Project Manager I

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Managesall phases of assigned projects (e.g.,initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing).
• Meets with project sponsors and team members to gain understanding and knowledge of projects and plans, organizes, monitors, and manages all phases.
• Establishes and maintains professional working relations and communication with persons related to each project.
• Identifies scope of project and develops documents outlining key project objectives, goals, plans, requirements, proposals, estimates, schedules, and budgets. Makes presentations, submits requests, and gains necessary approvals. Ensures estimates of time, cost, performance level, and materials are accurate and meet project requirements. Makes modifications to plans and schedules as necessary.
• Maps current and future-state structures and coordinates and manages creation of related documentation to design the roadmap for transformation.
• Successfully monitors project status and adherence to schedules, requirements, and deadlines. Communicates progress to appropriate personnel and/or project sponsors.
• Effectively manages and communicates design changes. Measures results and adjusts as necessary. Consistently exhibits WGU's Leadership Principles.
• Keepsstakeholders and departmental leadershipinformed ofprojectstatuses,including,but not limited to,milestoneachievements,tollgate progress, risks,and anyissuesthatmay adversely affect project schedules.
• Ensuresproject management records and systemsareaccurate and uptodate.
• Producestimely and accurate reports as directed.
• Maintains timely, accurate, and thorough documentation of all activities, tasks, and contacts.
• Analyzesproject data to ensure the effective prioritization of tasks.
• Ensuresprojects meetorganizationalstandardsand are managed in accordance with applicablepolicies,processes, and procedures.
• Understandsdepartmental strategic priorities and influences the actions and work efforts of team members in line those priorities.
• Providesinput to managertodevelop or refineproject management procedures and processes for the purpose of improving efficiency.
• Responds with urgency to organization needs and exhibits excellent judgment to deliver results.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Must have excellent interpersonal, communication, and conflict resolution skills.
• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present information clearly and accurately.
• Operates as a leader, is a true role model to others and champions company direction and standards.
• Is well-networked in the organization.
• Gains cooperation of other teams in the organization to meet objectives.
• Invests in growing the organization.
• Has critical impact on success of all functional and/organizational operations.
• Operates in a diverse and complex environment where analysis of situation and data requires an in-depth knowledge of the organization and evaluation of a variety of cross-functional factors.
• Models and demonstrates WGU's Leadership Principles.
• Must be able to exercise good judgment and effectively organize, prioritize, and perform multiple job functions and conflicting priorities.
• Must have an excellent ability to organize to enable completion of multiple tasks of various complexity.
• Must be able to work independently with little supervision.
• Works well in a team environment; Interpersonal relationship skills (social-emotional intelligence) of confidence, focus, ethics, and accountability.
• Consistently provides accurate information and high-quality customer service.
• Demonstrates depth and breadth of expertise gained through wide-ranging experience and has expert-level knowledge related to the immediate group and the university at large.
• Technological competence with project management software, MS Office suite (Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Office 360) and database management tools used to organize multi-dimensional assignments (e.g., Raiser's Edge, Salesforce, Smartsheet).
• Knowledge of effective project management tools, techniques, and methods.
• Understanding of Change Management theory, techniques, and skills with the ability to implement a project plan.
• Respond quickly to changing requirements, priorities, and short deadline.
• Investigates appropriate resources and involves partners when appropriate; future-oriented; assesses what will help/hinder achieving goals; focuses on what is important.
• Deals with others in a considerate, respectful, and unbiased manner; approaches conflict proactively; solicits and shares feedback openly; listens with empathyand maintains composure.
• Draws ondata garnered from careful cultivation of a broad knowledge of WGU's goals and processes; investigates beyond assumptions.
• Course corrects behaviors and communication style to meet the needs of a wide range of situations; tackles obstacles appropriately; is comfortable with ambiguity.
• Accountable to others; does what it takes to get the job done; actions are consistent with words; follows through on commitments; exhibits exceptional integrity.
• Displays commitment to the organization and to personal growth; self-motivated and able to motivate and inspire others; asserts self appropriately to champion ideas; tells the truth in a direct and constructive manner.
• Self-directs with a strong bias for action; leads the way in improvement of performance or processes; displays keen interest in students and organization.

Competencies:

Organizational Impact:

• Works to achieve operational targets within job areas that impact on the overall achievement of results for the job area.

Problem Solving & Decision Making:

• Responsible for employing minor changes in systems and processes to solve problems.
• Identifies, defines, and addresses problems that are not immediately evident but typically not complex. Issues generally are within the immediate job area and solved through prior experiences or standard procedures.

Communication & Influence:

• Collaborates with contacts typically within the job area to obtain information or provide explanations and interpretation.

Job Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Requires broad theoretical job knowledge through advanced education.
• No required professional experience.

Department Specific Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or 5 years equivalent combination of experience and training in managing projects, resources and performing data analytics
• Minimum of three years of experience in working with remote teams.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Scrum Master Certification or the ability to obtain.
• Analytical skills, experience in data mining and presenting findings in a digestible format for the intended audience.
• Minimal travel required (e.g. semiannual team meetings).

Preferred Qualifications:

• CPSM, CPM, PMP, Project+ or CAPM certification preferred.
• Understanding of higher education, WGU, and the procurement profession preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.