Data Project Manager

Position Title: Data Project Manager
Employment Type: Contract
Location: Ottawa, ON (preferred)
Language Requirements: English or Bilingual (English and French)

Role Overview:
We are looking for a passionate and experienced Data Project Manager to lead and coordinate complex data, imaging, and information management projects across Canada. The Data Project Manager will be responsible for driving projects from initiation through completion, ensuring that data-related deliverables are well planned, appropriately resourced, accurately managed, and delivered on time and within budget.

Working collaboratively across functional areas, the Data Project Manager will oversee project schedules, budgets, resources, data requirements, reporting, compliance, and risk management.

Key Responsibilities:
Data Project Management and Delivery:

• Lead the planning and delivery of complex data and imaging projects, including defining objectives, scope, milestones, deliverables, timelines, budgets, and resource requirements.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, task trackers, workflows, and data deliverable plans.
• Translate business, client, and stakeholder needs into clear project requirements and data-related deliverables.
• Coordinate the collection, management, validation, analysis, reporting, and delivery of project data in collaboration with technical and subject-matter teams.
• Establish processes to monitor data quality, completeness, consistency, accuracy, and timeliness throughout the project lifecycle.
• Identify project dependencies, risks, issues, and opportunities and coordinate appropriate mitigation and resolution.
• Monitor project progress against approved scope, schedule, budget, and quality requirements and escalate significant variances as required.
• Coordinate approvals, documentation, and project records to ensure information is accurate, complete, secure, and audit-ready.
• Support project close-out, including final deliverables, lessons learned, documentation, and transition to ongoing operations where applicable.

Data Governance, Quality, and Compliance:

• Support the development and implementation of data governance, quality assurance, documentation, and information management practices.
• Ensure project activities align with applicable privacy, security, data protection, contractual, and organizational requirements.
• Establish and maintain appropriate processes for data access, documentation, version control, retention, and secure information sharing.
• Identify data quality issues and coordinate with relevant team members to investigate and resolve discrepancies.
• Maintain clear documentation of data sources, definitions, processes, assumptions, and requirements to support transparency and continuity.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of data standards, processes, and project management practices.

Team Coordination:

• Provide day-to-day project direction and coordination to remove barriers and maintain project momentum.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams, including research, data, technical, operational, and subject-matter resources.
• Monitor project resourcing and team capacity and identify emerging resource requirements.
• Support team members in meeting project objectives, deliverables, and quality expectations.

Stakeholder and Client Engagement:

• Serve as a primary project contact for internal and external stakeholders, providing clear and timely communication regarding project status, risks, requirements, and deliverables.
• Facilitate discussions to understand stakeholder needs and translate them into actionable project and data requirements.
• Build effective working relationships with clients, communities, partners, technical teams, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate complex data, project, and technical information in a clear and accessible manner to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Develop and maintain project dashboards, status reports, performance metrics, briefings, and other management reporting.
• Monitor and communicate key project and data-related performance indicators.
• Coordinate the preparation and delivery of data-driven reports, presentations, and other client deliverables.
• Ensure project documentation and data records are organized, current, secure, and accessible to authorized stakeholders.
• Track contractual, regulatory, reporting, and data deliverable requirements.
• Capture lessons learned and identify opportunities to improve future data projects and processes.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in project management, data management, information management, social sciences, business, or a related field
• A recognized Data and Project Management certification.
• 3–5 years of experience managing complex data, research, technology, or information management projects.
• Experience managing projects involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and complex data or information requirements.
• Eligible for PWGSC security clearance.
• Bilingual (English/French) considered an asset.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong project planning and delivery skills, including managing schedules, budgets, resources, milestones, deliverables, risks, and competing priorities.
• Strong understanding of data lifecycle management, data quality, governance, and information management principles.
• Ability to translate business and stakeholder requirements into clear project objectives, plans, and data deliverables.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills, with excellent attention to accuracy and quality.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparing reports, dashboards, presentations, and executive briefings.
• Ability to build effective relationships and provide leadership and coordination across clients, communities, partners, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with project management, collaboration, reporting, and data-related tools and software.
• Ability to work effectively in culturally diverse environments; knowledge of archival research, culturally sensitive research practices, and change management methodologies is an asset.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, life insurance, and disability coverage (if eligible)
• An enriching opportunity to contribute to impactful research

How to Apply:
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

About CDCI
Established in 1998, CDCI is Canada’s leading historical research management and litigation support organization, with offices in Ottawa and Vancouver. CDCI takes pride in advancing research that supports Indigenous communities and highlights Canada’s path toward Truth and Reconciliation. Learn more about our work at www.cdci.ca.