Project Manager - X Labs Lead

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Project Manager

Project Manager - X Labs Lead Edinburgh, Posted: 2/21/2025

Job ID#: 59762

Job Category: Project Manager

Position Type: Full Time

Duration: 12 months

Shift: 1

Team Context:
The Innovation Office IO is responsible for driving the firm's innovation strategy by continuously exploring new and emerging technologies for firm-wide benefit. Capturing opportunities, connecting ideas to resources and leadership to accelerate business innovation, value identification, and implementation.

BlackRock is seeking a lead for its X Labs in Edinburgh with innovation, agile, project management, preferably engineering or software development experience.

Key X Labs objectives are:

• To centralize management of ideation and innovation across the firm.
• Proving business value of an idea or innovation opportunity to justify future investment or defer the opportunity.
• Crowdsource ideas for product and service innovation, process optimization, and even revenue generation.
• Manage the Innovation Platform and host Hackathons, surveys, and Ideation events.
• Run and facilitate innovation Sprints to accelerate ideation, innovation, and business value identification for BlackRock, covering opportunities in:
• Technology
• Processes
• Products and services

Role Overview:

In this role, the X Labs Lead will be a part of the global X Labs team, reporting to the Head of X Labs, with the following responsibilities:

• Prepare for X-Sprints by:
• In conjunction with technology members of the Sprint, complete a technical assessment and summarization of technology, engineering resources required to ensure the Sprint will be successful.
• In conjunction with business members of the X Sprint, complete a business assessment and summarization of business resources required to ensure the Sprint will be successful.
• Identify and ensure required technology, software, and licenses are available.
• Engaging with X Sprint attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders, build constructive relationships to manage expectations and achieve required outcomes.
• Identifying the specific problems/opportunities to target, agree on the outcomes required.
• Identify and ensure required logistics (Facilities, systems access, etc.) are in place.
• Facilitate X-Sprints, ensuring teams remain focused on the outcomes, follow the methodology agreed for each X Sprint.
• Complete resource plans for X Sprints.
• Document X Sprints, complete required reports and management information summaries.
• Identify improvement opportunities, take ownership of their implementation and associated communication and training.
• Work with X Labs to complete internal Sprints following SCRUM, Kanban, and Project Management delivery models.
• Manage ideation and innovation requests received by the Innovation office via the tools and processes utilized.
• Act as an ambassador for X Labs both internally and externally.

Successful candidates will need to be flexible in the roles they take on to meet business demands and deliverables, this may mean individuals take on more senior roles and less senior roles in short cycles: e.g.: Senior Project Manager, Scrum Coach, Project Administrator, Analyst, Technical Assessor.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead multiple cross-functional teams on various projects both using Agile & Hybrid methods.
• Analyze and translate opportunities/problem statements into tangible, measurable solutions.
• Ability to effectively communicate at all levels of the organization.
• Actively remove or facilitate removal of impediments that block progress of X Labs deliverables.
• Support and educate Sprint squads to ensure the X Sprint methodology is understood and outcomes are achieved.
• Partner and collaborate with internal teams, stakeholders, vendors, and dependent teams.
• Lead planning sessions to establish scope and benefit identification.
• Manage and facilitate efficient cross-functional team X Sprint and internal Sprint ceremonies.
• Champion and foster project change management processes and procedures.
• Foster team accountability while ensuring continual flow of high-quality value from X Sprints.
• Ensure that projects follow standard operating policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Exhibits a goal-driven aptitude to take on stretch goals.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, a pragmatic approach, and confidence to deliver projects in an environment undergoing significant transformation.
• Creativity in problem-solving and communicating.
• Self-motivated work ethic, managing activities throughout the various stages of project lifecycle.
• Pays attention to team needs and pivots his/her approaches accordingly to support the delivery of business value.
• Ensure diversity, equality, and inclusion is applied and respected in all behaviors and actions.

Required Experience:

• 10 years' experience of working with technology teams in a Project Management, Scrum Master, Team lead Capacity.
• Experience of working with, collaborating or leading strategic initiatives or innovation projects.
• Direct experience in working with Cloud teams, Data Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or software development teams.
• Experienced in IT infrastructure and technical project delivery.
• Technical aptitude, understanding technology in a business context.
• Experience working with global, distributed teams across multiple cultures and time zones.
• Ambitious and proactive - able to show initiative and come up with ideas without prompting.
• Advanced user of agile management and productivity tools.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience in managing and working with Squads covering end-to-end delivery lifecycles:
• Business Case/value definition
• Design
• Rapid prototyping
• Development
• Security compliance
• Implementation
• Post Implementation Support and Consultancy
• Code Automation
• Lifecycle Management and Cost controls

Preferred Skills:

• Technology-driven project delivery into Businesses.
• Business and stakeholder management.
• ADO, Jira.
• Excel: developing Macros.
• Scrum Master heading towards being a Scrum Coach.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree (Computer Science or Engineering preferred).
• Project Management qualifications/certifications.

Pay Range: $ 65.00 - $ 85.00