Project Manager

Job Description

Summary

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We are seeking an experienced Microsoft-focussed Delivery Lead to lead system integration projects from mobilisation through completion. The role is accountable for client outcomes, delivery performance, commercial control and stakeholder confidence across projects involving multidisciplinary, distributed and third-party teams. The ideal candidate is a consulting-focused delivery professional with strong general project and program delivery skills. They will combine structured governance with practical leadership, sound commercial judgement and the ability to manage scope, contracts, financials, risk, quality and client expectations. Experience delivering Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM or ERP solutions is desirable but not essential.

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Key Responsibilities

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End-to-End Delivery Leadership Own delivery outcomes across scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, dependencies and benefits. Mobilise engagements by translating contractual commitments into an integrated delivery plan, governance model, resource plan and delivery controls. Establish clear roles, decision rights, escalation paths, milestones, acceptance criteria and reporting expectations. Lead Agile, Hybrid or Waterfall delivery approaches appropriate to the engagement. Maintain an integrated view of workstreams, critical path, dependencies, client obligations and delivery readiness. Drive timely decisions, resolve delivery blockers and intervene early when performance varies from plan. Lead delivery through discovery, design, build, test, deployment, transition and closure, as applicable. Ensure lessons learned, handover activities and closure obligations are completed.

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Project Management

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Build trusted client relationships and act as the principal delivery contact for senior stakeholders. Facilitate discovery workshops, governance forums, steering committees, planning sessions and executive reviews. Translate business objectives and consulting recommendations into achievable delivery outcomes. Provide clear, evidence-based advice on priorities, trade-offs, delivery options and impacts. Challenge assumptions constructively and help clients make informed decisions.

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Align business, functional and technical stakeholders around scope, outcomes and delivery priorities. Communicate complex delivery matters clearly to executive and non-technical audiences. Identify opportunities to improve client outcomes, extend value or support follow-on work without compromising current delivery commitments. Manage difficult conversations professionally, including delays, scope pressure, quality concerns and unmet client obligations.

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Contract Management

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Review and understand the contract, Statement of Work, assumptions, exclusions, dependencies, deliverables, acceptance criteria and client obligations. Translate contractual commitments into delivery controls, work plans and traceable acceptance arrangements. Maintain alignment between contracted scope, the delivery backlog, solution design, schedule, resourcing and financial forecasts. Monitor client and supplier obligations and address late, incomplete or changed inputs before they affect delivery.

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Identify scope gaps, ambiguity, relief events and contractual risks early and escalate them appropriately. Lead change control by assessing impacts to scope, schedule, cost, resources, quality and benefits. Prepare change requests and support commercial negotiations with account, legal and commercial stakeholders. Prevent uncontrolled scope growth and ensure additional effort is formally assessed and approved before commitment. Manage deliverable submission, review, acceptance, rejection and remediation in accordance with the contract. Maintain appropriate documentation and evidence to support contractual and commercial decisions.

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Commercial Management

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Own project budgets, forecasts, revenue, cost, margin and financial performance. Monitor sold-versus-delivered performance, burn rate, effort, resource utilisation and estimate-to-complete. Reconcile the delivery plan, staffing model and financial forecast regularly. Identify margin erosion, unplanned effort or forecast variance early and implement corrective action. Validate time, expenses, milestones and invoicing inputs. Work with account and commercial leaders to manage contractual exposure, change requests and recovery plans. Balance customer outcomes with responsible commercial decision-making. Contribute to proposals, estimates, delivery models, Statements of Work and pre-sales reviews. Support delivery readiness and solution-to-delivery handover before commitments are made to clients.

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Governance

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Establish fit-for-purpose governance that supports timely decisions rather than administrative reporting. Maintain and actively manage risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, decisions and actions. Produce concise status reporting focused on outcomes, variance, decisions, customer impact and required intervention. Escalate bad news early, with clear facts, impacts, options and recommendations. Define quality gates, review points and acceptance evidence across the lifecycle. Ensure deliverables meet contractual requirements, agreed acceptance criteria and professional quality standards. Coordinate independent assurance or quality reviews where required and drive resulting corrective actions. Maintain delivery compliance with organisational methods, policies, security requirements and client governance. Protect delivery evidence, approvals and decision records.

