Senior Project Manager, Workforce Consulting

PFMGC provides management, budget, and operational consulting services to local and state governments across the United States. We advise governments on fiscal and operational issues including budget development, multi-year financial planning, revenue forecasting, fee studies, economic and tax strategy, public safety finance and operations, K-12 education budgets and operations, and human services.

Personnel costs often represent three-quarters or more of a client’s General Fund expenditures. For this reason, PFMGC maintains a dedicated Workforce Consulting Group. Our primary service involves providing management-side collective bargaining support during negotiations. We work directly with government labor relations offices and outside counsel who serve as chief negotiators.

Our team supports clients throughout the collective bargaining process, including negotiations, mediation, and arbitration. We conduct compensation and benefits comparability analyses, cost management and labor proposals, develop “ability-to-pay” analyses, assess financial conditions, and deliver expert witness testimony in fact-finding and arbitration hearings.

In addition to collective bargaining support, the Workforce Consulting Group performs recruitment and retention studies, compensation studies, benefits analyses, pension and OPEB reform analysis, overtime analysis, workforce analytics and modeling, operational reviews of HR and civil service functions, and supports multi-year financial planning efforts.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Project Manager will combine public sector workforce expertise with a commitment to helping governments solve complex challenges. Candidates must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with significant responsibility, demonstrate leadership experience, and contribute to business development.

The Senior Project Manager will report to the Managing Director of the Workforce Consulting Group and will lead all aspects of client engagements.

Technical Analysis

• Conduct compensation and benefits benchmarking for public sector employees including pay ranges, premiums, pensions, health benefits, retiree health benefits, paid leave, and other benefits.
• Deliver expert witness testimony in arbitration, fact-finding, and related proceedings.
• Respond to questions from opposing counsel and assist bargaining teams in evaluating union expert testimony.
• Develop strategic recommendations related to compensation, recruitment, and retention.
• Support development of costing models used in compensation studies, recruitment and retention studies, and collective bargaining engagements.
• Support organizational reviews of HR and civil service functions.
• Analyze demographic and economic data including data from sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Project Management

• Lead and deliver client engagements including research, analysis, testimony preparation, and written reports.
• Serve as primary client contact and maintain regular communication with clients and project partners.
• Coordinate and lead project teams.
• Present findings and recommendations to clients and stakeholders.
• Manage project resources effectively and ensure client satisfaction and timely delivery of work.
• Support the development of junior staff.
• Ensure technical accuracy and quality control.

Marketing and Business Development

• Develop a self-sustaining business plan within two years of hire.
• Identify opportunities with existing clients and support new client development.
• Expand the Workforce Consulting client base.
• Assist with scopes of work and responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) when needed.

General Administrative Responsibilities

• Support the professional development of team members through coaching and mentoring.
• Contribute to a positive and collaborative team culture.
• Perform administrative leadership responsibilities including invoicing, project scope development, revenue forecasting, contract management, and employee evaluations.
• Maintain knowledge of industry trends and serve as a resource to colleagues on public sector workforce issues.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

Experience: Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience with increasing responsibility, preferably in public sector or consulting roles.

Candidates must demonstrate experience independently developing and delivering expert witness testimony on compensation and benefits matters and responding to cross-examination under oath.

Candidates should demonstrate strong writing and presentation skills. Writing samples may be requested during the hiring process.

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel is required, as many analyses are developed through Excel-based compensation and labor costing models. Familiarity with statistical software such as SPSS is desirable.

Prior project management experience and experience leading high-performing teams are required.

Candidates should have knowledge of public sector workforce issues including:

• Collective bargaining
• Labor relations
• Compensation analysis
• Health benefits
• Pensions
• Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
• Paid leave
• Recruitment and retention
• Labor costing
• Classification and compensation
• Human capital management
• Consumer Price Index (CPI) analysis
• Government budgeting practices
• HR organizational structure and best practices

Occasional travel (10–25%) may be required.

COMPENSATION

PFM offers a comprehensive benefits package including flexible paid time off, tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment, a 401(k) plan with employer match and profit-sharing, medical/dental/vision insurance, health and wellness benefits, and disability and life insurance.

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $115,000–$140,000, with eligibility for performance-based bonuses. Actual compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, skills, and geographic location.