WHO ARE WE

Established in 1945, the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) provides retirement, death, disability and cost-of-living benefits to retirees of the County of Orange and certain County districts. Serving approximately 48,000 members, OCERS is governed by a ten-member Board of Retirement that is responsible for managing a $21 billion dollar fund. For more information about OCERS, please click here.

Mission
OCERS mission is to provide secure retirement and disability benefits with the highest standards of excellence.

Vision
OCERS vision is to be a trusted partner providing premier pension administration, distinguished by consistent, quality member experiences and prudent financial stewardship. 

Values

• Open and Transparent
• Commitment to Superior Service
• Engaged and Dedicated Workforce
• Reliable and Accurate
• Secure and Sustainable

THE OPPORTUNITY   
Under general direction, directs, leads, manages, and coordinates the activities and functions of the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). The Director of EMPO oversees the management of strategic planning initiatives and facilitates the selection and prioritization of projects and programs that align with strategic objectives. The Director is responsible for overseeing OCERS enterprise project portfolio and coordinating between projects to help drive projects to success. This position provides OCERS management and project leads with project management methodologies, standards, and tools for planning, executing, and managing projects. The Director is also responsible for coordinating specialized and sensitive projects that address OCERS-wide issues involving multiple departments and outside agencies.

The EPMO serves at the strategic level to provide organization-wide guidance, governance, standardized processes, and project portfolio management best practices and tools. The EPMO advises management on the best set of projects to realize the greatest value and benefit to the organization. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. The enterprise project portfolio is a suite of projects.

The Director of Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) reports to the Chief Executive Officer and works directly with OCERS senior team. The Director of EPMO will be expected to uphold the highest standards of accountability, professionalism, customer service, and excellence. The Director has overall responsibility for the project management governance function across the organization to facilitate effective decision-making. The Director will develop and direct the continual improvement of the project management methodology and processes for the enterprise to ensure consistency and adherence to established standards and best practices. This position is also responsible for project management metrics, analysis and reporting, and resource balancing across projects.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:   

Include but are not limited to the following:

• Establish the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and organization structure.
• Develop and implement a governance framework for senior management to make strategic decisions throughout OCERS in an effective and consistent manner.
• Provide senior management objective oversight into the current status of all projects and facilitate and support the selection and prioritization of projects that have the highest potential value, impact, and alignment with the strategic plan.
• Define, develop, and manage the organizational project management methodology, standards, tools, and templates to provide consistency in process, reporting, and approach.
• Interface with senior management to define project priorities, implementation opportunities, challenges, and project risks.
• Assist with the planning, budgeting, funding, and resourcing of OCERS programs and projects. Manage resource availability and capacity across enterprise-wide projects.
• Assist project leads and business owners to define project goals and objectives, develop project scope, plan, and schedule. Works closely with project leads and business owners to confirm key performance indicators and establishes performance metrics to ensure deliverables meet goal(s).
• Coordinate the enterprise project portfolio, including balancing staff, financial, and infrastructure resources by priority, dependencies, start-up/closeout timelines, resource capacity, and availability within time, scope, and budget constraints.
• Monitor progress and performance of projects as well as efforts between projects to understand dependencies and cumulative impacts to the organization to support the organization’s strategic goals.
• Track and regularly report on the status of all projects to senior management regarding progress toward key milestones and issues and report on any program-level trends, risks, and issues.
• Assess and monitor risks across various projects in the portfolio and monitor the overall risk level for the program. May manage the risk, issue, and change resolution process, and work with other leaders to take corrective action as needed.
• Keep stakeholders and management constantly engaged and ensures expectations are clear and being met.
• Facilitate project status meetings and executive committee reports.
• Establish change management plans for staff within the organization.
• Conduct lessons learned sessions during and after projects to identify recommendations for improvement.
• Collaborate with business Information Technology (IT) teams in establishing robust project management tools.
• Ensure the collection and archiving of documents from completed projects and analyze them for trends.
• Assist the Contract Administrator with proposal development, contract negotiations, and implementation efforts through project teams, vendors, and sourcing/procurement teams.
• Provide ongoing guidance, mentoring, feedback, and motivation to staff to ensure competent performance while adhering to OCERS policies and procedures.
• Monitor operations of the EPMO to ensure compliance with OCERS policies and standards.
• May perform the full range of supervisory duties over subordinate staff.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Core Competencies

OCERS Executive management will be expected to:

• Manage and develop their talent.
• Represent Senior Executives when needed.
• Participate in vetting and onboarding new staff.
• Manage business plan initiatives with a plan for achievement.
• Maintain a high level of oral and written communication.
• Act as a model for OCERS culture.
• Maintain a high level of accountability.
• Focus on strategy and long-term goals of the organization.
• Have foresight on future challenges and develop a plan for how to face them.
• Have clear expectations on personal career development.

Minimum Qualifications
Minimum qualifications required for entry into the classification

Education and/or Experience
Graduation from a four-year college with a  Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Accounting, Finance, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.

Five (5) + years of full-time program leadership experience, including managing a group of Project Managers or Scrum Masters; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.  

Possession of a Project Management Institute certification or equivalent

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)
• Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)