NOW HIRING: IT PROJECT MANAGER

Department: Information Technology

Reports To: Director of IT

Location: On-site only | 531 Old Swede Road, Douglassville, PA 19518 (No remote work available)

Schedule: Monday-Friday | 8:00AM-4:30PM | Full-time

Compensation: Competitive compensation based on experience, technical depth, project management capability, industry background, and market data

We are seeking an IT Project Manager to bring structure, discipline, and visibility to IT project delivery as our organization continues to grow and invest in technology.

This role reports directly to our IT Manager and will collaborate closely with cross-functional business stakeholders across the organization.

We are looking for someone who can own the execution of technology initiatives end-to-end, from intake and scoping through delivery and close, while also getting their hands dirty with direct technical project work.

The right person will spend time understanding how ACECO actually works, how jobs move through Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, Sales, Purchasing, Quality, and Operations, and then translate that understanding into better-organized, better-communicated, and better-delivered technology projects.

You won't get lost here. Your perspective will matter, your judgment will be relied upon, and your impact will be visible across the organization.

What This Role Really Is

This is a hands-on, individual-contributor project management role responsible for building ACECO's IT project delivery discipline from the ground up rather than stepping into an established one.

IT project management at ACECO has historically been ad hoc. This role establishes the repeatable, accountable execution model the organization needs as its technology ambitions grow. You will bring structure where there has been improvisation and visibility where there has been opacity.

The IT Project Manager both manages and executes. You will own project delivery - scope, schedule, budget tracking, resource coordination, stakeholder communication - while also performing hands-on technical project work directly, including system configuration, account and endpoint provisioning, scripting, data preparation, and tool or integration setup.

Success requires someone who can move comfortably between structured project kickoffs with department leaders and detailed technical execution alongside the Systems Administrator and IT support staff.

Who Thrives Here - and Who Does Not

You'll do well here if you:

• Think in terms of outcomes, not just tasks - you care whether the project actually delivered value
• Are comfortable both managing work and doing the work yourself
• Understand how operational decisions translate into technology needs and project priorities
• Can hold people accountable to commitments without formal authority over them
• Enjoy building processes and standards where none exist yet
• Communicate early, communicate clearly, and never let a deadline surprise a stakeholder
• Know when to escalate specialized work rather than introducing risk
• See technology, automation, dashboards, and better tooling as ways to improve delivery
• Take ownership of outcomes rather than simply tracking status

This role is likely not a fit if you:

• Prefer coordinating work but not executing it directly
• Want a purely strategic or advisory role without hands-on technical involvement
• Have project management experience only in settings with mature, established PM processes
• Prefer reporting what happened over influencing what happens next
• Avoid difficult conversations about scope, timelines, risk, or accountability
• Are uncomfortable working full-time on-site in a manufacturing environment
• Prefer maintaining existing processes rather than building new ones

What Success Looks Like in the First Year

First 90 Days

• Build strong working relationships with the IT Manager, IT team, department leaders, and key business stakeholders
• Develop a thorough understanding of ACECO's technology landscape, active projects, and the current state of IT project delivery
• Learn the current ERP system, existing tools, and reporting capabilities
• Shadow ongoing IT initiatives to understand how work flows through the team and where the pain points are
• Begin managing one or more active projects end-to-end
• Perform hands-on technical project work alongside the Systems Administrator and IT support staff
• Identify quick wins in project communication and stakeholder visibility

Second Quarter

• Own a meaningful portion of the active IT project portfolio
• Begin establishing project management standards, templates, and intake processes
• Produce regular portfolio status reporting that gives leadership and department leaders clear visibility into project progress
• Deepen hands-on technical execution across multiple project workstreams
• Build a working rhythm of structured kickoffs, status meetings, and retrospectives
• Support the IT Manager in tracking resource utilization and load-balancing decisions

Third Quarter

• Drive measurable improvements in project delivery predictability and stakeholder communication
• Refine and document the project intake and scoping process for internal client requests
• Continuously improve delivery practices based on lessons learned from completed projects
• Take on more complex or cross-functional technology initiatives
• Demonstrate the value of structured project management to business stakeholders

