Careers

Job Summary:

University Information Technology Services (UITS) of the University of Massachusetts System Office is seeking a Senior Project Manager with a distinctive blend of business, IT, communication and planning skills to enable successful achievement of strategic goals and desired business outcomes via effective management of projects.

The primary purpose of the Senior Project Manager role is to lead, oversee and ensure the successful planning, delivery and management of projects within scope, quality, time and cost constraints. Projects range from highly dynamic and agile to more structured. All projects require high proficiency in change management, planning, and influencing across organizational boundaries. The ideal candidate is a persuasive change agent with a growth mindset and possesses the following competencies: gains sponsor and stakeholder commitment by building trust through transparency and good judgment; encourages cooperation and compromise with competing priorities; and has a track record of setting challenging goals and demonstrates a strong drive for results.

The Senior Project Manager reports to the Director of Portfolio and Project Management (PPM) and is a member of the Project Management Office (PMO.) The team collaborates with colleagues in UITS, all departments in UMass System Office, campus IT and functional stakeholders across all major areas of university operations.

Essential Functions:

• Act as a trusted advisor to business and technology stakeholders on problem framing, design thinking, solution consulting and research. Assist stakeholders with development of business cases and project proposals to inform decision making.
• Develop, schedule and communicate project plans including deliverables, phases, milestones, and tasks. Plans may be agile or waterfall depending on the project type. Modify project plans as needed to ensure successful outcomes.
• Lead resource management for assigned projects including assignment of internal resources and recruitment of external resources including project vendor billing. Ensure project resources have clearly defined and well-understood roles and responsibilities tied to project success.
• Develop and implement project communication plans for a wide variety of system and campus stakeholders at all levels.
• Lead and motivate project team members throughout the project life cycle and confer with project staff to outline and adjust the work plan.
• Perform risk assessments and implement mitigation plans. Confer with stakeholders and project staff to proactively anticipate and resolve problems.
• Monitor and frequently report on project status, health, and key issues while ensuring information is easily understandable, actionable, supports effective decision making and builds trust with sponsors and stakeholders.
• Ensure that project goals are accomplished and are aligned with business objectives.
• Contribute to and follow standards, best practices, and procedures for project management within UITS.
• As a member of the PMO contribute to a climate of teamwork. Support fellow PM’s by sharing knowledge and providing support as needed.

Other Functions:

UITS has created this job description to indicate the general nature and level of work that UITS expects the Senior Project Manager to perform. This job description is not a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of the Senior Project Manager and should not be interpreted as such. In addition to UITS projects, the position will aid in the support of departmental vendor contracts and work with the budget and procurement lead to ensure adherence to contract specifications. Special projects and other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience):

• A bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, business administration or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 5 years of experience in project management including simultaneously managing multiple projects and some large projects.
• 3 or more years of enterprise IT experience with a focus on solutions to business problems or developing new business capabilities.
• 3 or more years of experience directly interacting with business stakeholders through projects, solution consulting, or project proposal development.
• Demonstrated experience in leading a cross-functional team that does not have a direct reporting relationship.
• Demonstrated experience and ability in negotiation, influencing, conflict resolution, public speaking, facilitation, and other business interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience with one or more common project management platforms for planning, scheduling, resource management and risk management.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience):

• Project management training and certification
• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate others using empathy and knowledge of different work and communication styles
• Experience using multiple project management methodologies (e.g. Agile and PMI)
• Demonstrated ability to present and interact effectively with executive leadership
• Demonstrated sound judgment in handling sensitive and politically complex issues
• Effective business writing skills for proposals, documentation, and stakeholder communications
• Discipline in setting and managing customer expectations
• Demonstrated understanding of current and emerging technologies and how other enterprises are employing them to drive digital business

Working Conditions:

• Typical office environment.
• Hybrid working environment (combination of on-site and remote work) where you are required to be on-site at our Westborough, MA office for a specified amount of time. 
• Periodic travel to campus sites and executive offices in downtown Boston.
• This role may occasionally require working at times during evenings and weekends to support the needs of the department.

Additional Details:

Salary commensurate with experience up to $100,000.