[Sigia-l] Open position: Freelance PM/IA in NYC

[Laurence Bergman]

UGO (pronounced "Yu-Ji-Oh") a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst
Corporation (http://www.hearstcorp.com/news/press_072407.html), is the
ultimate online entertainment playground for people with "Gamer DNA."
UGO engages its massive audience with interactive content and
information about the hottest games, movies, TV shows, music, comics,
technology, sports and celebrities. Attracting a young, predominantly
male demographic, UGO reaches 11 million monthly unique U.S. visitors
and over 28 million worldwide, consistently placing among
Nielson/Netratings' Top 10 multi-category entertainment properties.
The company delivers customized, high impact advertising programs for
its world-class client base.

We are currently seeking a freelance project manager (ideally a strong
IA or IxD with PM experience) to join the Product Development Group.
Individuals within the product development group are expected to
manage and implement solutions that drive value for UGO.

Key Relationships:
• Reports to the VP of Product Development
• Works closely with senior product development PM
• Liaise with IT, Content, Sales, Ad, and Production department personnel

Core competencies:
• Deliverable creation
• Engagement management
• Solution definition and development
• Technology aspects and methods
• IT processes, organization, and economics
• People leadership/Development
• Knowledge of product development lifecycle, including testing,
information architecture and interaction design

Key performance indicator:
• 90% work utilization rate based on projects assigned by Manager

Key Responsibilities:
• To create functional related deliverables and/or work products as
assigned. Skills focus on gathering relevant data, understanding
issues and problem identification
• To be accountable for quality of own functional related deliverables
• To establish planned hours and associated deliverables for self and
stakeholder counterpart(s)
• To notify stakeholders of variances from plan and identify changes
in scope or work; Works with team lead to develop action plans.
• Work closely with Content, Sales and Technology stakeholders to
clearly define project scope, tasks and manage deadlines
• Ensure that projects are on time and within budget constraints
• Accepting re-prioritized resourcing on a regular basis to achieve
project success - balancing the needs of the rest of the business and
other limiting factors as par for the course
• Mitigate red flags and potential issues successfully
• Ensure adherence to sound development practices
• Communicate clearly to the Product Development team and business
heads project status
• Create technical documentation as needed
• Properly analyze project issues and maturely direct stakeholders
toward deadlines
• Understand project scope completely
• Understand project dependencies both up and downstream
• Help manage the business stakeholders toward their deliverables
• Understand the players and the politics of a project

Requirements:
• Three or more years of project management experience in the Internet space
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• Proficiency with MS Office. Strong MS Project.
• Deep understanding of web development technologies including Flash,
HTML, XML and JavaScript
• Experience working with graphic designers and information architects
• Candidates with information architecture, interaction design or
business analyst skills preferred

If you are interested in being part of the UGO team, please submit
your cover letter and resume to jobs at ugo.com. Please include
"Freelance PDPM" in the subject line of your message.

UGO is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has an Affirmative Action Program