Senior Project Manager

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Project Manager to join our Professional Services team, helping non-profit organisations transform their operations through the successful implementation and adoption of Blackbaud solutions.

Reporting to the Professional Services Director, you will be accountable for the full project lifecycle, from initiation and planning through delivery, control and closure. You will manage multiple engagements, including complex enterprise implementations for some of Blackbaud’s highest-profile and most strategic customers.

You will establish effective project governance, maintain control of scope, budget, schedule and risk, and build trusted relationships with customer executives and project teams. You will also help customers prepare for change, adopt their Blackbaud solutions and realise the intended benefits.

As a senior member of the team, you will help develop consistent approaches to project delivery, adoption and value realisation. Some travel to customer sites in the UK, including occasional overnight stays, may be required.

What you’ll be doing

Project management

• Take overall responsibility for the successful delivery of complex technology implementation projects.

• Manage multiple Blackbaud Professional Services engagements concurrently, ranging from smaller prescriptive projects to enterprise implementations.

• Develop and maintain project plans covering outcomes, scope, responsibilities, resources, milestones, dependencies and governance.

• Monitor delivery against agreed schedules, budgets and success measures, taking action where projects move off track.

• Proactively identify and manage project risks, issues, dependencies and escalations.

• Maintain effective control of project scope, budget, forecast and resource requirements.

• Identify work that falls outside the contracted scope and manage it through the appropriate change-control process.

• Prepare change requests and Statements of Work in collaboration with subject-matter experts.

• Support Sales with project scoping, estimation and delivery planning.

• Lead project kick-offs and represent Blackbaud in project boards, steering committees and other governance forums.

• Build trusted relationships with customer sponsors, executives and project teams.

• Lead customers and project teams through complex decisions, change and competing priorities.

• Provide clear and timely reporting to customers, internal stakeholders and senior management.

• Collaborate with Consulting, Sales, Customer Success, Product and Support to deliver a consistent customer experience.

• Provide guidance, coaching and support to members of the wider delivery team.

• Ensure project documentation is accurate, current and stored appropriately.

• Apply Blackbaud delivery methodologies and contribute to their continuous improvement.

Adoption & value realisation

• Design and execute structured adoption programs that move customers from onboarding to sustained, outcome-based usage

• Drive customer alignment around benefits realisation, ensuring customers understand and achieve value from their Blackbaud solutions

• Accountable for driving adoption across the Professional Services portfolio through access to best practice tools, webinars and user groups in coordination with Customer Success Managers

• Reporting on outcomes from the program

What we need from you

• Demonstrable experience managing technology implementations or similarly complex Professional Services engagements.

• Strong understanding of project management methods, governance and the software implementation lifecycle.

• Experience managing project scope, schedules, budgets, forecasts, resources, risks and change control.

• Strong commercial awareness and experience working within contracted customer engagements.

• The ability to manage multiple projects and priorities while maintaining attention to detail.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence senior and executive stakeholders.

• Strong customer focus and the ability to establish credibility and trust.

• Sound judgement and confidence making decisions in complex or ambiguous situations.

• Experience using project management tools and Microsoft Office applications.

• The ability to use approved AI tools appropriately to improve productivity, decision-making and project outcomes, while maintaining human oversight, data protection, accuracy and adherence to Blackbaud’s responsible AI principles.

• Experience working with or for non-profit organisations is desirable.

• Experience of Blackbaud products is advantageous.

• A recognised project management qualification, such as PMP, PRINCE2 or an equivalent, is desirable.

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Blackbaud powers social impact through purpose-driven technology and responsible AI. Guided by our Intelligence for Good® vision, we’re building a culture where innovation, trust, and human expertise come together to help organizations make a greater difference in the world.

Blackbaud is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining an inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.