At PowerPlan, a Lead Consultant in Professional Services leads project teams of anywhere from 2-8 people to design and configure PowerPlan’s software to meet the specific accounting needs and business processes of customers in the energy industry. A Lead Consultant may also work independently on smaller, complex engagements, should the need arise.

Within a project team, a Lead Consultant is the primary liaison between the customer, the project manager, and the junior project team members. The Lead Consultant will help the team develop a delivery plan and will delegate tasks to the implementation team, ensuring that the project proceeds smoothly, on schedule, and within budget.

Lead Consultants are subject matter experts in their respective areas and can help play every role on a project team, as needed. As experts, they are able to provide guidance on how to accomplish configuration tasks, and coach the team to success.

An effective Lead Consultant has good judgement and foresight and is able to proactively anticipate and escalate risks encountered on projects. A Lead Consultant also has a good understanding of the amount of time various tasks should take and can help with Project Manager estimate the burn rate on projects. The average project timeline is about 4 months, but may extend to as long as 2 years. A Lead Consultant will likely participate in 3-5 concurrent projects at any given point in time.

Project travel will be about 25% on average but could be as high as 50% for short periods of time. If remote, a Lead Consultant will likely travel to the Atlanta office 1-2 times per quarter to work with the local team.

Performance Objectives

1. Lead and manage project teams consisting of Business Analysts, Consultants, and Senior Consultants to deliver implementations and expert services engagements. Lead Consultants provide leadership, oversight, support, and guidance to less experienced project team members. Lead Consultants will assign tasks to junior project team members and are expected to monitor progress and identify potential bottlenecks. They provide guidance on technical tasks, such as SQL script development, and functional tasks related to Income Tax. They are highly efficient at troubleshooting problems and are skilled at patiently explaining complex concepts to junior team members. A Lead Consultant is able to proactively identify risks and issues on projects and understands how and when to escalate. In the event that there are performance issues with junior project team members, a Lead Consultant is able to provide coaching and constructive feedback. They will identify gaps in team knowledge and are expected to help to provide training and assistance.

2. Assist the Project Manager in setting and managing client expectations. Lead Consultants will spend the majority of their time working in client-facing situations and have a responsibility to clarify project objectives, explain technical and functional decisions, and ensure that the client feels supported. The Lead Consultant is the primary point of contact for questions and issues directed to the PowerPlan team members on projects. While the project manager maintains the primary management-level relationship with the client and keeps track of the budget and scope, the Lead Consultant works closely with Project Manager, supplying them with the information they need to accurately report on project status and health. A Lead Consultant is able to gracefully engage in challenging customer conversations should the need arise.

3. Manage the build process. The Lead Consultant is generally staffed as a project lead and is tasked with overseeing successful delivery of the project by more junior project team members. They are an expert when it comes to understanding how to complete project tasks and may step in to supplement the junior project team members, should the need arise. As a project lead, a Lead Consultant has excellent delegation skills and will help junior team members prioritize their workload. A Lead Consultant will also provide a support structure for the junior project team members when assistance is required. A Lead Consultant is a functional and technical subject matter expert and knows how to find the most efficient solutions to problems encountered on projects. Lead Consultants can help explain the context behind build and configuration tasks in a manner that can be understood by the project team.

4. Efficiently Troubleshoot Problems. Lead Consultants often provide quality assurance on projects and are adept at identifying potential issues when reviewing junior team members’ work. An effective Lead Consultant must be able to quickly learn the data model and understand the interaction between the front-end application and the back-end database so that they can quickly diagnose issues encountered on projects. For escalated issues, the Lead Consultant may be called upon to assist the junior team members in finding a resolution more efficiently. A Lead Consultant is also expected to manage the customer relationship and communicate effective stative updates when supporting defect resolution on projects.

