Ascension LLC is seeking a highly experienced Project Manager / Senior IT Governance Lead to serve as the principal engagement lead for a municipal IT Policy Assessment and Governance Modernization initiative.

This independent contractor will lead the full lifecycle execution of the engagement, including IT policy assessment, NIST CSF 1.0 alignment, governance integration, legal coordination, executive reporting, and tabletop exercise facilitation. This is a senior-level role requiring strategic leadership, structured execution, and strong municipal or public-sector governance experience.

The ideal candidate is a self-directed professional who can operate independently, manage complex stakeholder environments, and deliver high-quality governance documentation with minimal supervision. This role is central to the success of the engagement and requires demonstrated expertise in IT governance frameworks, cybersecurity risk management, and public-sector policy environments.

Position Summary

The Project Manager / Senior IT Governance Lead will oversee the assessment, modernization, and formalization of IT governance and cybersecurity policy frameworks for a City client. The contractor will be responsible for evaluating existing policies, identifying gaps, aligning documentation with NIST CSF 1.0, coordinating legal review, and integrating finalized policies into the City’s governance structure.

The selected contractor must be:

• Highly organized and execution-oriented
• Detail-driven with strong documentation discipline
• Comfortable advising executive leadership
• Capable of translating cybersecurity risk into governance-level recommendations
• Skilled at anticipating policy conflicts and regulatory misalignments
• Effective in managing timelines, risks, and cross-functional coordination

This role requires independent judgment, structured facilitation skills, and the ability to lead ambiguity toward defined outcomes.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead overall engagement planning, execution, and delivery
• Establish project objectives, scope boundaries, milestones, and success metrics
• Develop and manage an integrated project schedule and risk register
• Conduct comprehensive IT policy inventory and gap assessment
• Map current policies against NIST CSF 1.0 categories and functions
• Identify governance deficiencies, redundancies, and compliance gaps
• Draft revised and new IT governance and cybersecurity policies
• Coordinate legal review and policy adoption cycles
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops and executive working sessions
• Develop governance integration plans for embedding policy within City structure
• Create implementation roadmaps and policy tracking mechanisms
• Design and facilitate cybersecurity tabletop exercises aligned to risk scenarios
• Prepare executive-level reports, presentations, and documentation
• Ensure version control and quality assurance of all deliverables