Junior Project Manager

Role Summary

Work with us to build modern Insurtech AI underpinned solutions we are a growing team of hands on architects striving to build high quality solutions for our internal and external customers. The Junior Project Manager supports project delivery across the Xceedance insurance ecosystem under guidance of senior project managers focusing on learning project management fundamentals while managing small projects or assisting with larger initiatives developing skills in planning execution and stakeholder communication.

Key Responsibilities

Project Support & Coordination - Supports senior project managers with project planning and execution activities assisting in requirements gathering scope definition and resource planning. Coordinates project activities across development teams QA teams business stakeholders and vendors ensuring alignment and timely completion. Maintains project documentation including project charters requirements documents meeting notes and status reports. Tracks dependencies and identifies potential conflicts or blockers escalating to senior project managers. Assists with risk identification and issue tracking documenting concerns and proposed mitigation strategies.

Small Project Leadership - Leads small well-defined projects with supervision including application enhancements bug fixes configuration changes and minor process improvements. Develops project plans defining scope schedule resources and deliverables for small-scale initiatives. Manages project execution monitoring progress addressing obstacles and ensuring quality standards. Conducts project closeout activities documenting lessons learned and capturing best practices. Builds foundational project management experience preparing for larger project responsibilities.

Schedule & Budget Management - Maintains project schedules using project management tools tracking tasks milestones and dependencies. Updates task status effort estimates and completion percentages ensuring schedule accuracy. Monitors project budgets tracking expenses and resource utilization identifying variances. Creates schedule reports and dashboards providing visibility into project progress. Assists with resource planning coordinating team availability and workload balancing.

Task Tracking & Tool Management - Tracks project tasks and milestones using Azure DevOps Jira or similar project management platforms. Creates and maintains work items including user stories tasks bugs and acceptance criteria. Manages sprint planning activities including backlog grooming sprint planning and retrospectives for small teams. Generates reports on velocity burndown and team capacity supporting data-driven decisions. Ensures proper use of project management tools promoting consistency and best practices.

Meeting Facilitation & Communication - Facilitates team meetings including daily stand-ups planning sessions and status reviews. Prepares meeting agendas captures notes and tracks action items ensuring follow-through. Communicates project status to stakeholders through emails presentations and dashboard updates. Schedules meetings coordinating across time zones and availability constraints. Follows up on commitments and decisions ensuring accountability.

Stakeholder Engagement - Builds relationships with project stakeholders including developers testers business analysts and business users. Gathers requirements and clarifies expectations through interviews workshops and documentation review. Manages stakeholder communications providing timely updates and addressing concerns. Supports change management activities helping stakeholders adapt to new processes or systems. Develops stakeholder management skills critical for future project success.

Quality & Compliance - Ensures project deliverables meet quality standards coordinating testing activities and defect resolution. Supports compliance activities documenting evidence for audits and regulatory requirements. Tracks quality metrics including defect rates test coverage and user acceptance. Promotes best practices in development testing and deployment processes. Assists with process improvement initiatives identifying inefficiencies and proposing solutions.

Risk & Issue Management - Identifies project risks documenting likelihood impact and mitigation strategies. Maintains risk registers and issue logs tracking status and resolution. Escalates critical risks and issues to senior project managers and stakeholders. Participates in risk assessment workshops contributing to enterprise risk management. Develops risk management skills essential for complex project leadership.

Documentation & Reporting - Creates and maintains comprehensive project documentation including plans status reports meeting notes and lessons learned. Develops project status reports highlighting progress risks issues and upcoming milestones. Creates presentations for stakeholder meetings tailoring content to audience needs. Maintains project repositories ensuring documentation is current organized and accessible. Documents best practices and templates supporting organizational knowledge management.

Professional Development - Learns project management methodologies including Agile (Scrum Kanban) Waterfall and hybrid approaches. Develops technical understanding of insurance applications cloud platforms and software development practices. Participates in training programs and workshops building project management capabilities. Seeks mentorship from senior project managers learning through observation and coaching. Pursues project management certifications including CAPM PSM I or PRINCE2 Foundation.

Required Skills

Project Management Fundamentals - Understanding of project lifecycle (initiation planning execution monitoring closing) basic scheduling and task management dependency tracking scope management and change control basics.

Methodologies - Familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum Kanban) understanding of sprint planning daily stand-ups retrospectives Waterfall methodology basics and hybrid approaches.

Project Management Tools - Azure DevOps (boards backlogs sprints queries dashboards) Jira (projects issues workflows reports) Microsoft Project (task scheduling Gantt charts) and Excel (project tracking reporting).

Communication Skills - Clear written communication (emails documentation reports) effective verbal communication (meetings presentations) active listening and clarification meeting facilitation basics and presentation development.

Office Productivity - Microsoft Excel (formulas pivot tables charts) PowerPoint (presentations visual storytelling) Word (documentation templates) and Outlook (email calendar task management).

Insurance Domain - Basic understanding of insurance business processes (policy administration claims underwriting) awareness of regulatory environment and familiarity with common insurance terminology.

Required Experience

Zero to two years in project coordination project management or related roles demonstrating project support capabilities. Exposure to Agile or Waterfall methodologies through coursework internships or entry-level positions. Experience using project management tools including Azure DevOps Jira or similar platforms. Evidence of strong organizational skills attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities. Demonstrated communication skills working with diverse stakeholders. Preference for candidates with insurance financial services or technology industry experience.

Required Certifications

CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) PSM I (Professional Scrum Master) PRINCE2 Foundation or actively pursuing certification. Valuable additions include CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) or Microsoft certification in Azure DevOps.

Key Competencies

Learning Agility - Quickly absorbing project management concepts adapting to new tools and processes seeking feedback and improvement opportunities and demonstrating growth mindset.

Organizational Skills - Managing multiple tasks and priorities maintaining detailed documentation meeting deadlines consistently and keeping projects organized.

Communication - Articulating information clearly listening actively facilitating productive meetings writing professional documentation and tailoring messages to audiences.

Problem Solving - Identifying issues proactively proposing practical solutions thinking critically about challenges and escalating appropriately when needed.

Collaboration - Working effectively with diverse teams building positive relationships supporting team goals and contributing to collaborative environments.