Project Manager – Security Systems Integration
Port Coquitlam, BC · Full-time · $95,000–$120,000 per year · Some Travel across Canada
About us
We're an award-winning Canadian integrator that specializes in security systems. We take on work few companies can, combining different systems with off-the-shelf technology, custom electronics and prototyping, software and web technologies. Our clients are across Canada, on sites from the oceanside to deep mines, and from corporate offices to casinos.
Why this role, and why now
We've grown because talented people find a way to get things done. Now we're building the structure to go with that talent: a clear, repeatable path for every project from Sales → Project Management Office(PMO) → Design → Execution, with defined ownership at each step.
We're hiring a Project Manager to help run that system and make it stick. You won't be the hero who rescues a project at the last minute. You'll be the person who makes those rescues unnecessary.
This could be the job for you if you value predictable delivery, clean handoffs and decisions written down, and you can keep a team moving while you introduce new ways of working.
What you'll own
Project activation and handoffs
- Bring new projects in through a formal activation process, and confirm the Sales handoff package is complete before work starts
- Accept or return incomplete deliverables at each stage, and meet the same standard for what you hand to Design and Delivery
- Make sure everyone understands the documented scope, schedule, budget and risks before execution begins
Scope and change control
- Own project scope. Every change, including changes involving other trades, goes through a formal change order instead of being absorbed quietly
- Work with Sales on the commercial impact of changes, and with Design on the technical impact
Planning, cost and schedule
- Build and manage detailed schedules, work plans and budgets from the scope and the resources it needs
- Track costs and progress against estimates, and raise variances early
- Commit to completion dates you can keep, then protect them
Capacity and portfolio visibility
- Run several large projects at once, and keep capacity, schedule and portfolio health visible at the PMO level
- Contribute to the annual schedule and resource forecast
Quality and risk
- Identify and track technical, compliance, financial and reputational risk, and escalate through defined paths
- Log, report and resolve non-conformances (NCRs) accurately, including supplier-related issues
- Cut down on return visits after a project is "done"
Communication and people
- Give stakeholders regular, honest updates that cover what's going well as well as what isn't
- Manage vendors and suppliers with clear tasks and expected deliverables
- Work with Technical Project Supervisors to support technicians' career development and continuing education
- Help define, measure and improve the KPIs we deliver against
Where you fit
• Sales owns the client relationship and the commercial agreement
• PMO (you) owns scope, schedule, cost, change control and portfolio visibility
• Technical Design owns the solution design
• Technical Project Supervisors own site execution and direct the technicians
• Technical Delivery Teams build and commission the systems
You won't design systems or work on site with tools. You will need to understand the technology well enough to ask the right questions, spot risk early and judge whether a deliverable is really ready.
What success looks like
In your first year you'll help us:
- Run every new project through formal activation
- Cut the number of completion-date changes
- Reduce design changes found on site
- Reduce escalations and emergency firefighting
- Win more repeat work from existing clients
- Run more projects at the same time without burning people out
You'll also help pilot this new delivery model before it rolls out across the company.
What you bring
Required
- Proven experience running several large projects at the same time with established project management practices, ideally in security, low-voltage, electrical or systems integration
- A track record of formal change-order management, including coordination with other trades
- Experience with project budgeting, scheduling and cost tracking
- Working knowledge of networking, access control and video surveillance, enough to read drawings and assess technical risk
- Clear, professional spoken and written English
Assets
- PMP, CAPM or a similar designation, or formal project management education
- Experience with stage gates, handoff standards or quality systems (for example ISO 9001)
- Experience with NCR and corrective-action processes, and with KPI reporting
- Ability to read and mark up AutoCAD drawings
- Bilingual (English/French)
People who do well here
- Would rather fix the process than fix the same problem twice
- Stay calm and communicate steadily under pressure
- Hold the line on scope, respectfully, with clients and with colleagues
- Earn credibility with technicians and executives alike
What we offer
- Competitive salary ($95,000–$120,000, based on experience) and company health benefits
- Company vehicle, cell phone and laptop
- Paid training, certification and continuing education
- A real say in how a growing company delivers its projects, and a career path that grows with it
Our standards
Safety comes first, always. We expect respect, honesty, accountability, confidentiality and professional conduct from everyone, everywhere.
We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants regardless of gender, race or religion. Accommodations are available on request throughout the hiring process.
Conditions of employment
- Ability to pass multiple security background checks (local, provincial and federal)
- Ability to pass pre-employment and annual drug and alcohol testing
- Willingness to travel, sometimes on short notice
- Professional communication, appearance and demeanour. Your calm confidence and knowledge should reassure clients
How to apply
Send your resume and cover letter, both in PDF, to careers@unifiedsystems.ca. In your cover letter, tell us about a time you brought structure to a project or a team that didn't have it, and what changed as a result.
