PROJECT MANAGER LEAD

South Florida Water Management District

West Palm Beach, FL

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JOB DETAILS

SKILLS

Analysis Skills, Best Practices, Budget Management, Budgeting, Building Permits, Communication Skills, Conferences, Construction, Construction Design, Construction Engineering, Construction Planning, Continuous Improvement, Contract Management, Cost Benefit Analysis, Cross-Functional, Decision Support, Document Archiving, Documentation, Driver's License, Ecosystems, Emergency Management, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Flooding, Funding, Geology, Grant Writing, Human Resources, Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Information Models, Information Technology & Information Systems, Leadership, Local Government, Maintain Compliance, Mentoring, Performance Analysis, Presentation/Verbal Skills, Process Development, Procurement Management, Professional Engineer, Project Control, Project Development, Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Planning, Project Schedule, Project Tracking, Project/Program Coordination, Project/Program Management, Proposal Development, Purchasing/Procurement, Real Estate, Regulations, Risk, Risk Management, Statement of Work (SOW), Strategic Analysis, Strategic Planning, Sustainability, Team Player, Technical Writing, Technical/Engineering Design, Time Management, Urban Planning, Water Resource Management, Water Supply, Writing Skills

LOCATION

West Palm Beach, FL

POSTED

3 days ago

The position is for an experienced Lead Project Manager responsible for managing ongoing and future Project implementation efforts – inclusive of grant funded projects within the Flood Control and Water Supply Implementation Section of the Flood Control and Water Supply Planning Division. The projects are being implemented with the goal of reducing the risks of flooding, sea level rise and other impacts on water resources and benefitting communities and ecosystems in South Florida.   
Projects involve large-scale, multi-jurisdictional design and construction efforts. The Lead Project Manager should be responsible for overseeing funding agreements and contracts, and leading project delivery through the effective management and coordination of diverse projects, multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders, consultants, and partner agencies. This role requires close collaboration with Engineering and Construction, Hydrologic and Hydraulic Modeling, Real Estate, Procurement, Regulatory, and other internal staff to successfully advance high-profile, high-priority initiatives that support the District’s Strategic Plan goals and the objectives of the Flood Control and Water Supply Implementation program. The successful candidate must be a collaborative team player who adheres to District policies, established best practices, and project management standards, while demonstrating a strong commitment to the mission and objectives of the District and the Flood Control and Water Supply Implementation team.
The Lead Project Manager will support the Section Leader in advancing project goals and implementation strategies that emphasize achievable deliverables, efficient use of technical and financial resources, and streamlined processes. The position requires knowledge of South Florida’s water management challenges, strong analytical and project management skills, and the ability to lead multiple complex, high-priority projects involving diverse internal teams, consultants, contractors, and representatives from federal, state, local, and tribal governments. The Lead Project Manager should be responsible for maintaining workflow documentation, aligning project scope, schedule, and budget with the District’s strategic mission and resiliency priorities, ensuring effective communication with relevant project stakeholders, organizing and properly archiving all project documentation, and providing recommendations, status updates, and strategic analyses to the Division leadership. The role also requires effective collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, proactive engagement throughout project development and review processes, and the ability to represent, explain, and defend District initiatives before governmental agencies and at professional forums, conferences, and task forces.
The Lead Project Manager must demonstrate exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex and sensitive technical information to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. The position requires strong technical, analytical, and project management expertise, including the ability to perform benefit-cost analyses, damage assessments; review, interpret, and extract critical information from modeling and engineering reports, design drawings, specifications, construction plans, permitting documents, and other technical materials; and apply those findings to support informed decision-making and successful project delivery.

The role also requires the application of a broad, strategic perspective to project and program management, including influencing decision-making, resolving stakeholder conflicts, developing and monitoring project budgets, identifying and measuring critical success factors, ensuring technical consistency across disciplines, supporting selection of appropriately qualified project team members, and effectively managing sponsor expectations. The Lead Project Manager must be proficient in all core project management disciplines, including scope, schedule, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, procurement, and integration management. In addition, the position collaborates closely with the project controls team to ensure compliance with the South Florida Water Management District’s project management methodology and actively supports continuous improvement through training, mentoring, and the advancement of project and program management practices.
Project related efforts, in addition, include overall meeting scheduling, attendance tracking and expedited summary notes in support of overall team engagement and communication; identification and evaluation of alternative plans in coordination with the project teams; development of statements of work / memorandums of understanding in support of real estate acquisition, design review and construction oversight for grant compliance; contract procurement and administration; technical review of multiple jointly produced project deliverables; report, documentation and presentation of main project findings and accomplishments; development of grant required deliverables inclusive of quarterly reports, support to research, conceptual design formulation and development of grant proposals and other project related funding requests needs; application of innovative, creative, and strategic considerations in the delivery of projects; feedback to ongoing and future staff augmentation on project management and effectiveness and providing input on their performance plans and evaluations; and understanding of overall Flood Control and Water Supply Implementation Section Strategy to ensure that Division and Section objectives are incorporated into all project phases. 

Position may be filled at the SENIOR level, depending on applicant experience and qualifications.
Employment Guidelines:
Lead Project Manager: Bachelor’s Degree in a related discipline and a relevant specialty license or a master’s degree in a related discipline and 8+ years’ experience. Prior experience is a blend of project management and business/line department roles (i.e., Engineering, Science, IT, etc.).
Senior Project Manager: Bachelor’s Degree in a related discipline and a relevant specialty license or a master’s degree in a related discipline and 6+ years’ experience. Prior experience is a blend of project management and business/line department roles (i.e., science, engineering, IT, etc.).
Examples of qualifying disciplines for the education and experience requirements include engineering, environmental science, planning, and other water-related fields. Familiarity with South Florida resilience challenges and ongoing regional planning initiatives is highly desirable. Preferred qualifications include experience in resilience implementation, flood risk management, and project and contract management. Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated experience in modeling, engineering design review, and construction oversight.

License(s) / Certification(s):
Valid State of Florida Driver's License required.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred. Examples of relevant specialty licenses include State of Florida Professional Engineer (PE), Professional Geologist (PG), Certified Planner (AICP), Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), and Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP).
Physical Requirements/ Working Environment:
Due to the District’s response role and in the total scope of emergency management, this position may at times be required to provide support before, during and after major storm events and emergency. situations, such as hurricanes or other declared emergencies, depending on assigned emergency response role.

About the Company

South Florida Water Management District

Our mission: To safeguard and restore South Florida's water resources and ecosystems, protect our communities from flooding, and meet the region's water needs while connecting with the public and stakeholders.

The South Florida Water Management District is a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern half of the state, covering 16 counties from Orlando to the Florida Keys and serving a population of 9 million residents. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. Created in 1949, the agency is responsible for managing and protecting water resources of South Florida by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.

A key initiative is restoration of the Everglades – the largest environmental restoration project in the nation's history. The District is also working to improve the Kissimmee River and its floodplain, Lake Okeechobee and South Florida's coastal estuaries.

COMPANY SIZE

1,000 to 1,499 employees

INDUSTRY

Government and Military

WEBSITE

https://www.sfwmd.gov/