Senior Project Manager

Title: Senior Project Manager

Department: Office of Student Life and Innovation

Reports To: Associate Superintendent, Student Life

The School District of Philadelphia is committed to becoming the fastest improving District in  the country and transforming the educational opportunities it offers to our city’s more than  200,000 students. The District seeks leaders who have a passion for working with schools  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 

This is administrative and managerial project work, overseeing all components of a large scale Facilities, Information Technology, System of Great Schools, Teacher Effectiveness,  Chief Academic Support Office, Strategy Delivery Unit, College and Career Readiness,  Finance, Office of the Superintendent and the Evaluation, Research, and Accountability, Student Recruitment and Enrollment - Internal Partners Program or Leadership  Development projects and initiatives, inclusive of project scope preparation, return on  investment (ROI) analysis, financial projection, project and life cycle implementation, staffing  coordination and/or management, contract administration, and budget oversight. Employees  in this class are responsible for facilitating dialogue between internal customers, technology  staff, developers, central office staff, vendors, external agencies, schools and community  partners. Work involves meetings with clients to discuss their needs and documenting  business rules for various projects and/or identifying and implementing professional learning  with central offices, schools and community partners. For the Office of the Superintendent,  work involves meeting with Central Office staff and key stakeholders to discuss their needs,  documenting goals and requirements for various projects, and/or identifying and  implementing professional learning with central offices, schools and community partners. 

Serves as a point of contact for clients and key stakeholders with projects in progress. Work  additionally involves formally employing industry-recognized projects management  principles, techniques, and best practices, to develop, monitor, report, and coordinate all  aspects of a project from inception to post-implementation support. Ensures that actions are  strategic and include a plan on the evaluation of progress. Project oversight activities may  additionally include coordination of support activities inclusive of training, outreach, and  customer relationship management. Ensures that data pertaining to programmatic activities  is systematically collected, reviewed and analyzed. Projects in this class are classified as  large and complex enterprise-wide information service, application software, technology  infrastructure initiatives or administrative educational initiatives characterized by multi-year  life cycles.

This is a full-time, 12-month, non-represented position. The salary grade is 4028, starting at $88,606, commensurate with experience and aligned to ensure internal equity with similarly situated roles.

Essential Functions 

• Develops strategies for appropriate scopes of work. 

• Participates or directs contract negotiation and/or preparation. 

• Plans and manages timelines, and monitors progress of various projects and work  streams; provides progress updates to project leads. 

• Works with selected teams on specific aspects of meeting project goals in a timely  manner. 

• Prepares, manages, audits, and maintains direct responsibly for project budgets.

• Prepares reports related to project status and projections.  

• Directly supervises project or department staff as required. 

• Develops and builds good communications and relationships between Facilities, Information Technology, Teacher Effectiveness, the Chief Academic Support Office or the Office of College and Career Readiness and central offices and schools. 

• Participates in confidential and/or sensitive matters and/or projects at every level of the  enterprise. 

• Works with in setting priorities for the completion of requested services.

• Participates in organizational planning within Facilities, Transportation, Information  Technology, Teacher Effectiveness, the Chief Academic Support Office or the Office of  College and Career Readiness and other departmental offices. 

• Assists in various Facilities, Transportation, Information Technology, Teacher  Effectiveness, Chief Academic Support Office or the Office of College and Career  Readiness projects when needed. 

• Supports all administrative and managerial project work related to the development and  implementation of the Equity Coalition and Equity Partners Fellowship. 

Additional Functions for the Office of Student Life and Data Specialty

• Coordinates the efficient flow of critical information by working with members of various  central office departments to ensure seamless data exchange across divisions.

• Develops and analyzes integrated datasets and reports from multiple sources to inform  strategic decision-making processes for school improvement and programmatic effectiveness. 

• Designs and develops systems, tools, and schedules for collecting, maintaining, and  reporting on performance data to ensure interoperability between departmental metrics.

• Displays complex information in meaningful and visually appealing ways to facilitate  dialogue between internal customers, technology staff, and external partners.

• Gathers quantitative and qualitative information from a wide range of stakeholders, including District administrators and community members, to identify and track systemic  trends. 

• Ensures data about programmatic activities is systematically collected and reviewed in accordance with standard measurement systems and academic metrics.

• Establishes routines and facilitates regular project meetings to monitor progress and  maintain the integrity of shared data across multi-year project life cycles

Minimum Requirements  

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. 

• Six years of full-time, paid, professional, experience in project management, program  implementation, operations, or research, 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. 

NOTE: An applicant who does not meet the minimum education or work experience  requirements listed above may be considered if, at the sole discretion of the Talent Office,  they have a unique combination of education and work experiences that indicates potential  for success in this role.
The candidate must ensure that all of their relevant work experience is reflected on their resume prior to the submission of their application for District employment. 
 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

All Specialties 

• Demonstrated knowledge of: 

o the procedures and methods utilized to implement systemic change in a timely,  accurate, and effective manner. 

o Asana Project Management, FileMaker Pro Advanced, Excel or Microsoft  Project, Vision and/or other productivity and scheduling tools.

• Demonstrated ability to: 

o manage large or complex projects and/or budgets.  

o plan, organize, and direct project activities and allocate staff resources to tasks efficiently. 

o analyze and resolve complex problems. 

o represent a superior at meetings and conferences. 

o present ideas effectively, both orally and in writing. 

Additional Knowledge and Abilities for the Office of Student Life and Data Specialty

• Demonstrated knowledge of: 

o collecting and managing a wide range of program implementation and outcome data. 

o collaborates with stakeholders to develop, implement, and report on student life data-related activities. 

o principles, practices, and procedures underlying coordination of large-scale  projects and initiatives. 

o formulate solutions to complex problems and develop strategies to address the identified issues based on quantitative and/or qualitative evidence.

• Demonstrated ability to:

o understand organizational change management. 

o collaborate and work cross-functionally. 

o handle and prioritize multiple projects at a time and manage complex projects to  completion.  

o analyze and resolve complex problems. 

o use keen judgment in decision-making.

Disclaimer 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being  performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an  exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. 

Nondiscrimination 

The School District of Philadelphia provides equal employment opportunities to all  employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, creed, religion,  sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status, gender  identity, or genetic information. Please refer to Board Policy 348 for further information regarding the District's commitment to Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices.