Job
Description
The Senior Project Manager will lead cross-functional execution of jurisdictional changes and incident response. This role integrates business analytics with traditional project management, ensuring Avalara's readiness across operational, content, and technical domains. Key responsibilities - Include's structured intake, technical scoping, data collection and impact analysis, and full-cycle project management. You will be deeply involved in JIRA ticket creation and tracking, content and system change readiness, research and documentation, and metric reporting to measure Avalara's risk mitigation and change responsiveness. Your business analysis skills will inform root cause assessments and risk mitigation strategies. Proficiency in tools like JIRA, Confluence, Excel, SQL, and AI platforms will be essential to drive change readiness and maintain precise documentation across Avalara's systems. Duties and Responsibilities - Technical Research & Readiness Own technical scoping efforts: identify affected tax types, forms, jurisdictions, automation workflows, and content systems using internal documentation, tax authority publications, and stakeholder inputs. Conduct deep-dive issue analysis, including historical precedent, impact scale (returns, revenue, customer count), and systems dependencies. Draft and maintain JIRA tickets for engineering, content, compliance, and communication workstreams. Utilize Avalaras Systems to extract, validate, and analyze transaction and filing data relevant to project scope. Collaborate with the Data Science and RPA teams to request and validate contact lists, filing calendars, and client behavior data. Project & Stakeholder Management. Lead statutory readiness and incident response forums with structured agenda, action tracking, and clear RACI-based task assignment. Engage directly with jurisdictional contacts (in coordination with Government Relations) to validate form updates, system transitions, registration protocols, and automation feasibility. Track changes to filing methods (e.g., shift to e-file/pay mandates, UI/portal redesigns) and manage internal technical and business readiness. Document and maintain project pages in Confluence, including summary, impact areas, ticket references, deadlines, and completion tracking. Perform end-to-end business analysis of jurisdictional changes to define operational and technical requirements, translate regulations into actionable system impacts, and support cross-functional alignment. Partner with stakeholders to elicit, document, and validate business requirements across engineering, content, compliance, and legal teams. Use root cause analysis, process mapping, and business case development to inform prioritization and risk mitigation planning. Facilitate workshops or discovery sessions to document as-is vs. to-be process states for Avalara systems impacted by jurisdictional changes. Communication & Documentation Prepare final post-mortem reports and assist with Root Cause Analysis creation when systemic gaps are identified. Leverage AI tools, including ChatGPT, in daily workflows to enhance efficiency and accuracy. Identify opportunities to integrate AI into team management processes and actively promote adoption. Collaborate cross-functionally to develop and implement AIdriven solutions that improve overall team performance. Key Skills & Qualifications Required 8+ years of experience in project or program management roles, preferably in compliance, tax technology, or SaaS environments. Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional initiatives that include engineering, content, and legal components. Demonstrated experience in business analysis, including stakeholder interviewing, requirement gathering, process documentation, and gap analysis. Experience applying structured business analysis frameworks (e.g., SWOT, SIPOC, RACI, 5 Whys) to facilitate decision-making, clarify roles, and align stakeholders during cross functional change initiatives. Strong command of technical tools: Confluence, JIRA, Salesforce, ChatGPT, Excel, SQL, and Google Suite. Experience writing and managing detailed technical tickets with acceptance criteria across multiple JIRA project boards. Exceptional research, documentation, and technical synthesis skills. Comfort with ambiguity and proactive identification of risk or missing information. Preferred Background in sales tax compliance, indirect tax regulations, or jurisdictional relationship management. Familiarity with Avalara systems is a plus. Experience with automation and data pipelines. Metrics of Success Timely and accurate project completion before jurisdictional effective dates. Clear, actionable technical documentation and ticketing across all SRR projects. Reduced customer impact in reactive scenarios (incidents, escalations). Accuracy and traceability of change implementations across compliance, content, and product systems