Fourth Quarter

• Operate a repeatable, accountable project delivery model that the organization trusts
• Maintain a clear, current view of the full IT project portfolio with the IT Manager
• Institutionalize what works - standards, templates, reporting cadence, and delivery practices
• Support planning for upcoming technology initiatives and resource needs
• Contribute to building organizational confidence in the IT team as a service organization for the business

What You'll Do

Project Execution and Delivery

• Own end-to-end management of technology initiatives from initiation through close - scope, schedule, budget tracking, resource coordination, and delivery confirmation
• Run structured project kickoffs so all stakeholders have shared clarity on objectives, roles, timelines, and success criteria before work begins
• Proactively identify and communicate project risks, scope changes, and resource constraints; surface issues to the IT Manager before they become problems

Hands-On Technical Execution

• Directly perform technical project tasks within the role's capability - configuration, account and endpoint provisioning, scripting, data preparation, and tool or integration setup
• Partner with the Systems Administrator and IT support staff on execution; take on discrete technical workstreams to keep projects moving without over-allocating the team
• Recognize the limits of the role - escalate work requiring deep specialization (infrastructure architecture, security engineering) to the appropriate owner rather than introducing risk
• Perform all hands-on changes within ACECO's change-management and least-privilege controls, keeping the work auditable

Technology as a Service - Portfolio Management

• Support the IT Manager in maintaining a clear, current view of the active project portfolio across IT and Innovation
• Track resource utilization across the IT team; flag overallocation and support load-balancing decisions
• Produce regular portfolio status reporting that gives internal client departments and leadership accurate, accessible visibility into project progress and outcomes

Project Standards and Methodology

• Establish and maintain project management standards, templates, and practices for IT project delivery
• Define and document the project intake and scoping process for internal client requests; ensure requests are properly defined before resources are committed
• Continuously improve project delivery practices based on lessons learned; institutionalize what works

Stakeholder Communication

• Serve as the primary point of contact for project status inquiries from internal client departments
• Manage stakeholder expectations actively - communicate early, communicate clearly, and never let a deadline surprise a client
• Facilitate project status meetings, decision checkpoints, and retrospectives

Other duties as assigned.

What We're Looking For

This role requires full-time, on-site availability Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM.

Candidates should be located within a reasonable daily commuting distance of:

531 Old Swede Road

Douglassville, PA 19518

If relocation is required, the selected candidate must relocate prior to starting. American Crane & Equipment Corporation does not provide relocation assistance.

Ideal Candidates Should Be Able to Demonstrate the Following:

• Strong project management fundamentals - scope definition, scheduling, resource planning, risk management, and stakeholder communication
• Hands-on IT, systems administration, or technical delivery experience
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects without losing clarity or follow-through
• Ability to work across departments and with technical and non-technical stakeholders without formal authority
• Ability to both manage project delivery and contribute to it directly through hands-on technical execution
• Effective communication - clear, consistent status reporting that gives leadership actionable visibility
• Professional maturity to communicate bad news early and scope decisions clearly
• Initiative and ownership mindset - proactively identifies problems and acts rather than waiting to be directed
• Comfort building processes, standards, and structure where none exist yet
• Personal accountability, reliability, and strong work ethic

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Project Management, or a related field strongly preferred
• PMP (Project Management Professional) certification preferred
• PMI-ACP or equivalent agile credential preferred
• Equivalent demonstrated experience will be considered when supported by a strong project delivery track record

Experience

• 3-5 years of project management experience preferred; candidates with 1-3 years of relevant experience and a strong record of delivering technology projects on time and within scope will also be considered
• Hands-on IT, systems administration, or technical delivery experience - this role both manages and performs project work
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, or complex operational environments strongly preferred
• Consulting or professional services background - a significant advantage; experience within a service delivery model, managing client relationships, and reporting against client expectations
• Experience establishing and maintaining project management standards, templates, and reporting cadence within a team or organization
• Experience managing technology vendors, contracts, and external delivery partners
• Familiarity with technology adoption projects

Project Management & Technical Skills

• Project scoping and initiation
• Scheduling and resource planning
• Risk identification and management
• Stakeholder communication and expectation management
• Portfolio tracking and status reporting
• System and application configuration
• Account and endpoint provisioning
• Scripting and data preparation
• Tool and integration setup
• Change management and least-privilege controls
• Project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Wrike, or equivalent)
• Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, Planner)