What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Manager, Executive Projects position at Vanderbilt University?
The Executive Project Manager is a key individual contributor and team member in the Office of the Provost responsible for providing strategic and tactical leadership for executive-level projects. This highly visible role requires strategic thinking, excellent stakeholder management, technical know-how, and operational excellence. The Executive Project Manager is responsible for planning, developing, and coordinating key initiatives and overseeing day-to-day administrative and operational activities through effective project management. The Executive Project Manager is also responsible for tracking qualitative and quantitative data collection and reporting on projects through both written reports and presentations. This role works with both internal and external stakeholders and partners to successfully set and meet project milestones in order to meet the goals set by the Provost and the Chief of Staff.
Reporting directly to the Chief of Staff, the ideal candidate should have excellent judgment in knowing when to lead or support a cross-functional team and be capable of bringing out views from all disciplines to inform one strategic plan. A successful candidate will thrive in an ambiguous, cross-functional environment where they can understand different perspectives and provide discussion frameworks to enable trade-offs and decisions.
Portfolio Management
- Manage the Provost's portfolio of projects, initiatives, engagements, and events across various academic units.
- Track and oversee the status of multiple projects, ensuring alignment with the Provost's priorities and institutional goals.
- Define and implement processes for prioritizing and balancing the portfolio to maximize impact and resource utilization.
- Regularly review and update the portfolio, making recommendations for adjustments based on progress, strategic importance, and emerging needs.
- Provide comprehensive portfolio reports to the Provost and Chief of Staff, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and strategic decisions needed.
Project Management
- Provide strategic and tactical leadership for executive-level projects involving the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs leadership.
- Direct and implement executive-level projects to ensure successful outcomes.
- Develop, manage, and implement detailed project plans, including business issue definitions, task delegation, and issue resolution.
- Develop project overviews and guidelines and manage project administration and timelines.
- Oversee, track, and maintain project data, metrics and outcomes and assess project impact to ensure achievement of goals.
Strategic Planning and Execution
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and partners on key initiatives, overseeing project development, completion, and implementation.
- Partner with project owners to define project scope, develop project charters, plans, budgets, and resource requirements.
- Provide insights based on project evaluations to support the Provost in strategy development.
- Advise stakeholders on budget or other portfolio implications and develop performance metrics and standards.
- Provide professional and/or technical support and guidance in the execution of project activities.
- Identify the need for communication and training plans; develop tools, job aids, and instructional materials; and lead training as needed.
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
- Build, track, and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders across the university and the broader Nashville and Middle Tennessee community, including managing relationships that the Provost has cultivated with internal and external constituencies.
- Communicate project status, issues, and achievements to key stakeholders, including the Provost and Chancellor.
- Prepare and review regular, ongoing project communications and summaries for the Provost.
Business Process Improvement
- Identify and implement process improvements for projects and programs.
- Document functional requirements, develop current and future state business process flows, and manage testing plans.
- Identify dependencies and implications of changes to functional areas and recommend continuous improvements.
- Partner with the Senior Director of Strategy and Analytics in the Office of the Provost for data-related expertise and analysis.
- Partner with the Director of Space Planning in the Office of the Provost for space management-related expertise and analysis.
Supervisory Relationships
This position does not have direct supervisory responsibilities but requires strong influence and coordination across multiple teams and stakeholders. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Chief of Staff to the Provost.
Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required.
- A Master’s or advanced degree is preferred.
- A minimum of eight (8) years of experience and expertise in related project management is necessary.
- Experience working with or for consulting firms on high-level projects is preferred.
- Experience working with or for institutions of higher education is preferred.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is preferred.
- Six Sigma Black Belt certification is preferred.
- Superior project management and time management skills are necessary.
- Experience in business process change and managing complex projects involving multiple functional groups is necessary.
- Ability to think strategically to manage multiple projects/initiatives with changing priorities and strict deadlines in a rapidly changing environment is necessary.
- Proven ability to navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced environment is necessary.
- Excellent organizational and planning skills are necessary.
- Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines is necessary.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with individuals across the university and externally are necessary.
- Superior organizational skills, verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to articulate and present information to various and diverse audiences is necessary.
- Evidence of exceptional judgment and decision-making skills is necessary.
- Ability to influence leadership and work effectively on cross-functional teams is necessary.
- Demonstrated ability to handle high-level, sensitive, and confidential information is necessary.
- Proficiency in office software tools (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other software tools for communication, analysis, and operation is necessary.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze, use, and present data as part of the project management process is necessary.
