Description

DESCRIPTION

The Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) invites you to join our team! We are now accepting on-line applications to fill the position of Director of Enterprise Project Management Office.

WHO WE ARE

Established in 1945, the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) provides retirement, death, disability, and cost-of-living benefits to retirees of the County of Orange and certain County districts. Serving approximately 55,000 members, OCERS is governed by a ten-member Board of Retirement that is responsible for managing a $28 billion dollar fund. For more information about OCERS, please click here.
Mission  
OCERS' mission is to provide secure retirement and disability benefits with the highest standards of excellence.
  
Vision
OCERS' vision is to be a trusted partner providing premier pension administration, distinguished by consistent, quality member experiences and prudent financial stewardship.
  
Values

• Open and Transparent
• Commitment to Superior Service
• Engaged and Dedicated Workforce
• Reliable and Accurate
• Secure and Sustainable

THE OPPORTUNITY

Under general direction, directs, leads, manages, coordinates, and continuously evolves the activities and functions of the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). The Director of EPMO is responsible for overseeing the OCERS enterprise project portfolio, driving strategic planning initiatives, and facilitating the development, alignment, selection, prioritization, and execution of the organization’s Strategic and Business Plans. This role provides OCERS management and project leads with methodologies, standards, and tools for planning, executing, and managing projects, while also championing innovation, cross-agency collaboration, and enterprise-wide process improvement. The Director is also responsible for coordinating specialized and sensitive projects that address OCERS-wide issues involving multiple departments and outside agencies.

The EPMO serves at the strategic level to provide organization-wide guidance, governance, standardized processes, and project portfolio management best practices and tools. The EPMO advises management on the best set of projects to realize the greatest value and benefit to the organization. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. The enterprise project portfolio is a suite of projects.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

The Director of Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) reports to the Chief Executive Officer and works directly with the OCERS senior team. The Director of EPMO will be expected to uphold the highest standards of accountability, professionalism, customer service, and excellence. The Director has overall responsibility for the project management governance function across the organization to facilitate effective decision-making. The Director will develop and direct the continual improvement of the project management methodology and processes for the enterprise to ensure consistency and adherence to established standards and best practices. This position is also responsible for project management metrics, analysis and reporting, and resource balancing across projects.

POSITION SCOPE/ACCOUNTABILITY

This position provides enterprise-level direction and oversight for the project portfolio and EPMO operating model. Position scope may include:

• Enterprise project/program portfolio oversight spanning multiple departments and strategic initiatives.
• Governance authority to establish and enforce portfolio standards, intake/prioritization processes, stage gates, reporting cadences, and performance metrics.
• Budget accountability for EPMO operations and project portfolio planning; may recommend or influence project funding decisions in partnership with executive leadership.
• Span of control: leads an EPMO team and provides matrix leadership to project managers, cross-functional teams, and project sponsors across the organization.
• Vendor/contract oversight: partners with procurement/contract administration on solicitations and negotiations; monitors vendor performance and delivery for portfolio initiatives.
• Executive communication: prepares and presents portfolio health, risks, dependencies, resource capacity, and outcomes to senior leadership and governance bodies.
• Decision-making: accountable for portfolio transparency and governance effectiveness; decisions may include approving project management standards and escalation paths, and recommending prioritization and resourcing trade-offs to executive leadership.

PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES

Include but are not limited to the following:

• Continuously improve the structure, governance, and operations of the EPMO to meet evolving organizational needs.
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine a governance framework for senior management to make strategic decisions throughout OCERS in an effective and consistent manner.
• Provide senior management objective oversight into the current status of all projects and facilitate and support the selection and prioritization of projects that have the highest potential value, impact, and alignment with the strategic plan.
• Lead the development and maintenance of OCERS' multi-year Strategic and Business Plans, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and incorporating input from cross-functional stakeholders.
• Represent OCERS in external strategic partnerships and industry forums (e.g., AI Multi-Employer Roundtable) to share best practices and drive innovation.
• Champion internal innovation initiatives such as Spark Quest to foster a culture of continuous improvement and staff engagement.
• Define, develop, refine, and manage the organizational project management methodology, standards, tools, and templates to provide consistency in process, reporting, and approach.
• Interface with senior management to define project priorities, implementation opportunities, challenges, and project risks.
• Assist with the planning, budgeting, funding, and resourcing of OCERS programs and projects.
• Manage resource availability and capacity across enterprise-wide projects.
• Drive cost efficiency and resource optimization by evaluating internal versus external resourcing strategies, resulting in measurable cost savings.
• Develop and implement succession planning and career development pathways within the EPMO to ensure long-term leadership continuity.
• Assist project leads and business owners to define project goals and objectives, develop project scope, plan, and schedule. Work closely with project leads and business owners to confirm key performance indicators and establish performance metrics to ensure deliverables meet goal(s).
• Coordinate the enterprise project portfolio, including balancing staff, financial, and infrastructure resources by priority, dependencies, start-up/closeout timelines, resource capacity, and availability within time, scope, and budget constraints.
• Monitor progress and performance of projects as well as efforts between projects to understand dependencies and cumulative impacts to the organization to support the organization’s strategic goals.
• Track and regularly report on project status of all projects to senior management regarding progress toward key milestones and issues and report on any program-level trends, risks, and issues.
• Assess and monitor risks across various projects in the portfolio and monitor the overall risk level for the program. May manage the risk, issue, and change resolution process, and work with other leaders to take corrective action as needed.
• Keep stakeholders and management constantly engaged and ensure expectations are clear and being met.
• Facilitate project status meetings and executive committee reports.
• Establish change management plans for staff within the organization.
• Conduct lessons learned sessions during and after projects to identify recommendations for improvement.
• Collaborate with business Information Technology (IT) teams in establishing robust project management tools.
• Ensure the collection and archiving of documents from completed projects and analyze them for trends.
• Assist the Contract Administrator with proposal development, contract negotiations, and implementation efforts through project teams, vendors, and sourcing/procurement teams.
• Provide ongoing guidance, mentoring, feedback, and motivation to staff to ensure competent performance while adhering to OCERS policies and procedures. Supervise, mentor, and develop EPMO staff, providing guidance and fostering professional growth.
• Monitor operations of the EPMO to ensure compliance with OCERS policies and standards.
• May perform the full range of supervisory duties over subordinate staff.
• Perform other related duties as required.

AI, Technology & Agentic Tools

• Leverage AI tools, automation platforms, and agentic workflows to enhance enterprise project portfolio governance, planning, and decision-making.
• Utilize AI-driven analytics and dashboards to monitor portfolio health, risks, resource capacity, and strategic alignment.
  Identify opportunities to streamline project intake, prioritization, reporting, and governance processes through technology and automation.
• Champion the adoption of emerging project management technologies and intelligent tools across cross-functional teams to improve efficiency and consistency.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum qualifications required for entry into the classification.

Education and/or Experience

Graduation from a four-year college with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Accounting, Finance, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.

AND

Five (5) + years of full-time program leadership experience including managing a group of Project Managers or Scrum Masters; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

AND

Possession of a Project Management Institute certification or equivalent:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)
• Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

Highly Desirable Qualifications

• Agile experience using SCRUM/Agile methodologies with enterprise-level application development projects is preferred.
• Six Sigma and/or Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.