Assistant Director, IT Project Portfolio Management

Virginia's Community College System; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) invites applications for Assistant Director, IT Project Portfolio Management. The role oversees a portfolio of technology initiatives in Fairfax County and supervises a small PM staff, coordinating across IT and business units to ensure college objectives are met.

This leadership position requires program management, governance, and cloud-transition experience, with emphasis on delivering high-visibility projects on time and within budget.

Qualifications

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and a heavy workload in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to read, interpret, and communicate project procedures, technical requirements, and business processes.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, documentation accuracy, and adherence to deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with technical teams and troubleshoot issues related to project dependencies, system changes, or cloud transitions.
• Knowledge of core project management practices, SDLC, documentation standards, and governance processes.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate daily project activities, schedules, deliverables, and status reporting across multiple concurrent projects.
• Supervises a small staff of one to two project management professionals while personally managing the College’s most complex and highest-visibility technology projects.
• Directs technical staff drawn from other IT units, functional subject matter experts from across the College, and external vendor resources.
• Serve as a communication bridge between technical and business teams, including developers, analysts, product managers, QA, and security.
• Support planning, scope clarification, resource coordination, and execution activities—especially for cloud‑based initiatives and system transitions.
• Track dependencies, risks, issues, and timelines; elevate concerns with clear, actionable recommendations.
• Contribute to the creation, improvement, and maintenance of PMO project management governance, standards, templates, dashboards, and documentation.
• Provide guidance to ensure consistency in documentation, tracking, reporting, and governance.
• Coordinate with business analysts on requirements and with technical teams on dependencies, integration points, and environment readiness.
• Communicate project updates to stakeholders with transparency around progress, milestones, risks, and impacts.
• Assist with portfolio‑level reporting and PMO process improvements to strengthen delivery maturity.
• Evaluate technology constraints, system impacts, data considerations, and integration requirements during planning.
• Make regular requests from employees for updates and input on college decisions and share feedback with supervisors for inclusion in the NOVA Brief.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder communication

Cloud technologies

Team leadership

Risk and governance

Microsoft Office

Tools

Jira

Azure DevOps

SharePoint

MS Project

Job description

Working Title Assistant Director, IT Project Portfolio Management Role Title Gen Admin Manager I Role Code 19223-FP FLSA Exempt Pay Band 05 Position Number 28000847 Agency Northern VA Community College Division NV280-VP of College Computing Work Location Fairfax County - 059 Hiring Range $100,000 - $115,000 Emergency/Essential Personnel No EEO Category 3-Technicians Full Time or Part Time Full Time Does this position have telework options? -Telework options are subject to change based on business needs- Does this position have a bilingual or multilingual skill requirement or preference? Work Schedule

Normal business hours 8:30 am – 5 pm. Occasional work outside these hours may be required to meet operational needs.

General Description

Sensitive Position No Job Description

Duties And Tasks

• Coordinate daily project activities, schedules, deliverables, and status reporting across multiple concurrent projects.
• Supervises a small staff of one to two project management professionals while personally managing the College’s most complex and highest-visibility technology projects.
• Directs technical staff drawn from other IT units, functional subject matter experts from across the College, and external vendor resources.
• Serve as a communication bridge between technical and business teams, including developers, analysts, product managers, QA, and security.
• Support planning, scope clarification, resource coordination, and execution activities—especially for cloud‑based initiatives and system transitions.
• Track dependencies, risks, issues, and timelines; elevate concerns with clear, actionable recommendations.
• Contribute to the creation, improvement, and maintenance of PMO project management governance, standards, templates, dashboards, and documentation.
• Provide guidance to ensure consistency in documentation, tracking, reporting, and governance.
• Coordinate with business analysts on requirements and with technical teams on dependencies, integration points, and environment readiness.
• Communicate project updates to stakeholders with transparency around progress, milestones, risks, and impacts.
• Assist with portfolio‑level reporting and PMO process improvements to strengthen delivery maturity.
• Evaluate technology constraints, system impacts, data considerations, and integration requirements during planning
• Make regular requests from employees for updates and input on college decisions and share feedback with supervisors for inclusion in the NOVA Brief.

Special Assignments

May be required to perform other duties as assigned. May be required to assist the agency or state government generally in the event of an emergency declaration by the Governor.

