Project Manager

Title: Project Manager

Department: Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs

For forward-thinking administrators and educators opportunities abound in the School District of Philadelphia. The School District of Philadelphia is committed to transforming the education opportunities it offers the city’s 200,000 school-aged children. The District seeks leaders who have a passion for working with schools, principals and communities who are committed to ensuring all students achieve. Serving a population as diverse as ours requires creativity, commitment and vision. Will you join us?

Job Summary

The role of the Project Manager is to help implement the District’s overall strategic management goal: creating an aligned organization capable of supporting a high-performing system of schools. The work of the Project Manager will touch on all of the core components of strategic management: determining organizational goals; prioritizing and pursuing the highest impact strategies to achieve those goals; tracking progress against targets; strategic problem-solving; coordinating across functional areas; evaluating and adjusting strategies based on data; holding the organization and team members accountable for progress toward collective goals; and identifying and celebrating individual and team contributions to overall efforts. A successful Project Manager will enjoy working at a fast pace; serving in leader, facilitator, and team member roles; developing innovative, evidence-based strategies and solutions to operational barriers; resolving policy barriers; and institutionalizing change.

Essential Functions

• Drives incorporation of performance management approaches – and performance culture – in key interactions across the organization.
• Establishes routines and facilitates regular project meetings among various District staff involved in implementing and evaluating Action Plan initiatives or project components, or System of Great Schools process for purposes of progress monitoring, program review, and program improvement.
• Provides problem-solving support to initiative managers and helps ensure that input and feedback from colleagues across the organization is solicited and incorporated.
• Supports initiative managers to identify risks, strategize solutions, and develop plans to address identified issues in order to maintain initiative/project momentum.
• Supports and helps lead implementation of high-priority special projects including, but not limited to, implementation and adoption process of the District’s policy 138 and new State guidance for English Learners (EL) to ensure compliance and consistency across policies and practice.
• Develops logic models to monitor EL programs across the District.
• Validates and monitors English Learners’ data across student information systems.
• Designs a process improvement plan to align English Language Development (ELD) programs to Anchor Goals 1 and 2.
• Provides problem-solving support to multilingual managers and helps to ensure that input and feedback from teachers and colleagues are solicited and incorporated.
• Collaborates with managers to develop project timelines and milestones to help reach implementation and outcomes for Anchor goals 1 and 2 [see here for AG1 and here for AG2].
• Connects resources, inputs, and activities across schools and central office in a way that shows how changes will result in improved outcomes and progress toward AGs 1 and 2.
• Supports the development of knowledge management strategies and internal modes of communication for School District staff to improve information sharing and cross-department communication.
• Assists with multi-media outreach efforts to communicate the District’s goals, actions, and progress to diverse stakeholder groups.
• Helps drive the Newcomer Learning Academy and Dual Language programs, including data analysis, decision-making, and communication.
• Researches education policy issues and strategic management practices.
• Coordinates extensive literature reviews and data analysis; creates data collection instruments including surveys and questionnaires; analyzes and evaluates collected data.
• Determines appropriateness of analytical and evaluative criteria being utilized, including which measurement instruments are most appropriate; examines data collection instruments including surveys and questionnaires.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Three years of full-time, paid, professional experience in project management, educational research or evaluation, education, public policy, computer systems which has included working in education or a related field.

OR

• Any equivalent combination of training and experience determined to be acceptable by the Office of Talent.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Demonstrated knowledge of:

• process improvement and the methods utilized to implement systemic change.
• principles, practices, and procedures underlying English Language Development programs.
• principles, practices, and procedures underlying coordination of large-scale projects and initiatives.
• statistical analysis and presentation of findings.
• survey design and interpretation.
• advanced data modeling techniques.

Demonstrated ability to:

• lead and implement strategic initiatives under aggressive deadlines.
• function as an entrepreneurial self-starter, a team leader, a facilitator, and as a member of a team.
• work on multiple projects simultaneously, as evidenced by an ability to balance and prioritize multiple competing priorities.
• identify and break down complex problems and develop strategies to address the identified issues based on quantitative and/or qualitative evidence.
• build and maintain strong, effective working relationships across all levels of an organization.
• coordinate cross-functional teams.
• understand, interpret, and analyze a variety of data sources.
• design and develop systems, tools, and schedules for collecting, maintaining, and reporting on English Learners data.
• adapt to different situations, particularly when new information is provided.
• use Microsoft Office products, including demonstrated prior professional use of Microsoft Excel.
• efficiently manage and prioritize multiple responsibilities with concurrent timelines.
• work with families, students, coworkers, school leaders and staff, and the public from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• manage projects and meet deadlines.