Portfolio Lead: Centers of Excellence & Strategy

University of Florida; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Florida is seeking a Sr. Program Manager for the Fixel Centers of Excellence to oversee portfolio operations, governance, and cross-institution collaboration on a full-time basis on the Gainesville campus.

The role partners with faculty and leadership to ensure designation, reporting, and shared services across centers. Responsibilities include sustaining an inventory, coordinating center designation and renewals, developing infrastructure and dashboards, and advancing strategic

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization with five years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Master's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public administration, higher education, science, public health, or a related field is preferred.
• Experience supporting multidisciplinary faculty programs, Centers of Excellence, institutes, centers, or similar academic or healthcare programs.
• Experience coordinating committees, governance activities, designation processes, or faculty leadership groups.
• Experience developing operational infrastructure, dashboards, reporting tools, workflows, or program management systems.
• Experience partnering with communications, advancement, community engagement, research, or other cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated experience building or improving programs, systems, or organizational infrastructure.
• Progressively responsible experience in program management, healthcare administration, academic administration, faculty programs, or related operational field.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Institute's primary operational liaison and steward of the Centers of Excellence portfolio.
• Coordinate Center designation, certification, renewal, annual reporting, and related requirements.
• Maintain an accurate portfolio inventory, including Center leadership, external affiliations, designation requirements, key milestones, reporting obligations, and Institute support.
• Support the development and launch of new Centers of Excellence.
• Monitor portfolio activities and identify emerging needs, opportunities, risks, and resource considerations for Institute leadership.
• Promote collaboration, shared learning, and consistency across Centers while recognizing differences in disease-specific programs and external foundation requirements.
• Develop and maintain shared operational infrastructure supporting the Centers of Excellence portfolio, including SOPs, playbooks, templates, dashboards, workflows, reporting tools, annual planning resources, and resource libraries.
• Identify opportunities to reduce duplication, streamline administrative processes, and improve the experience of faculty and Center teams.
• Evaluate and recommend systems, tools, and processes that strengthen portfolio management and reporting.
• Document and continuously improve core Center processes to support continuity and organizational effectiveness.
• Build relationships with Centers Directors and faculty leaders, serving as a trusted operational partner.
• Coordinate cross-center collaboration, orientation of new leaders, communication, and Institute support resources.
• Help connect faculty and Center teams with appropriate Institute and university resources
• Support faculty success by reducing unnecessary administrative burden while respecting existing departmental coordinators and disease-specific staff.
• Coordinate governance processes supporting designation, accountability, transparency, operational consistency, and continuous improvement.
• Support advisory committees, working groups, faculty task forces, and other governance activities assigned by Institute leadership.
• Coordinate meeting materials, documentation, action items, and follow-up, maintaining appropriate records related to Center governance, designation, and performance
• Coordinate Institute-wide visibility for Centers of Excellence.
• Partner with Communications, Advancement, Research Operations, Institute Convenings, and Community and Patient Initiatives, and other Institute teams on activities involving Centers of Excellence.
• Coordinate operational aspects of educational programming, outreach, donor stewardship, foundation relationships, recognition, and other collaborative initiatives.
• Help identify opportunities to strengthen visibility, collaboration, and engagement across the Centers of Excellence portfolio.
• Serve as an Institute liaison to external Center-affiliated foundations and organizations, as appropriate, in partnership with faculty and other functional leaders.
• Provide direct operational coordination for selected Centers of Excellence or related Institute initiatives as assigned.
• Support newly established Centers, philanthropically or externally supported programs, pilot coordination models, or Centers requiring additional Institute support.
• Help develop approaches that can be evaluated and, when appropriate, scaled across the broader portfolio.

Skills

Organizational skills

Analytical skills

Written communication

Verbal communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

PMP certification

Job description

University of Florida is seeking a Sr. Program Manager for the Fixel Centers of Excellence to oversee portfolio operations, governance, and cross-institution collaboration on a full-time basis on the Gainesville campus.

The role partners with faculty and leadership to ensure designation, reporting, and shared services across centers. Responsibilities include sustaining an inventory, coordinating center designation and renewals, developing infrastructure and dashboards, and advancing strategic