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Stakeholder Management

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Act as the primary delivery interface for client sponsors, executives and governance forums. Set and manage realistic expectations regarding scope, timing, cost, quality and client dependencies. Build alignment across client, account, practice, vendor and delivery stakeholders. Prepare and lead steering committee discussions, presenting a clear view of status, decisions, risks and recovery actions. Tailor communications to executive, business, functional and technical audiences. Maintain stakeholder confidence through transparency, consistency and follow-through. Manage escalations calmly and coordinate an agreed response across the engagement leadership team.

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Team and Resource Leadership

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Lead cross-functional teams including architects, consultants, developers, engineers, business analysts, testers, change specialists and project support. Coordinate onshore, offshore, nearshore, client and third-party contributors. Establish team ways of working, delivery rhythms, accountability and collaboration expectations. Manage resource demand, capacity, onboarding, performance and role clarity. Create an inclusive environment where risks and concerns can be raised early. Coach workstream leads and project team members in delivery disciplines and client engagement. Hold individuals and teams accountable for commitments while supporting resolution of impediments. Promote continuous improvement, reusable assets and efficient delivery practices.

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Business Applications Delivery

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The Delivery Lead may lead engagements involving enterprise business applications, integration, data, cloud, security, workplace or digital transformation solutions. Experience with the following is desirable: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement / CRM. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations / ERP. Power Platform, Dataverse and Power BI. Business process transformation, fit-gap analysis and requirements traceability. Data migration, integration, testing, deployment, cutover and hypercare. Azure DevOps or comparable backlog and work-management tooling. Multi-vendor or systems-integration programs. The Delivery Lead is not expected to be the solution architect but must be able to understand delivery implications, challenge plans and facilitate informed decisions with functional and technical leaders.

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Required Qualifications and Experience

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Significant experience leading enterprise consulting, technology or business transformation engagements. Demonstrated accountability for project scope, schedule, budget, risk, quality and client outcomes. Strong understanding of consulting delivery, governance and professional services environments. Experience managing contracts, Statements of Work, deliverables, assumptions, client obligations and change control. Strong commercial and financial management capability, including forecasting, margin management and estimate-to-complete.

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Experience leading multidisciplinary and distributed teams. Strong stakeholder management, facilitation, negotiation and executive communication skills. Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, resolve conflict and recover challenged delivery. Working knowledge of Agile, Hybrid and Waterfall delivery approaches. Experience with enterprise project planning, RAID management, resource management and governance reporting. Strong written communication and the ability to produce clear executive-level materials.

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Desirable

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Experience

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Delivery experience across Microsoft technology or enterprise business applications. Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM / Customer Engagement implementation experience. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations / ERP implementation experience. Experience delivering Power Platform, data, integration or cloud-enabled transformation. Experience working for a consulting organisation, systems integrator or Microsoft partner. Experience with complex fixed-price, time-and-materials or outcome-based engagements. Experience supporting proposals, estimates, solution reviews and pre-sales activities. Experience managing third-party vendors, offshore teams or multi-partner delivery models.

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Preferred Certifications

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Delivery and Project Management PMP. PRINCE2 Practitioner. Certified ScrumMaster or equivalent Agile certification. PMI-ACP or equivalent. ITIL Foundation or higher. Relevant delivery leadership or professional services certification. Microsoft Microsoft certifications are desirable rather than mandatory and may include: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM). Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (ERP). Power Platform Fundamentals. Azure Fundamentals. Other role-relevant Microsoft certifications.

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At Avanade

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At Avanade, we advance the world through the power of people and Microsoft. Join us to shape your skills and the future with bold ideas and innovative solutions. Our partnership with Microsoft and Accenture empowers you to unlock your full potential. Working at Avanade offers the chance to build a career path that suits your skills and interests and the freedom to be your authentic self. We are committed to your growth, well-being, and success. This is where passion meets opportunity, technology meets humanity, and every challenge is a chance to make a genuine impact on colleagues, clients, and communities. Together, we do what matters.