We are expanding our Web Services group by adding a Project Manager. The Project Manager is responsible for applying technology, leadership and project management skills in the delivery of Internet-based website design, development and hosting services to successfully complete client projects.

You will lead project teams who are responsible for creating and delivering Web-based solutions to clients. Typical daily activities include gathering and documenting user and system requirements, developing project plans, developing and managing a project plan with milestones, managing a development team to build and implement solutions, providing effective change management, conducting risk analysis and managing risk, planning and coordinating quality assurance testing, and obtaining client acceptance for launch.

You will typically manage 10-12 medium-sized projects with durations from several weeks to several months. For each project, you will act as a liaison between the client and a 4-5 member project team generally comprised of a graphic designer, a site construction specialist, an application developer, and a quality assurance specialist.

Some of your time will be spent mentoring LRS Web Services group members to ensure that all projects are conducted with consistent quality. You will occasionally assist our account representatives in investigation of Web-based options for fulfilling client needs.

You will be based in our Springfield, Illinois office. This position may require a very limited amount of travel within Illinois and the United States.

LRS Web Services has established itself as the premier Web development group in Central Illinois, helping businesses utilize the World Wide Web since 1996 by providing analysis, graphic design, site construction, application development, and hosting. The team of experienced Web developers and graphic designers work together to understand client’s needs and business processes, which is a vital part of integrating a Web presence into a client’s business strategy.

Your compensation will consist of a base salary plus paid overtime.

Performance objectives:
• Manage projects: Within your first 60 days, you will participate in managing a project. Within 6 months, you will be successfully managing 10-12 projects independently. You will meet with clients and Web Services team members to develop project plans with milestones. You will independently manage and meet milestones established for multiple projects, developing and maintaining project plans by managing project teams to develop and implement solutions, conduct risk analysis and manage risks, manage scope and conduct change management, participate in quality assurance testing, obtain client acceptance, and ensure a smooth launch. You will also meet with the Web Services team leaders on a weekly basis to allocate resources and balance development team workloads.
• Project Management best practices: You will be expected to suggest, promote, and implement Web-appropriate project management and quality assurance practices and mentor other team members in project management best practices.
• Customer Service: You will create an environment of customer service excellence by educating yourself and others about good customer service practices and implement those practices as appropriate to your role. You will deliver excellent customer service within the scope of a project, task or communication, with the long-term goals of client retention, continued sales of development work, positive client regard for Web Services, and recommendations to others. You will consistently respond to client requests and comments in a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable manner.
• Work collaboratively: You will work openly and collaboratively with a team of developers, designers, salespeople, and manager, and proactively share both need-to-know and nice-to-know information in order to help the entire group work effectively, deliver an excellent product, and provide superb customer service. You will assist other team members to continually improve skill sets by giving timely constructive feedback and specific training, where appropriate, and be open and responsive to such feedback yourself. You will actively support other Web Services group members in fulfilling their performance objectives.
• Estimating: You will be asked to review and approve the Project Management portion of our project estimates. Knowledge of our sales and estimation process is key as you will be responsible for keeping the development team on budget for each of the projects that you manage.
• Status Updates: Throughout the life of the project, you will establish and maintain open lines of communication between the client and Web Services team members. You will provide weekly project and non-project related status updates to the Web Services Manager.
• Learn about LRS Web Services: Within the first 30 days, you will learn about our services, products and process, including our existing project management process, and you will verbally demonstrate this understanding to your manager, team members and clients.


Organization Structure and Interfaces:
The LRS Web Services Group consists of 3 salespeople, 5 graphic designers, 3 HTML/server specialists, 5 application developers, 2 network specialists, a project manager, a QA and SEO specialist, a sales coordinator/business analyst, and a manager. Our team is based in Springfield, Illinois but serves clients nationwide. You will work with project teams and clients to build and maintain Web sites. You will report to the manager of LRS Web Services.

You can learn more about LRS at www.LRS.jobs. If you are ready for this challenging opportunity, send your resume to hropp@LRS.com.

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.

You must have two years of project management experience with medium-sized (2-6 month) or larger application development projects, preferably Web-based, including business analysis, system analysis, requirements definition, project team management, scope management, quality assurance, and implementation.

Experience with a variety of agile project management methodologies is a plus. Experience with any of the following: HTML, CSS, ASP.NET, JavaScript, XML, relational databases, or other web application development tools will make you a stronger candidate. Additional experience or training in marketing, web usability, accessibility or web branding is a plus.

You must have permanent authorization to work in the USA for any employer. No visa sponsorships are available.


Success Keys:
Your success will be judged on your ability to provide efficient project management and quality assurance to meet your assigned projects’ deliverables on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of the client. To accomplish this, you will need to manage technical, logistical, personnel, and client-relationship issues. Flexibility, patience, persistence, and attention to detail are critical to success in this position. The ability to handle multiple tasks and to prioritize work in order to maintain productivity as well as good troubleshooting and problem-solving skills are essential. We need a project manager who is self-motivated yet can work collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

The ability to carefully listen to clients to provide a Web strategy that is tailored to their needs is essential. Because you will be dealing with a variety of sizes and types of clients, general business acumen, empathy, and the ability to quickly understand business challenges is important. You will need to manage client expectations by educating clients about Web development in general and LRS Web Services processes specifically. The ability to explain technical information in a way that is clearly understandable to non-technical people is extremely helpful. Experience in making small-group presentations is a plus, along with excellent writing skills and the ability to clearly articulate your thoughts. Occasionally you will be asked to participate in events for clients.

A good understanding of various Web technologies and how they relate to clients’ business needs is essential. You will be expected to quickly learn LRS Web Services processes, services and products and to remain aware of current and developing design and Web trends in order to anticipate and meet client needs and requests.

This position is eligible for full benefits.