-impact engagements; and partner with Regional Directors and executive sponsors in steering committees and customer governance forums.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Lead and influence collaboration across internal stakeholder groups—including Consultants, Architects, the Project Management Office, Cloud Operations, Product, Support, Partners, and others—to drive alignment, resolve dependencies, and improve delivery effectiveness at scale.
Business Growth & Operational Excellence: Support new business growth and expansion of existing engagements by contributing to proposal development, delivery strategy, and budget estimation; continuously evaluate and enhance delivery processes, metrics, and tools to improve scalability, quality, and customer value.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Government Enterprise Software: 5 years of experience leading successful implementations of COTS, platform-based software solutions for Tier 1 government clients.
- Complex Projects: 5 years of experience leading projects with budgets of $1M+, durations of 12+ months, and involving multiple government departments or groups.
- Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously at various stages of delivery.
- Demonstrated aptitude for understanding and applying new technologies and methodologies.
- Bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) in a technical discipline or a comparable technical degree program.
- Experience using formal project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Visio).
- Strong technical background, including experience delivering enterprise-class software.
- Strong analytical skills with experience managing technical and project management challenges.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing client demands.
- Ability to interact and communicate effectively with CxO-level stakeholders.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Direct Accela experience: Proven experience managing Accela implementations, upgrades, or major platform enhancements, with a strong understanding of configuration, integrations, and data migration.
- Senior project leadership: 8+ years of experience leading large-scale, multi-workstream software implementations, including vendor coordination, budget and schedule ownership, risk management, and go-live execution.
- Strong understanding of permitting, licensing, code enforcement, planning, or public works business processes.
- Project Management Certification: Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
ABOUT ACCELA
For nearly 20 years, Accela has been an industry leader in designing and delivering government software to improve efficiency, increase citizen engagement and enable the development of thriving communities. Today, citizens are savvy to how services should be delivered, and expect a consistently convenient, openly transparent view into their local government. While government agencies struggle to do more with less, our mission has never been more critical. Accela provides a robust, cloud-based platform of government software solutions that accelerate growth, efficiency, and transparency in communities of all sizes. From planning, to building, to service request management and more, Accela’s SaaS offerings level the playing field for small and medium governments and enable smaller agencies to leverage larger city technologies. Our open and flexible technology helps agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are well prepared for the emerging challenges of the future.
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Accela believes in developing and nurturing a workplace community where our differences are celebrated, and everyone feels a sense of psychological safety and belonging. Accela is committed to putting resources and attention towards evolving our practices, policies, and philosophies to enable diversity to thrive and to support equity in opportunity for everyone.
COMPENSATION AND WELL-BEING
The annual base salary range for this full-time position is $130,000 - $145,000 (less applicable taxes). The actual annual base salary offered may be adjusted based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, location, education, skills, training, and experience. In addition to an annual base salary, this position is eligible for an annual bonus target. This is a discretionary bonus awarded based on company and individual goal achievement.
Accela’s U.S. team members will receive a generous benefits package consisting of options including flexible time off, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, family planning benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match, health savings account with company contributions, flexible spending account, life, accident, and disability coverage, business travel insurance, employee assistance programs, and other well-being benefits.
Accela is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and will respond to requests for job accommodations.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or based on disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation
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