Job Posting Title:Principal IT Project Manager (This is an In-Person Position)
Department:Information Technology
Location:415 SILVER AVE SW
Pay Range:$81,557.00 - $126,381.00
The Principal IT Project Manager is the top IT project, program, and portfolio expert, providing strategic leadership for countywide technology initiatives. The role guides governance, mentors project managers, and aligns major technology investments with County priorities. This position ensures successful delivery of the County's most complex, cross-departmental projects across scope, schedule, budget, quality, change management, and readiness.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES- Provide strategic leadership for large-scale, multi-program IT portfolios, ensuring alignment with County-wide objectives and long-term technology planning.
- Define, implement, and oversee project, program, and portfolio management methodologies, standards, and processes across the IT department; ensure they are consistently adopted and continuously improved.
- Serve as the senior advisor to IT leadership on program and portfolio planning, organizational capacity, prioritization, risk posture, and resource allocation.
- Lead the intake, evaluation, and scoring of proposed technology initiatives; recommend prioritization decisions based on strategic value, risk, cost, feasibility, and organizational impact.
- Manage high-risk, politically visible, and complex initiatives that span multiple years, multiple departments, external partners, and vendor ecosystems-extending beyond the scale normally handled by Lead-level project managers (e.g., initiatives with multiple sub-programs, multi-million-dollar budgets, and extensive integration requirements).
- Provide situational leadership, direction, and technical mentorship to lower-level IT Project Managers on project and program delivery challenges, escalation handling, decision-making, and project recovery strategies.
- Act as the escalation point for governance, risk, and issue management across all IT-managed portfolios; lead cross-functional resolution efforts when challenges impact scope, budget, critical deadlines, or service delivery.
- Partner with business leadership to define technology-enabled business transformations, assess organizational readiness, and support adoption through stakeholder engagement, training strategies, and change management frameworks.
- Coordinate with IT managers, executives, and county departments to establish governance committees, steering groups, and portfolio review boards.
- Prepare and deliver executive-level reports, dashboards, and presentations summarizing portfolio health, risks, dependencies, outcomes, and return on investment.
- Lead the design and oversight of project execution artifacts such as enterprise-level schedules, Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), dependency maps, and resource plans.
- Ensure comprehensive documentation throughout the project, program, and portfolio lifecycle, including requirements, decision logs, change management artifacts, transition plans, and end-of-life documentation.
- Mentor and train PMO staff in advanced project, program, and portfolio management practices; guide Leads in coaching Senior and base-level PMs.
- Monitor vendor performance and contract compliance at the portfolio level; support contract negotiations and multi-year procurement planning.
- Maintain strong, trusted relationships with business partners, executive stakeholders, and external agencies; serve as a strategic liaison for long-term IT planning.
*The above information is intended to outline the general nature and scope of the duties required for this position. It is not an exhaustive list and may vary depending on specific job assignments and responsibilities.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field.
- Ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience managing complex IT projects, programs, or portfolios in a comparably complex environment, including enterprise- or county-wide initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, systems, vendors, and organizational units.
*Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience may be considered for the above requirements.SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
PREFERENCES- Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Program Management Professional (PgMP) Certification, and/or Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) Certification.
SCREENING AND COMPLIANCEThe offer of this Bernalillo County position requires compliance with the following:
- Successful completion of a post-offer employment medical examination.
- Adherence to all County safety guidelines.
- Complete all FEMA training(s) assigned to this position.
- Possession of a valid New Mexico driver's license by the date of hire and maintenance of a valid license while employed in this position.
- Complete required supervisor training, if applicable.
WORKING CONDITIONS- Work is typically performed in an indoor office environment but occasionally requires travel to other locations.
- Work environments may include noise, dust and/or unpleasant odors, and may occasionally require work in confined spaces.
- Occasional evenings, holidays, and/or weekend work may be required.
EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, AND MATERIALS- Equipment typically used in the performance of office duties includes telephone, computer, printer, and copy machine.
- Various types of paperwork and forms are handled in the performance of duties.
