Program Project Manager

Career Area:

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other.  We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Role Definition
Assists Program Manager with the management of more complex projects within a corporate program.

Responsibilities

•    Tracking progress according to program schedules and goals; developing solutions to program problems.

•    Participating in the preparations of proposals, plans, and program specifications.

•    Developing the project scope documents, project timetables and other documents that would be provided to Project Managers.

•    Monitoring the scheduling, budget, and performance of company programs.

Skills Descriptors
Business Acumen: Knowledge of business concepts, tools, and processes that are needed for making sound decisions in the context of the company's business; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Level Working Knowledge: 

•    Comments on the organization's business model and financial goals.

•    Communicates key considerations for business decision making process.

•    Cites examples of types of information needed to make sound business decisions.

•    Participates in business task to get things done in own unit or area.

•    Caters to key stakeholders and their priorities.

Planning: Tactical, Strategic: Knowledge of effective planning techniques and ability to contribute to operational (short term), tactical (1-2 years) and strategic (3-5 years) planning in support of the overall business plan.
Level Extensive Experience: 

•    Develops, refines, and communicates tactical plans for own responsibilities.

•    Provides the right level of detail as input for strategic plan development.

•    Demonstrates the value and necessity of linking tactical plans to overall strategic plan.

•    Ensures attention to the detail and dependencies of existing departmental-level plans.

•    Plans for allocation of resources in line with unit goals, technical and business objectives.

•    Ensures the planning process is integrated with the overall business plan.

Process Management: Knowledge of business process improvement tools and techniques; ability to understand, monitor, update, control, or enhance existing business or work processes.
Level Working Knowledge: 

•    Employs process flows, cycle time, process time and waste concepts as appropriate.

•    Walks through steps, decisions, measurements, dependencies and hand-offs for a specific process.

•    Creates process flow or work flow diagrams.

•    Documents types of process decisions and potential impact of each decision.

•    Identifies and monitors common process bottlenecks.

Collaborating: Knowledge of collaborative techniques; ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and collaborative manner.
Level Working Knowledge: 

•    Demonstrates experience participating in productive collaborative processes.

•    Under guidance, initiates collaborative meetings.

•    Assists in communicating shared goals with diverse groups and parties.

•    Helps promote collaboration across generations, functions, regions, and levels.

•    Helps solve business problems and meet business goals through collaborative processes.
Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
Level Working Knowledge: 

•    Delivers helpful feedback that focuses on behaviors without offending the recipient.

•    Listens to feedback without defensiveness and uses it for own communication effectiveness.

•    Makes oral presentations and writes reports needed for own work.

•    Avoids technical jargon when inappropriate.

•    Looks for and considers non-verbal cues from individuals and groups.

Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
Level Extensive Experience: 

•    Ensures capture of lessons to be learned from a problem-solving effort.

•    Organizes potential problem solvers and leads problem resolution efforts.

•    Uses varying problem-solving approaches and techniques as appropriate.

•    Contributes to standard practices for problem-solving approaches, tools, and processes.

•    Analyzes and synthesizes information and devises alternative resolution strategies.

•    Develops successful resolutions to critical or wide-impact problems.

Project Management: Knowledge of effective project management strategies and tactics; ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects, ensuring efficient utilization of technical and administrative resources to achieve project objectives.
Level Extensive Experience: 

•    Utilizes preferred tools, techniques and methods for estimating project cost and time.

•    Plans, estimates, staffs, organizes and monitors significant projects.

•    Identifies risks and vulnerabilities; creates contingency plans.

•    Conducts regular and ad-hoc project reviews with project team, sponsors, and clients.

•    Maintains open communication among project participants and interested parties.

•    Communicates reporting requirements; creates monitoring and control mechanisms.

Data Gathering and Reporting: Knowledge of tools, techniques and processes for gathering and reporting data; ability to practice them in a particular department or division of a company.
Level Working Knowledge: 

•    Detects and summarizes patterns in data and findings by producing simple reports.

•    Assesses common problems and obstacles surrounding data-gathering.

•    Customizes data fields to meet clients' needs.

•    Interprets and explains results of a data-gathering initiative.

•    Participates in projects to gather data for needs analysis.
 

Posting Dates:

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply

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