Project Manager

CTA is seeking an experienced project management professional to coordinate and plan work on an initiative modernizing one of the most critical data systems in progressive politics. CTA is undertaking work with a key progressive organization to completely rebuild and manage key infrastructure, and this role will serve as the primary point of contact on the work, oversee all plans and timelines, and track related work to completion. As the coordinator of all subprojects within the initiative, you will play a central role in rebuilding a piece of data infrastructure central to the progressive ecosystem. This career-defining opportunity offers the chance to shape a high-impact project from the ground up, leveraging modern data technologies and engineering practices, all while leading out front and sitting at the center of a new, cross-functional team. You’ll work within the supportive framework of an established, mission-driven organization with a history of delivering transformative solutions.

Reporting to CTA’s Project Director, the Project Manager will serve as the point person and point of contact on the initiative to all external stakeholders as well as internal CTA leadership and other CTA staff. They will work closely with the initiative’s engineering and product leadership to ensure timelines are met, communication is clear, and each stakeholder is consistently involved in the feedback loop. They will ensure regular status reporting as well as that the right reviews, approvals, and other checkpoints occur throughout the engagement. This role requires a self-motivated, detail-oriented, and assertive leader who can operate within a highly technical environment involving a wide range of stakeholders, employing high-level strategic thinking and exceptional communication.

About us

Community Tech Alliance is a group of progressive technologists and strategists formed to provide data infrastructure building blocks to the progressive ecosystem at a low cost. CTA seeks to uplevel program impact by unlocking the potential of data, using software and data engineering, and removing the barriers to entry. We are a small team of engineers, data practitioners, product managers, and strategists looking to create infrastructure for progressive change.

Community Tech Alliance believes strongly that:

• Inclusive teams are strongest, and supportive work environments take investment, intentionality, and openness

• Empathy is the cornerstone of building smart technology solutions

• All team members should take ownership of the project and team’s development

• Iteration is key, and smart solutions require action not perfection

• Nothing great has been built without making mistakes and learning from them

Other points relevant to this role:

• We are a fully remote organization, but have synchronous working hours

• Our client for this project is in Washington, D.C. You must be available for synchronous work during Eastern Time business hours.

• Preference may be given to individuals who could work a hybrid schedule out of CTA’s Washington, D.C. office.

About you

• You have led project management on one or many large, complex projects

• You are a strong relationship builder and active communicator, and you understand and appreciate the value in building and maintaining trust among all stakeholders. You can develop this ability with your peers and collaborators.

• You’re comfortable managing down, across, and up to ensure all needed input and signoff is included and everyone involved understands expectations and plans

• You have excellent judgment – you are able to take in multiple perspectives from the team and stakeholders, synthesize tradeoffs, and mitigate risks

• You are a clear, proactive, and risk-averse communicator, keeping everyone informed of timeline, scope, and/or budget changes well in advance

• You’ve been in situations where a key responsibility was turning ambiguity into clarity, and you can help a diverse group turn ideas into plans, actions, and timelines

• You are receptive to feedback and open to introspection when something goes wrong. 

• You have been on or worked with product and/or engineering teams
  

Project Management and Technical Experience

• You’ve managed projects of a highly technical nature, and have experiencing working with data warehousing, ETL, and data processing tools

• You have experience using project management software such as Jira, Asana, or Trello

• You’ve served as a team’s documentarian, ensuring wikis are up to date and well-organized. 

• You have a nose for decomposing overly large tasks into manageable chunks and mapping dependencies.

• You are an expert facilitator, knowing when to encourage meaningful exploration and when to diplomatically redirect discussions when necessary.

Additional Requirements:

• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without restriction.

• Must be located in the US and able to work ET business hours.

Physical Demands

The physical demands here represent those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• Ability to sit at a computer monitor for extended periods of time

• Occasional travel to Washington DC
  

Salary and Benefits

Salary is between $130/yr and $150/yr, commensurate with experience.

Community Tech Alliance provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.