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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Voice Project Specialist

💰 $ - $

Project ManagementTelecommunicationsIT InfrastructureUnified Communications

🎯 Role Definition

A Voice Project Specialist is the central driver for all initiatives related to our organization's voice and telephony infrastructure. This role isn't just about managing tasks; it's about owning the successful delivery of critical communication solutions like Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). You'll serve as the bridge between technical teams, business stakeholders, and external vendors, ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards. This position requires a unique blend of technical understanding in the voice/telecom space and expert-level project management discipline to navigate complex deployments and migrations seamlessly.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Telecommunications Analyst
  • IT Project Coordinator
  • Voice or Network Support Engineer

Advancement To:

  • Senior Voice Project Manager
  • Unified Communications (UC) Manager
  • Telephony Solutions Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Network Infrastructure Project Manager
  • IT Vendor Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the end-to-end planning, execution, and successful delivery of complex voice and unified communications projects, including UCaaS, CCaaS, and SIP trunking migrations across multiple sites.
  • Develop comprehensive and detailed project plans, clearly defining project scope, milestones, deliverables, timelines, resource allocation, and budget for all voice-related initiatives.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor for all project stakeholders, including executive leadership, business unit managers, IT teams, and end-users, ensuring clear, consistent, and proactive communication.
  • Actively manage relationships with telecommunications carriers, hardware suppliers, and software vendors, overseeing procurement, contract negotiation, and strict adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
  • Coordinate meticulously with internal technical teams—including network engineers, security specialists, and system administrators—to ensure the seamless integration and deployment of new voice solutions into our existing environment.
  • Conduct thorough risk assessments for all voice projects, proactively identifying potential technical, logistical, or financial issues and developing robust mitigation strategies to minimize project disruptions.
  • Oversee the complex process of porting and migrating telephone numbers (DIDs) from legacy systems to new platforms, ensuring meticulous planning to guarantee minimal service interruption and 100% data accuracy.
  • Develop and implement detailed User Acceptance Testing (UAT) plans, coordinating directly with business users to validate system functionality and confirm that the final solution fully meets business requirements and user expectations.
  • Create, maintain, and organize comprehensive project documentation, including project charters, status reports, risk and issue logs, change orders, and detailed post-deployment summaries.
  • Diligently track and manage project budgets and expenditures, providing regular, transparent financial reporting and variance analysis to leadership to ensure projects are delivered within financial constraints.
  • Facilitate and lead all critical project meetings, such as project kick-offs, weekly status updates, steering committee reviews, and post-mortem sessions, to drive alignment, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Develop and deliver effective training materials, job aids, and support documentation for end-users and support teams to facilitate a smooth and positive adoption of new voice technologies.
  • Ensure all voice project deployments rigorously adhere to internal security policies, data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR), and industry compliance standards (e.g., PCI-DSS, HIPAA).
  • Provide dedicated post-implementation support and serve as a primary escalation point for complex technical issues during the hypercare period immediately following a system go-live.
  • Collaborate closely with solutions architects and business analysts to accurately translate high-level business requirements into detailed technical specifications for voice systems and call flows.
  • Perform and document detailed site readiness assessments for new office builds, relocations, or system upgrades, evaluating network infrastructure, cabling, and power to support modern VoIP deployments.
  • Manage the hands-on deployment, provisioning, and configuration of voice hardware, such as IP phones, Session Border Controllers (SBCs), and gateways, in collaboration with field technicians and vendors.
  • Author and execute strategic communication plans to keep all impacted employees and departments informed of project progress, upcoming changes, planned outages, and potential service impacts.
  • Monitor and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for voice services post-deployment, including call quality metrics (MOS), system uptime, user adoption rates, and ticket volumes.
  • Lead high-priority troubleshooting efforts for major service incidents related to newly deployed voice platforms, coordinating between vendors and internal teams to achieve rapid resolution.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests on call data analytics, system performance, and user adoption metrics.
  • Contribute to the organization's long-term unified communications strategy and technology roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate evolving communication needs into tangible technical project requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the broader IT infrastructure and engineering teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • UCaaS/CCaaS Platform Expertise: Deep practical knowledge of leading platforms such as RingCentral, 8x8, Zoom Phone, Five9, Genesys, or Microsoft Teams Voice.
  • VoIP & Telecom Protocols: Solid understanding of SIP, RTP/SRTP, H.323, and traditional PSTN concepts like DID, porting (LNP), and call routing.
  • Project Management Methodologies: Proven proficiency in both Waterfall and Agile (Scrum/Kanban) project management frameworks.
  • Project Management Software: Hands-on experience with tools like Jira, Microsoft Project, Asana, or Smartsheet for planning and tracking.
  • Network Fundamentals: Strong grasp of networking concepts essential for voice quality, including QoS, VLANs, DHCP, DNS, and firewalls.
  • Session Border Controllers (SBCs): Familiarity with the role and basic configuration of SBCs (e.g., AudioCodes, Ribbon).
  • Vendor Management: Experience managing vendor relationships, from RFPs and selection to contract negotiation and performance reviews.
  • Budgeting and Financial Tracking: Ability to create, manage, and report on detailed project budgets and financial forecasts.
  • Contact Center Technologies: Knowledge of IVR/Auto-Attendant design, Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), and reporting.
  • Technical Documentation: Skill in creating clear technical diagrams, process flows, and support documentation, often using tools like Microsoft Visio.

Soft Skills

  • Stakeholder Management: The ability to build rapport and effectively communicate with individuals at all levels, from technical engineers to C-level executives.
  • Exceptional Communication: Clear, concise, and persuasive communication skills, both written and verbal, with an aptitude for translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
  • Problem-Solving: A proactive and analytical approach to identifying challenges, evaluating options, and implementing effective solutions.
  • Leadership & Influence: The capacity to lead cross-functional teams and influence decision-making without direct authority.
  • Adaptability: Thrives in a fast-paced environment and can skillfully manage shifting priorities and unforeseen project changes.
  • Meticulous Attention to Detail: A commitment to accuracy in planning, documentation, and execution to prevent errors and ensure quality.
  • Negotiation Skills: Confidence in negotiating with vendors and internal teams to achieve the best outcomes for the project and the business.
  • Time Management: Superior organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field or an equivalent combination of professional experience and technical certifications.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's or Master's Degree in one of the fields listed below.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) or PRINCE2 certification is highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Information Technology
  • Telecommunications Management
  • Computer Science
  • Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3-7 years of direct experience in IT project management, with at least 2-3 of those years specifically focused on managing voice, telephony, or unified communications projects.

Preferred:

  • Demonstrable experience managing large-scale, multi-site UCaaS or CCaaS migrations from legacy PBX systems. Experience in a global organization is a significant plus.