Job SummaryThe Staff Project Manager is a senior individual contributor within OpenGov's Professional Services Strategic Projects team, responsible for owning delivery on specific multi-suite, high-complexity government implementations. This role sits above the Lead/Sr. PM tier and below Principal PM: the Staff PM defines and oversees implementation strategy for the projects assigned to them, without holding people-management authority and without the org-wide, cross-portfolio strategy mandate carried by the Principal PM.
The Staff PM operates as the connective tissue on their assigned engagements - coordinating Solutions Architecture, Technical, and Change Management functions, managing scope and risk with commercial discipline, and serving as the primary program-level point of contact for Director- and VP-level client stakeholders. The role requires the judgment to run a complex, multi-department implementation independently, while building the documentation and governance habits that make the engagement defensible under scrutiny.
This is an individual-contributor role. Influence across matrixed delivery teams - SA, Technical, Change Management, and vertical resources - is exercised through structured process and stakeholder trust, not direct authority.
ResponsibilitiesProgram & Project Delivery- Own end-to-end delivery for one or more multi-suite, multi-department government implementations, including cross-workstream sequencing and phased go-live planning.
- Apply matrix program management discipline to coordinate SA, Technical, and Change Management resources without direct reporting authority over those functions.
- Establish and maintain project governance artifacts: RAID logs, decision registers, escalation paths, and configuration-freeze protocols appropriate to the engagement's complexity.
- Define scope boundaries at the project and workstream level; identify client-side triggers for change orders and document them in writing before they become disputes.
- Escalate risks to the Principal PM / Sr. Director with enough lead time for intervention - no risk is surfaced for the first time in a client meeting.
Stakeholder Management- Serve as the primary point of accountability for Director- and VP-level client stakeholders throughout the implementation lifecycle.
- Navigate multi-department client governance, competing priorities, and shifting decision-makers with professionalism and a clear paper trail.
- Deliver structured, client-ready status reporting, escalation memos, steering committee materials, and go/no-go readiness briefs.
- Partner with Sales and PS Leadership during scoping on assigned or prospective engagements to assess delivery feasibility and inform SOW structure.
Delivery Governance & Quality- Define and enforce go-live readiness criteria, configuration-freeze processes, and UAT acceptance standards for assigned engagements.
- Proactively identify project-level risks - scope, resource, timeline, and client-readiness - and own mitigation plans through resolution.
- Lead root-cause analysis on delivery issues that span multiple workstreams; document findings and surface them to the Principal PM / PS leadership when the fix has implications beyond the current engagement.
- Ensure delivery consistency through adherence to PS methodology and shared tooling (RocketLane, Salesforce), and contribute observations to playbook development.
Change Management & Client Enablement- Coordinate change management activities for assigned implementations - organizational readiness, adoption risk, and stakeholder alignment across departments - in partnership with the Change Management function.
- Advise client stakeholders on readiness gaps and adoption risk specific to their governmental constraints and political dynamics.
- Guide clients through scope evolution without losing delivery momentum or allowing verbal-only agreements to stand as commitments.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Mentorship- Act as a day-to-day resource and informal mentor for Lead/Sr. PMs and Implementation Consultants staffed on the same engagements.
- Identify delivery trends within assigned engagements - scope patterns, resource gaps, client-readiness indicators - and raise them to PS leadership with a recommendation.
- Partner with Product and Engineering to route field delivery observations into product feedback for the assigned account(s).
- Feed engagement-specific learnings from multi-department, multi-suite projects up to the Principal PM and PS leadership for incorporation into the broader delivery methodology.
Requirements and Preferred ExperienceExperience- 5-7 years of progressive program and project management experience in a SaaS environment, including ownership of at least one enterprise-scale, multi-product implementation.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating across implementation, product, engineering, and sales functions without direct authority over those teams.
- Experience with complex governmental clients or equivalent regulated/public-sector environments; understanding of procurement constraints and multi-department governance is strongly preferred.
- Prior experience supporting SOW language, change-order rationale, or commercial framing in partnership with sales or PS leadership.
Technical & Analytical Proficiency- Strong technical aptitude for enterprise SaaS platforms and deployment methodology, including configuration management, data migration oversight, and integration coordination.
- Proficiency with project/program management tooling and CRM platforms (RocketLane, Salesforce, or equivalent).
- Ability to evaluate cross-system dependencies and resource constraints and translate findings into clear, actionable mitigation plans.
- Working knowledge of project-level budget tracking and delivery-margin awareness for assigned engagements (portfolio-level forecasting sits with the Principal PM).
Communication & Stakeholder Influence- Strong written and verbal communication skills; demonstrated ability to produce client-ready documentation (status briefs, steering committee materials, escalation memos).
- Demonstrated ability to influence without authority - aligning cross-functional teams and driving accountability across a matrixed environment.
- Skilled at translating technical delivery complexity into clear narrative for non-technical client stakeholders and department-level executives.
Certifications & Methodology- PMP certification preferred; Scrum Master (CSM or PSM) or SAFe Agile certification accepted as equivalent or supplementary.
- Prosci, CCMP, or equivalent Change Management certification a plus.
- Working knowledge of PMBOK, Agile, and hybrid delivery frameworks.
Additional Requirements- Willingness to travel to client sites for discovery, steering committee meetings, go-live support, and executive relationship management.
- Bachelor's degree preferred or commensurate experience demonstrating the ability to perform the responsibilities above.
- This is an individual-contributor role with cross-functional influence; people-management experience is not required, though mentorship capability is expected.
CompensationSan Francisco, CA: $160,000 - $180,000
On target ranges above include base plus a portion of variable compensation that is earned based on company and individual performance.
The final compensation will be determined by a number of factors such as qualifications, expertise, and the candidate's geographical location.