5. Know where to get answers. Lead Consultants are highly resourceful in finding good actionable information to address and solve implementation challenges within PowerPlan’s wealth of data and knowledge from previous implementations. This enables them to troubleshoot problems and acquire implementation insights quickly. They willingly share this knowledge with other team members, while adding to the internal knowledge repository over time. Lead Consultants may not be an SME in all areas, but they will generally be a point of contact to provide deep expertise within their focus area.

6. Track progress and provide regular and timely reports to the project manager. Lead Consultants are the primary liaison with the Project Manager and provide accurate status updates, reliable timeline estimates, and identify potential project obstacles. They help project managers know the breakdown of the individual tasks required to accomplish the build configuration.

7. Design solutions. A Lead Consultant will actively participate in design sessions, asking insightful questions in an effort to develop comprehensive project designs. On complex, cross-functional projects, a Solution Architect may lead the design with the Lead Consultant providing support. A Lead Consultant is capable of independently designing thoughtful solutions within their area of expertise but may at times consult with Solutions Architects when additional expertise is required. The Lead Consultant must have strong written communication skills, as they will be responsible for compiling design documents on projects.

8. Increase both product and technical knowledge. Lead Consultants are expected to have a thorough understanding of Income Tax and of PowerPlan’s technology stack. As thought leaders, Lead Consultants will be expected to help educate and develop junior team members. Lead Consultants are also expected to act as continual learners, aiming to broaden their skillset by attending conferences and other training initiatives.
9. Assist Sales Teams in finding opportunities and estimating the cost of more complex projects. Having visibility at many clients, Lead Consultants often become aware of new opportunities for projects and are expected to report back to the Sales Team with their findings. Additionally, Lead Consultants will occasionally be asked to review and contribute to the development of scope and assumptions for contracts related to their subject area. A Lead Consultant may help define the scope, designate the high-level project tasks, and propose a project plan when assisting the Sales Team on opportunities. Lead Consultants may be asked to join client meetings where scope and pricing are being presented for a potential engagement.

• • Maintain a 78% utilization rate.
  • On-time project completion rates with minimal redesign/errors.
  • Positive customer feedback, mentioned by name.
  • Positive peer and project manager feedback.
  • Continuous growth of personal expertise.
• Attitudes:
  • Careful attention to detail.
  • Skilled at proactively identifies and escalating issues.
  • Strong leadership, mentorship, delegation, and prioritization skills.
  • Highly efficient at completing tasks, with a strong sense of urgency.
  • Passionate about delivering high quality customer service.
  • Ability to form relationships with customers based on integrity.
  • Self-aware and humble, willing to ask for help.
  • Ability to break down a complex problem into actionable tasks.
  • Process oriented, advocate for continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 7+ years’ experience implementing enterprise Income Tax software applications in a client-facing consulting role or IT type organization.
• Experience leading project teams or having direct reports.
• Able to track multiple independent work items simultaneously.
• Ability to establish oneself as a trusted advisor to client, project team and PowerPlan colleagues.
• Strong collaboration skills, especially with co-workers or subject matter experts who may be remote.
• Ability to document technical and functional requirements by partnering with business stakeholders and project team members.
• Highly motivated self-starter.
• Willingness to master new processes and standards rapidly and evolve current approaches to accommodate requirements without delay or loss of quality.
• Experience with implementing key enterprise applications, including ERP, EAM and CRM.
• Working knowledge of corporate income tax accounting (Tax Provision, Property Tax, Tax Fixed Assets).
• Interest in software and technology solutions.
• Understanding of system and network architecture, system platforms, system access, data models, database design, complex SQL queries, and network protocols.
• Experience with some of the advanced functions of Excel, including functions, macros, and pivot tables.
• Excellent, effective communication skills, including:
  • Verbal, written, listening and presentation skills.
  • Ability to engage and successfully interact with the client and project team at all levels.
• Consulting and client/project team relationship-building skills.
• Strong technical background, with advanced SQL and database skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to adhere to a firm’s methodology.
• Skilled in MS Office Suite.
• Willingness to travel, on average, up to 25%.

"PowerPlan is an Equal Opportunity Employer"