(Auraria) Technical Program Manager

State of Colorado; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits package

Discounted RTD Eco-Pass

Job summary

Auraria Campus is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead enterprise technology initiatives within the Strategy department, collaborating with IT, vendors, and stakeholders to deliver cloud-forward solutions that align with institutional goals.

You will manage multiple projects, develop plans, assess risk, and communicate clearly to technical and non-technical audiences while guiding migrations, security, and change management across campus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT/CS/IS/Business/PM or related field.
• Formal or demonstrated experience in project management methodologies (Agile/Waterfall/hybrid).
• Three+ years of professional experience managing technology projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise technology projects including SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data and integration initiatives.
• Develop charters, schedules, budgets, and risk strategies; coordinate cross-functional teams and vendors.
• Manage migration initiatives: software, data, cloud, and system upgrades with minimal disruption.
• Communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences and manage change.
• Identify risks and implement mitigation strategies across enterprise programs.

Skills

Project Leadership

Stakeholder Communication

Risk Management

Cloud & SaaS knowledge

Vendor Management

Change Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Project Management, or related field

Job description

This is a Non-Classified position, performing the outlined duties with the Auraria Higher Education Center.

Who we are:

Welcome to theAuraria Campus located in the Platte River Valley in downtown Denver. The Auraria Campus is the service provider for 38,000 students and approximately 5000 faculty and staff working at and attending the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Denver.

Learn more about us through this link: The Auraria Campus.

Auraria employees enjoy an excellent benefits package which includes paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave, multiple medical, dental and vision options, discounted RTD Eco-Pass, BenefitHub and outstanding retirement plan.

Learn more through this link: Non-Classified Benefits Package.

So, if you're interested in a great job working alongside great people, this may be the opportunity for which you've been waiting for.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Strategy, and working closely with the Information Technology Department, the Technical Program Manager leads enterprise-wide and departmental technology initiatives within AHEC’s Strategy department. This role manages multiple concurrent projects, partnering with technical teams, stakeholders, vendors, and leadership to deliver technology solutions that advance institutional goals. The role develops and executes project plans, manages risk, facilitates decision making, and communicates effectively with technical and non-technical audiences within a cloud-forward, vendor-integrated, data-driven environment. This position will manage high visibility, campus-impacting initiatives, collaborating with technical and functional stakeholders, and vendors to design and implement solutions that advance AHEC’s goals and support success

Essential Job Functions:

Project Leadership

• Lead enterprise technology projects including SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, AV, data, integration, and business process initiatives.
• Develop charters, schedules, budgets, resource plans, and risk strategies. Coordinate cross-functional teams, manage vendors, facilitate governance, monitor scope/schedule/budget, resolve issues, and ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
• Leads and coordinate enterprise system migration initiatives, including software implementation, platform consolidation, cloud migration, data migration, system upgrades, and application lifecycle transitions.
• Develop migration roadmaps, piloting and testing, and ensuring successful adoption of new technologies while minimizing operational disruption. Partners with IT and business unit stakeholders to assess technology environments, participating in software and system reviews.
• Identifies operational, cybersecurity, compliance, and business continuity risks.
• Supports the development and implementation of risk mitigation strategies.

Process Design & Continuous Improvement (20%)

• Develop and maintains project management methodologies, standards, templates, and governance practices.
• Develops and maintains project intake, prioritization, reporting, and portfolio management processes.
• Analyze project performance, lessons learned, and organizational practices to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Recommends and implements process improvements to increase project consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Establishes and maintains processes for monitoring the organization’s technology project portfolio.

Technical Trainer (10%)

• Educate employees or clients on how to use computer hardware, software applications, and internal technical systems.
• Coordinates and delivers training to affected employees and stakeholders during technology implementations.
• Teach cyber security policies, hardware setup, and software updates.
• Develops user guides, procedures, and other learning materials to support adoption of new technology.
• Assesses user readiness and identifies training needs associated with technology implementations.
• Evaluates training effectiveness and modifies materials based on user feedback and project needs.
• Maintain records of completed training and update curricula over time.

Communication & Change Management (10 %)

• Translate complex technical information into dashboards, status reports, executive summaries, presentations, stakeholder communications, and change management plans.
• Facilitate meetings and ensure organizational readiness and adoption.
• Support efforts to align project and business analysis approaches with AHEC leadership expectations and needs.
• Facilitates communication between technical and functional teams by communicating effectively across diverse audiences, including executives, business partners, and technical specialists.
• Skilled at simplifying complex technical topics and presenting them in a way that enables non-technical stakeholders to understand implications, make informed decisions, and drive results.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

• Support special initiatives, committees, strategic planning, occasional after-hours work, and infrequent travel.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Project Management, or a closely related field.
• Formal training, education, certification, or demonstrated professional experience in project management methodologies such as Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid approaches.
• Three (3) years of professional experience managing technology projects, including developing project plans, coordinating resources and stakeholders, managing risks and deliverables, and translating organizational or business priorities initiatives and measurable outcomes.
• Experience managing concurrent technology projects.

Conditions of Employment:

• Must be a state of Colorado resident.
• Must be able to successfully pass a criminal background check.
• While not routine, candidate must be able to occasionally work nights/weekends as project implementation and project needs demands.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree in Project Management, Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, or a closely related field.
• Experience applying multiple project management methodologies based on project needs.
• Higher education experience.
• 5+ years technical project management experience.
• 3+ years of software implementation experience.
• SaaS and cloud implementation experience.
• Industry-recognized certification such as PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, or equivalent certifications.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Proven experience in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with a diverse population at all levels throughout the institution—and into the community.
• Ability to communicate in a positive and effective manner, across various modalities.
• Ability to balance multiple projects and tasks in parallel to maintain attention to detail.
• Outwardly contributes to a respectful, positive, and professional workspace.
• Ability to establish work priorities, follow through, and meet established deadlines.
• Strong judgment and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to deliberately listen and communicate relevant information, anticipate problems, and offer suggestions for resolution.
• Project management, governance, resource planning, IT environments, cybersecurity, cloud services, change management, budgeting, vendor management, and risk management.
• Project planning, organization, communication, presentation, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, reporting, analytics, and multitasking.
• Lead cross-functional teams, influence without authority, communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences, adapt to changing priorities, exercise sound judgment, and foster a collaborative customer-focused environment.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail while managing multiple concurrent projects, system migrations, audit activities, and risk mitigation efforts.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act information:

After careful review of this position and the duties that it performs, it has been designated in accordance with the Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act as a "Not Covered" position, it does not fall in the category of employees that are eligible for representation by COWINS, also known as the union. To learn more about this designation please visit this link: http://coloradowins.org/

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

The Auraria Campus is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to Nicole Yanez at [e-mail]