
Want this job? Large Project Delivery
Position Description Contribution Requirement
I’m so over position descriptions with their passive voice and vanilla statements.
I prefer a contribution statement, active voice, which tells it like it is. Here’s one I came up with which speaks to the truth. It’s fun, relax.
Contribution Requirement
Large Project Delivery
All responsibility, no authority
The contribution you are expected to make is:
· Deliver the wanted outcome of a large project.
You will need to:
- Ensure there is a clear and plausible reason for the project
- Rework the business case to show compelling ROI (Intangibles not accepted)
- Communicate with clarity and energy
- Make sure everyone in and around the project is on the same page
- Prepare for kick off workshops then organise the agenda,send invitations, confirm attendance, book the venue, prepare presentations, organise the food & transport. Have a backup plan to run the workshop alone when everyone pulls out at the last minute
- Influence across and through the organisation to secure resources as and when needed
- Negotiate 5 and 10% of people’s time to ‘help’ with the project
- Plan the delivery using part-time staff – and still deliver as though they are full -time
- Allocate work and chase people
- Do what it takes without upsetting anyone
- Work seamlessly across time zones, languages, cultures and competing demands
- Work with the customer to figure out what it is that they want. Deliver what they said they wanted. Shoulder responsibility when they change their mind
- Willing and able to complete seemingly endless paperwork and meet increasing and often down right strange requests for differing reports
- Meet the deadline which was set before you determine feasibility and resourcing and before you made a plan
The resources you will have:
- Access to key people – when they can give it
- A very small full-time team but most of the resources you need will also have another job which will come first
- No authority over resources
- A sponsor who is too busy most of the time to actually listen and help
- A delegate sponsor who can’t actually make a decision without going back to the sponsor
- An antagonistic steering committee
- An EPMO insisting on reports in various shades and varieties. Reports which add no value to the project, but which will take approx. 1 day a fortnight to prepare
- Full responsibility and accountability for delivering the results – yes you will be ‘finished up’ if things don’t get well
- Approx 2/3 of the budget you think it will take
- Virtual resources who may of may not be available as needed
- No authority over suppliers
In exchange you will:
- Be paid
- Work approx. 15 hours a day (often not continuously but broken to follow timezones)
- Be criticized by all stakeholders (that’s how you’ll know you’re on track)
- Attend the success party (and enjoy not being recognised for your contribution – the sponsor and team did it, you were only the facilitator); or
- Shown the door if you can’t do it.
In the end:
It’s your job to make it happen. You’re responsible and accountable.
No excuses.
Want the job?
Every now and then I get in the mood to write. It’s usually about projects and their ecosystems. If you’ve like to read others of mine please click here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianedromgold/detail/recent-activity/