Penn State Job Catalog

The Manager of Project Management provides leadership and direction for organizational project management activities through the supervision of project management professionals and oversight of complex and strategic project portfolios; directs the planning, execution, monitoring, and delivery of projects through subordinate project managers; establishes and maintains project management methodologies, governance frameworks, standards, tools, and performance metrics; ensures projects are appropriately prioritized, resourced, governed, and aligned with organizational objectives; advises senior leadership on project portfolio performance, priorities, risks, resource requirements, and organizational project management practices; leads continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen project delivery capabilities, processes, and organizational project management maturity.

• Provide leadership and direction for project management activities, including complex, strategic, and organizational transformation initiatives; establish priorities and ensure alignment with institutional objectives
• Direct the work of project managers and project management teams; hire, develop, coach, assign work, and evaluate the performance of staff
• Oversee the project portfolio, including project priorities, dependencies, resource requirements, schedules, budgets, risks, and organizational impacts; provide leadership with information to support portfolio decisions
• Establish, implement, and continuously improve project management methodologies, standards, governance frameworks, tools, templates, processes, and performance metrics based on industry best practices
• Establish project governance and oversight practices appropriate to the size, complexity, and risk of projects; facilitate steering committees, executive reviews, portfolio reviews, and stakeholder decision-making processes
• Meet with sponsors, senior leaders, customers, and other stakeholders to analyze needs, define objectives, evaluate alternatives, and develop solutions for complex organizational initiatives
• Monitor and evaluate project and portfolio performance, including scope, schedule, budget, staffing, quality, risks, and issues; identify obstacles and direct the development of mitigation, contingency, and recovery strategies
• Review project plans, business cases, schedules, resource requirements, cost estimates, risk assessments, and other deliverables; provide guidance to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with established project management practices
• Analyze and evaluate vendor proposals, feasibility studies, and alternative solutions; oversee cost-benefit analyses and project-related procurement, contracting, and vendor activities as appropriate
• Direct cross-functional coordination of projects and initiatives; serve as a liaison among project teams, organizational units, external customers, vendors, and other stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and resolution of issues
• Ensure project management activities comply with institutional policies, governance requirements, regulatory obligations, contractual requirements, and applicable industry standards
• Provide advanced consultation and thought leadership on project management, business analysis, organizational change management, portfolio priorities, resource requirements, and project delivery strategies
• Participate in strategic planning and organizational decision-making; assess project management capabilities and identify opportunities to improve project delivery, organizational capacity, and project management maturity
• Maintain awareness of developments and emerging practices in the project management profession; promote professional development, knowledge sharing, and adoption of effective practices among project management staff
• May develop, monitor, and administer budgets and other administrative functions associated with project management operations

Level:

– Manager

Base Description:

– Manages direct reports where primary duty is the management of a working unit.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates proficient ability in work design, project management, financial planning and development of goals for accomplishing unit assignments. Reviews and guides work to ensure conformity to policy and effective approaches. Evaluates employee performance and recommend development opportunities. Demonstrates ability to coach employees. Presents and communicates key university indicatives and connects it to unit contributions. Provides broad guidelines. Develops, evaluates, enhances, and/or implements quality improvement practices. Recommends innovative solutions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees a team (typically 4 or more; no fewer than 2) full
– time direct reports of individual contributors and/or first level supervisors.

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Monitors and tracks department/area budget
– May plan, forecast, and/or assist in developing budgets
– May have final signature authority for specific area

Problem Solving:

– Encounters varied and complex problems
– Helps to develop creative and/or novel approaches to resolve problems that are difficult in nature but within limited scope
– Modifies, adapts, or refines guidelines if necessary to resolve issues or problems

Independence of Action:

– Works independently on complex or strategic assignments
– Uses existing practices and advanced working knowledge to determine appropriate work methods for the team
– Reviews completed work of others for conformity to policy, and effectiveness of approach
– Delegates advanced tasks to others

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– Collaborates closely with team members and various areas across the University
– Prepares written and/or verbal presentations or proposals on complex issues and delivers to a broad variety of audiences
– Communicates key university initiatives and how unit’s work contributes to their achievement
– Presents ideas, concepts and instructions in a clear manner, and uses persuasion and negotiation to build consensus and cooperation
– Establishes and maintains networks to facilitate successful communication among units

• Comp Grade – 14
• Minimum – $102,936.00
• MidPoint – $128,688.00
• Maximum – $154,452.00

• Access management
• Information governance
• Organizational training
• Presentation Skills
• Project Management
• Quality Assurance (QA)
• Report writing
• Risk Management
• Strategic Planning
• Technical development
• Technical support
• Technical Writing
• Vendor management