Lead Project Manager (Gas), Capital Project Delivery

About us

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live. The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry. To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

At National Grid, we aim to create an environment where everyone is welcomed for who they are and where our differences are celebrated. We utilize the insights of our employees that come from all different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs to better serve our customers and communities.

National Grid is hiring a Lead Project Manager, Process Governance & Improvement for our NE Gas Complex Capital Construction Project Controls group in Waltham, MA.

Job Purpose

The New England Gas Complex Capital Construction Project Controls group plays a crucial role in supporting the delivery of our capital projects. As the process governance & improvement project manager, the candidate will have responsibility of the end-to-end process governance across all phases of complex projects, ensuring project success factors are met, while maintaining or enhancing their deliverability and predictability. The role will also be responsible for identifying, developing and executing improvement initiatives to deliver improved outcomes, including automation. The responsibilities also include but are not limited to establishing and maintaining project governance and compliance mechanisms, quality assurance, and document control standards across the project portfolio.

The ideal candidate will have experience with project governance and reporting for large construction projects and programs. In addition, interpersonal and leadership skills that will help drive change but also create strong relationships with the project teams. This position requires an individual with excellent verbal/written communication skills and with the ability to deliver significant business results.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and enforce project governance frameworks, stage gate processes, change board management, process improvement, and compliance standards across the project lifecycle.
• Oversee the creation, maintenance, and enforcement of project management policies, procedures, templates, and best practices.  This can also include setting data structure/quality standards in partnership with leadership within National Grid.
• Identify and manage continuous improvement opportunities (either via analysis or collaboration), develop solutions and drive execution to completion. Identify efficiency and performance improvements within the respective delivery methodologies and playbooks by partnering with key stakeholders.
• Identify areas for and implement process automation, including the use of AI where applicable.
• Evaluate current governance process for alignment with the Major Projects Business Management System (BMS) Compliance.
• Collaborate closely with Project Managers, Engineering, Construction, and Project Controls to align practices and support successful project execution.
• Develop and track portfolio metrics in partnership with key stakeholders. Monitor performance and improvement of said metrics and report the results to the leadership team.
• Assess change readiness and act as a change agent/coach to instill and sustain changes among stakeholders
• Build positive relationships and credibility with the functional process team to support process improvement.
• Motivate functional process teams working on projects within a matrix reporting structure to engage through teamwork and a high level of participation.
• Demonstrate strong leadership and interpersonal skills, including communication, to develop successful and long-lasting business partnerships with company personnel at all levels.
• Provide training and mentorship on Lean process improvement analysis.
• Owner of training documentation for new hires regarding internal Project Management methodologies.
• Assist with Compliance Assurance Audits/Findings, Self-Assessments, etc. as needed.
• Develop an understanding of the operational work being performed and associated processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Business, Engineering, or a related field and 8+ years of related experience.
• Proven experience in project management, PMO leadership, or governance roles with high-value programs / portfolios: >$200M

• Knowledge of project, program, and portfolio management processes and best practices, including capital project governance, compliance, and execution.
• Knowledge of risk, cost, schedule, and change control disciplines across project portfolios.
• Knowledge of process improvement strategies with a focus on driving cost and complexity reduction
• Familiarity with benchmarking, lessons learned capture, and maturity assessments.
• Experience leading the development and enforcement of standards, templates, and procedures across projects.
• Understanding of stage-gate processes, project lifecycle governance, and portfolio risk assessment.

• Understanding of change management challenges related to process improvement.

• Involvement in audit readiness, compliance checks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Proficient in Power BI, MS Power Automate, and MS Excel

• Ability to build, monitor, and sustain key stakeholder engagement, including with leadership.
• Excellent communication, presentation, analytical, and interpersonal skills.

• Experience in leading a cross functional team to deliver tangible business benefits.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to communicate to employees across all levels of the organization.