Program Manager, IT

Position Title: Program Manager

Department: Information Technology 

Join our Team! At IHDA we strive to create and maintain a work environment that promotes diversity, recognition and inclusion. IHDA is committed to hiring and investing in individuals of diverse talents and backgrounds to ensure a range of perspectives and experiences inform and guide our work of financing affordable housing in the state of Illinois. 

Who we are: The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is one of the Nation’s preeminent Housing Finance Agencies and one of the State’s ten largest financial institutions. Our mission is to finance the creation and preservation of affordable housing across the state. IHDA oversees more than 20 federal and state programs on behalf of the state of Illinois and serves as one of the state’s primary resources for housing policy and program administration. For over 50 years, IHDA has led the state in financing and supporting affordable housing. 

Summary: We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated IT Program Manager to oversee and coordinate technological initiatives across the organization, ensuring alignment with business objectives, timely delivery, and budget adherence. This role manages cross-functional teams and Project Managers, drives the implementation of best practices, and provides mentorship and strategic oversight. The position requires strong leadership, stakeholder management, and a solid understanding of IT infrastructure, software development, and project management methodologies. Key duties include monitoring project status, maintaining internal and external stakeholder relationships, and supporting the overall efficiency and success of the IT portfolio.

Essential Functions:

• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and motivate team members.
• Able to manage cross-functional teams and ensure delivery from all areas across IT, Vendors and Business colleagues are completed on time, within budget and with high quality. 
• Metrics-driven, proactive leader that balances company needs with customer expectations.  Evaluates and reports progress in terms of best practice quality and performance metrics.
• Strong project management and budget experience, including the ability to create accurate project plans, executive level dashboards and KPIs.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills to navigate through difficult project issues at all levels including with our Executive team and Vendors.
• Strong passion for continuous improvement in our people, process and products.
• Working knowledge of traditional and agile development methodologies and how / when to apply them.
• Establish and enforce project management best practices, guidelines, templates and processes and ensure all processes are adhered to and monitored.
• Train and mentor Project Managers and our teams on our project management methodology.
• Formulate, track and evaluate project plans, resource plans, schedules and budgets to meet project objectives and oversee / mentor the Project Managers in these areas. 
• Manage and direct multiple cross-functional teams concurrently to meet project objectives. 
• Monitor the progress of assigned projects and track roadblocks, risks and project change management.
• Allocate staff and budget resources to meet changing organizational needs.  
• Manage balancing team resources to ensure coverage for duration of project and on-time delivery.
• Monitor vendor performance and manage vendor relationships closely for project success.
• Work with various departments and vendors to coordinate systems testing, installation, training, and support.
• Provide input for employee evaluations / reviews and actively mentor their team members to provide timely and consistent feedback for career growth.
• Coordinate production support incidents and work requests with our IT teams and vendors to ensure they are resolved in a timely manner to meet our commitments to the business 
• Keep informed of technical, managerial and process trends and best practices in IT. 
• This position will interact with departmental staff and all levels of management to fulfill their day-to-day responsibilities, so it is important to possess excellent communication, time management, organizational and interpersonal skills. The ability to effectively multitask will be important.
•  Additional duties as assigned.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required, in Information Technology, Computer Science and/or project management, or a related field.  
• At least 7 years of project management experience including the ability to manage varying levels of complexity, matrixed teams and experience with software development, infrastructure projects, process improvements, software integration, implementation and maintenance projects, and support.  
• 2 - 3 years of experience with managing a team of project managers and guide them to achieve positive results for their projects and for the organization.
• 2 - 3 years of experience with running a project management office and managing essential tasks of a project portfolio including but not limited to reporting and communication, creating and maintaining project management standards, resource management, and project governance and oversight.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills and ability to multitask.  
• Proficient in entire Microsoft suite of applications including Visio and Project. 
• Experience with Waterfall and Agile methodologies and tools such as Jira, Monday.com, MS Project and Smartsheet.  
• This position places heavy emphasis on attention to detail, communications, coordination, teamwork, and quality of work performance. 
• PMP certification desired. 

Physical Requirements: Alternating between sitting, standing, and walking. Ascending and descending stairs. Crouching and stooping. Pushing and pulling. Reaching overhead or below. Repetitive tasks movements (filing, keyboarding, copying). Lifting, carrying, and moving objects of up to 10 -15 pounds.

What We Offer:

• Paid time off, plus paid holidays
• Currently in a hybrid work arrangement, but candidates must reside in Illinois at time of hire.
• Medical/dental/vision/life insurance plans
• Short/long term disability 
• Tuition reimbursement 
• Flex spending
• 401K plan – immediate vesting
• IHDA employees may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs.
• Salary: $131,761 - $164,701

Must be a resident of Illinois or willing to relocate. Flexible scheduling is available, upon completion of a six-month probationary period.

EOE