Senior Project Manager

Making a Difference

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), founded in 1951, is a premier global investment organization responsible for managing the more than $162 billion of assets of the fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund and other state funds. Through SWIB’s effective and innovative investment management, WRS remains one of the only fully funded US public pensions. The WRS consistently ranks among the 10 largest public pension funds in the U.S. SWIB is recognized by the investment industry for our teamwork and innovation. SWIB pursues sophisticated global investment strategies across the asset and risk allocation spectrum. Providers across the investment ecosystem seek to partner with SWIB.

Serving more than 692,000 beneficiaries of the WRS, SWIB is a mission-driven organization focused on providing a strong financial future to those who committed their careers to public service. For public employees and the 1,607 Wisconsin employers who contribute on their behalf, we are a trusted partner. Our team innovates continuously to meet the challenges of an evolving investment landscape while growing and protecting the assets of the WRS.

Job Description:

About the Team

SWIB’s Project Management Office serves the entire organization, including investment management, operations, technology, data management, finance and HR.  The PMO is responsible for oversight, planning, and ongoing management of projects.  The group works closely with key stakeholders, and subject matter experts from across the organization. 

Essential activities:

• Lead projects through the life-cycle:
  • Define and manage the project scope and project plan.
  • Drive the project to completion; resolve issues and ensure progress.
  • Deliver a successful project implementation.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and realization of intended business benefits.
• Organize resources into a project team; assign tasks and manage workloads.
• Monitor project task progress and dependencies.
• Escalate issues and risks accordingly and help drive their resolution – providing input as needed.
• Pro-active communication to project team, stakeholders, senior management, and the wider organization. Managing expectations is key.
• Prepare well-structured materials and audience appropriate messaging
• Facilitate agency-wide meetings to elicit information necessary to help groups engage, secure commitment, establish requirements, gain consensus, and importantly generate decisions.
• Provide discipline around both project budgets and project documentation.
• Ensure implementation success by establishing appropriate levels of training and testing.
• Foster team learning and collaboration by encouraging and modeling open expression of diverse ideas and opinions.

The ideal candidate:

• Must have at least 5 years' experience at investment management organizations with a significant part spent in a project management role.
• Will communicate clearly and appropriately at all levels of the organization.
• Able to forge strong working relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Can learn quickly and adapt to new processes and approaches.
• Must have experience implementing complex projects at investment management organizations.
• Must have experience of modern software implementation approaches.
• Qualifications/ Certification in project management is a plus.
• Substantial knowledge of the end-to-end investment operations lifecycle, including the processes, workflows, and investment platforms/systems used to support the investment business.
• Detailed exposure to various investment types, security types and asset classes, with a solid understanding of what makes each unique and its intended application within the investment strategy. 
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with creating and driving change management plans.
• Superb work ethic, attention to detail, collaborative approach, and commitment to excellence.

• Competitive total cash compensation, based on AON (formerly McLagan) industry benchmarks
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Educational and training opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Challenging work in a professional environment
• Hybrid work environment