KSA's/Required Qualifications

Required KSAs

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and a heavy workload in a fast‑paced environment.
• Ability to read, interpret, and communicate project procedures, technical requirements, and business processes.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, documentation accuracy, and adherence to deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with technical teams and troubleshoot issues related to project dependencies, system changes, or cloud transitions.
• Knowledge of core project management practices, software development lifecycle, documentation standards, and governance processes.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a project team.
• Ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities and work effectively under pressure.
• Knowledgeable of PMO frameworks and delivery methodologies.
• Ability to lead cross‑functional or matrixed project teams whose members report to other units.
• Ability to implement and interpret technical policies, processes, or project governance standards
• Proficiency in Microsoft suite of products.

Minimum Work Requirements

• Experience managing information technology projects, including full life-cycle responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, risk, and stakeholder management.
• Experience supervising or serving as a team lead for project management and/or technical staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-scale technology projects with multiple stakeholder groups.
• Experience supporting or coordinating system transitions, digital modernization, or enterprise‑level initiatives.
• Experience establishing or maturing a project management office, including methodology development and tool implementation.
• Experience with tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, SharePoint, or MS Project/MS Planner.
• Experience providing customer service, stakeholder communication, or user support.
• Experience with cloud ecosystems (Azure, AWS, SaaS platforms), integration patterns, and system modernization concepts.

Additional Considerations

• Additional Considerations:
  • Experience in higher education or a public sector environment
  • Experience in a large and complex organization
  • Experience with TeamDynamix ITSM
  • Knowledge of industry standards and best practices for ITSM and ESM.
  • Any specific functional and/or technical training or certification in IT-related sciences
  • Certifications or training in project management or IT‑related disciplines (e.g., CAPM, PMP, Agile/Scrum, ITIL).

Operation of a State Vehicle No Supervises Employees Yes Required Travel

n/a

Posting Number CLS_4800P Recruitment Type General Public - G Number of Vacancies 1 Position End Date (if temporary) Job Open Date 10/09/2026 Job Close Date 10/23/2026 Open Until Filled Agency Website www.nvcc.edu Contact Name Email Phone Number Special Instructions to Applicants

In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth’s Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly called a Certificate of Disability) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service‑Connected Veterans may also apply via the AHP if they also provide an AHP Letter. To request an AHP Letter, use this link: https://www.dars.virginia.gov/drs/cpid/PWContact.aspx or call DARS at 800-552-5019, or DBVI at 800-622-2155

Additional Information

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is the largest public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and one of the largest community colleges in the nation. NOVA enrolls nearly 75,000 students on its six campuses in Alexandria, Annandale, Sterling, Manassas, Springfield, and Woodbridge, as well as through NOVA Online and high school dual enrollment programs. The College offers more than 100 affordable associate degree and certificate programs to help our students reach their academic and professional goals in some of the most in-demand careers.

At NOVA, we are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive community for all students, faculty, and staff, and our diverse workforce is representative of this commitment. To this end, we encourage all applicants seeking to add value through their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and interests to consider employment opportunities with NOVA. To learn more about NOVA’s commitment to inclusive excellence, please visit At a Glance | Northern Virginia Community College.

NOVA offers eligible employees a benefits package that includes a comprehensive health and dental insurance program, generous paid leave, deferred compensation plans, paid parental leave, state employee discounts, and a solid and secure retirement program.

We strive to ensure our employees have tools and development opportunities to support and promote NOVA’s mission. For more information about NOVA and its programs and services, please visit our website at www.nvcc.edu.

The security of our students, faculty, and staff is very important at NOVA. Please take a moment to review NOVA’s Annual Security Reports

Background Check Statement Disclaimer

The selected candidate’s offer is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background investigation, which may include: fingerprint checks, local agency checks, employment verification, verification of education, credit checks (relevant to employment). Additionally, selected candidates may be required to complete the Commonwealth’s Statement of Economic Interest. For more information, please follow this link: http://ethics.dls.virginia.gov/

EEO Statement

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, political affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or other non‑merit factors.

ADA Statement

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA and ADAAA), to provide, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of access to the application, interviewing, and selection processes when requested.

E-Verify Statement

VCCS uses E-Verify to check employee eligibility to work in the United States. You will be required to complete an I-9 form and provide documentation of your identity for employment purposes.