Senior Project Manager - Growth & Innovation

Job Purpose/Summary The Senior Project Manager – Growth & Innovation is a Project Management Office resource responsible for actively leading and driving execution of strategically important research and development projects through cross-functional teams from across the organization. This role is responsible for simultaneous management of multiple concurrent projects that may be unrelated in scope but require coordinated execution due to shared organizational resources. This role applies formal project management disciplines to execute projects against established scope, schedule, and cost baselines, ensuring disciplined planning, coordinated execution, proactive issue resolution, and successful delivery. Assigned projects include, but are not limited to, Department of Defense (DoD) funded and other government-funded efforts, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), and other research and development initiatives requiring structured project controls. The Senior Project Manager does not function as a line manager of contributing business units, but is directly responsible for driving execution by aligning matrixed teams, coordinating work across functions, resolving barriers, enforcing accountability to project commitments, and maintaining momentum toward delivery. The Senior Project Manager serves as the PMO lead for assigned projects, with responsibility for managing the approved baseline, directing execution across participating business units, overseeing budget and cost performance, supporting procurement and subcontractor coordination, managing risks and issues, and providing executive-level reporting. This role provides the leadership, structure, and control needed to move projects forward and deliver results across high-priority research and development initiatives. Duties and Responsibilities Project Leadership and Execution Serve as the PMO lead for assigned research and development projects, including DoD-funded and other government-funded efforts such as SBIR, STTR, and other strategically important initiatives. Manage multiple concurrent projects that may be unrelated in scope but require coordinated execution due to shared organizational resources. Drive day-to-day project execution through cross-functional teams composed of resources from other business units, ensuring work progresses in alignment with approved scope, schedule, and cost baselines. Translate project objectives, contractual requirements, and baseline plans into coordinated workstreams, actionable priorities, and clear team accountabilities. Lead projects through all phases of the lifecycle, from initiation and planning through execution, monitoring and control, and closeout. Coordinate with functional managers and business unit leaders to secure resources, align priorities, and ensure timely completion of project deliverables. Actively identify execution gaps, remove barriers, resolve cross-functional issues, and escalate decisions as needed to keep projects moving forward. Scope, Schedule, and Cost Control Manage and control project scope, schedule, and cost performance against approved baselines. Establish and maintain formal project management plans, including work breakdown structures, integrated schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk registers, and performance reporting. Monitor execution against plan using earned value management, cost controls, and other project performance measures; identify variances, assess impacts, and drive corrective actions with contributing teams and stakeholders. Apply earned value management and other project control methods to measure performance, analyze variances, forecast outcomes, and support corrective action. Implement and maintain cost control practices to ensure project performance remains aligned to approved budgets and baselines. Lead formal change control processes to evaluate, document, approve, and communicate changes to scope, schedule, budget, or resources. Prepare and maintain accurate forecasts for cost, schedule, resource demand, and project completion. Budget, Procurement, and Subcontractor Coordination Manage and track project budgets, including labor, materials, subcontractor costs, and other direct project expenditures. Partner with Finance, Contracts, business unit leaders, and technical teams to support financial planning, funding alignment, cost tracking, invoicing, and reporting. Coordinate procurement activities required to support project execution, including statements of work, purchase requests, vendor coordination, and delivery tracking. Oversee subcontractor and partner performance from a project management perspective, including deliverable tracking, schedule adherence, invoice review, and issue resolution. Ensure procurement and subcontractor activities are aligned with project requirements, contractual obligations, and company policies. Governance, Risk, and Reporting Maintain accurate project data, status, risks, issues, assumptions, actions, and decisions in required systems and dashboards. Lead recurring project and management reviews to provide leadership visibility, support decision-making, and drive accountability for execution. Identify, assess, and manage project risks, dependencies, and issues across participating business units, including development and execution of mitigation plans. Develop and maintain executive-level visualizations, dashboards, and reporting that provide clear insight into project status, schedule performance, cost performance, risks, forecasts, and key decisions. Present project performance, financial status, and forward-looking analysis to executive leadership in a clear, concise, and decision-oriented format. Provide clear, timely, and accurate reporting on project health, financial status, schedule performance, risks, and forecasts to executives and stakeholders. Ensure compliance with PMO policies, project governance standards, customer requirements, and applicable contractual obligations. PMO Enablement and Cross-Functional Leadership Apply PMO methods, tools, templates, and controls across assigned projects to ensure consistency, discipline, and transparency in delivery. Provide direct leadership of cross-functional project execution across business units contributing to delivery. Hold contributing teams accountable for commitments, deliverables, and timelines necessary to achieve project objectives. Support business units in resolving dependencies, execution barriers, and competing priorities that affect delivery. Contribute subject matter expertise to strengthen PMO processes, portfolio visibility, and project execution performance. Qualifications Eligible to obtain a U.S. Security Clearance – U.S. Citizenship required. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification required. Minimum of 10 years of project management experience leading complex, cross-functional projects. Minimum of 3 years of experience managing projects in a matrixed environment with responsibility for scope, schedule, and cost performance. Experience managing projects against established scope, schedule, and cost baselines. Experience leading execution through cross-functional teams across multiple business units. Experience managing DoD-funded and other government-funded projects; experience supporting SBIR, STTR, or similar research and development efforts preferred. Experience applying earned value management principles, cost controls, and performance measurement techniques to manage project execution. Experience developing and maintaining executive dashboards, visualizations, and project reporting for leadership review and decision support. Experience with project budgeting, cost tracking, forecasting, procurement coordination, and subcontractor management. Strong knowledge of formal project management methods, tools, governance, change control practices, and project controls. Strong risk management, issue resolution, and executive reporting skills. Demonstrated ability to drive execution, maintain accountability, and deliver results in a cross-functional environment. Working conditions Should be willing to work in a variety of settings as needed, including nights and weekends. Employees may be called upon to participate in in-person meetings, trainings, or company functions at Knowmadics offices or other designated locations. Travel in support of business operations may also be required, and employees are expected to comply with these obligations as part of their position. Estimated travel: 33% Physical requirements Prolonged periods of remaining in a stationary position at a desk and working on a computer. Direct reports None. Location Wichita, Kansas (Remote) Department Project Management Office Employment Type Full-Time Minimum Experience Experienced