Director, Project Management

Central Piedmont Community College; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Piedmont Community College seeks a Director of Project Management to provide leadership and governance for projects, programs, and portfolios across divisions. You will standardize methodologies, manage intake, and ensure initiatives meet timelines, scope, and capacity.

The role drives portfolio transparency, governance compliance, and coordination across executive leadership to align with institutional objectives.

Qualifications

• PMP or equivalent certification is required.
• Seven years of progressive project management experience.
• Five years of supervisory or management experience.
• Experience leading institutional or cross-functional portfolio governance.

Responsibilities

• Establishes and governs institutional project management standards, methodologies, templates, and lifecycle controls.
• Oversees project intake, scoping validation, and sequencing alignment with Service Management and Business Relationship Management.
• Ensures portfolio transparency through dashboards, risk registers, and capacity modeling.
• Oversees Project Managers to ensure successful delivery of projects and programs.
• Interfaces with division leaders to define priorities, readiness, and sequencing constraints.
• Coaches and mentors Project Managers and builds a culture of disciplined execution.

Skills

PMP

Portfolio governance

Project management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

The Director of Project Management provides institutional leadership and governance for the execution of projects, programs, and portfolios across operational divisions.

This role establishes and enforces standardized project methodologies, intake discipline, prioritization frameworks, and performance reporting to ensure initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with institutional capacity and readiness.

The Director ensures that project execution aligns with service governance standards and institutional sequencing principles.

Portfolio & Governance Leadership

• Establishes and governs institutional project management standards, methodologies, templates, and lifecycle controls.
• Oversees project intake, scoping validation, and sequencing alignment in partnership with Service Management and Business Relationship Management.
• Ensures portfolio transparency through dashboards, risk registers, and capacity modeling.
• Monitors compliance with governance standards and takes corrective action when necessary.

Project Delivery Oversight

• Oversees Project Managers to ensure the successful delivery of projects and programs.
• Validates scope, resource allocation, timelines, and budget alignment.
• Reviews risk mitigation strategies and escalation processes.
• Ensures formal project closure, lessons learned documentation, and benefits realization tracking.
• Ensures programs and major initiatives are coordinated across multiple projects and aligned with institutional objectives.

Institutional Alignment

• Interfaces with division leaders to define priorities and readiness.Interfaces with division leaders and executive leadership to clarify priorities, readiness, and sequencing constraints.
• Ensures initiatives do not bypass established intake and governance processes.
• Aligns project execution with operational capacity and service architecture constraints.

Leadership & Development

• Coaches and mentors Project Managers.
• Establishes performance expectations and conducts evaluations.
• Builds a culture of disciplined execution and accountability.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Seven years of progressive project management experience.
• Five years of supervisory or management experience.
• PMP or equivalent certification required.
• Experience leading institutional or cross-functional portfolio governance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading an enterprise or institutional Project Management Office (PMO) supporting multiple business or operational areas.
• Experience in higher education, public sector, or another complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Ten or more years of progressive project, program, or portfolio management experience.
• Experience managing or providing governance for diverse project portfolios, including technology, operational, facilities, capital, renovation, or organizational initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Worker Characteristics:

• Advanced knowledge of project, program, and portfolio management principles, methodologies, governance practices, and lifecycle controls.
• Ability to establish and apply scalable project governance based on project complexity, risk, institutional impact, and operational readiness.
• Strong understanding of project intake, prioritization, sequencing, resource planning, dependency management, risk management, and performance measurement.
• Ability to lead and oversee diverse project portfolios spanning technology, facilities, capital and renovation projects, operational initiatives, and institutional change.
• Strong leadership and staff development skills with the ability to establish expectations, coach Project Managers, and promote accountability and consistent delivery practices.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to navigate competing priorities and work effectively across organizational boundaries.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Service Management, Business Relationship Management, operational leadership, and other institutional partners to support coordinated intake, prioritization, readiness, and project execution.
• Ability to operate effectively in a complex and evolving institutional environment with a commitment to transparency, collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and service excellence.

Working Conditions:

• Primarily operates in an office environment with routine use of computer systems, project and portfolio management platforms, and collaboration technologies.
• Travel between College campuses and project locations may be required.
• May require occasional presence at construction, renovation, or other active project sites.
• May require occasional evening or weekend work based on project schedules, major implementations, operational needs, or critical project activities.

Reporting Relationships:

Direction Received: Reports to the Executive Director, Service & Portfolio Operations

Direction Given: Direct supervision of assigned staff