Project Manager

MSU - Michigan State University; Remote; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Michigan seeks a Project Manager to lead and coordinate cross-cutting projects. The role involves developing multi-year project plans, organizing stakeholder engagement, and evaluating project outcomes. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor’s degree, 3-5 years of project management experience, and strong analytical and organizational skills. This position offers a flexible, remote-friendly work environment and requires effective communication across multiple stakeholders.

Benefits

Flexible work environment

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of progressive project management experience.
• Experience in facilitating/training with a focus on business management.
• Strong relationship management and risk-mitigation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate cross-cutting projects under the Green & White Initiatives.
• Develop project plans and track progress.
• Coordinate assessment cycles and evaluate outcomes.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Organizational skills

Analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, or related field

Tools

Microsoft 365

Project management tools

Job description

Position Summary

Project Management – 40%

• Lead and coordinate a portfolio of cross‑cutting projects under the Green & White Initiatives (Career‑Connected Spartans; AI & Digital Competencies), ensuring scope, schedule, and deliverables are defined and achieved across academic, administrative, and operational units.
• Develop multi‑year project plans, implementation roadmaps, timelines and milestones; track progress and ensure on‑time delivery.
• Organize and support steering committees and work groups; prepare agendas, organizing documents, and follow‑ups to drive decisions and accountability.
• Identify dependencies, surface risks, recommend mitigations, and elevate issues with clear options for leadership.
• Maintain centralized documentation (charters, timelines, risk logs, action trackers) and provide regular status updates and final project summaries.

Operations – 30%

• Establish predictable work cadences and operational infrastructure (meeting rhythms, decision logs, shared repositories) to ensure continuity over multi‑year efforts.
• Coordinate the logistics and execution of initiative‑related convenings (workshops, showcases, faculty development)—including scheduling, materials, speaker coordination, and day‑of support.
• Provide routine internal communications (updates, reminders, newsletters) and calendaring support to initiative leadership as needed.
• Monitor event/activity‑level budgets and expenses tied to initiative deliverables; provide timely updates to ensure fiscal accountability.
• Coordinate with university processes for vendor engagement and contracting (routing terms for review/approval through appropriate offices).

Evaluation, Evidence, & Continuous Improvement – 15%

• Coordinate assessment cycles (e.g., post‑implementation reviews, debriefs, stakeholder feedback loops) to evaluate outcomes and identify improvements.
• Translate evidence—quantitative and qualitative—into implementation guidance, refinements, and scale‑up plans for colleges and units.
• Support shared metrics and indicators (participation, learning artifacts, equity gaps, adoption) and contribute to decision‑ready reports for leadership.

Change Management & Stakeholder Enablement – 10%

• Inform higher‑education change management efforts, including stakeholder engagement, communications, training, and adoption of metrics to support institutionalization.
• Contribute to policy/guidance development and shared‑governance engagement to embed practices within curricular, co‑curricular, advising, and operational systems.

Other Duties as Assigned – 5%

• Support additional strategic initiatives or special projects within the Office of the Provost that align with Green & White priorities.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of project management practices, tools, and templates to strengthen institutional capacity.
• Provide ad hoc planning, coordination, analysis, and communications support at the request of initiative leadership.

Minimum Requirements

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four‑year college degree program in Business Administration, Management, Education or field related to the employing unit; three to five years of related and progressively more expansive work experience in project management, business analysis, facilitating/training with a focus on business management; workflow process analysis and implementation of strategic initiatives or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience coordinating multi‑stakeholder initiatives across complex organizations (e.g., faculty, department administrators, central units, external partners), with strong relationship management and risk‑mitigation skills.
• Background in evaluation and assessment, including the ability to translate evidence into implementation of guidance, decision‑quality reports, and scaling plans.
• Experience leading institutional change in higher education, including policy/guidance development, engagement within shared governance, and alignment with academic and operational processes.
• Excellent written and oral communication and meeting facilitation skills; ability to synthesize complex information for varied audiences and drive clear decisions.
• Proficiency with PC productivity tools and Microsoft 365 and with project and/or portfolio management tools to manage work at scale in a digital, collaborative environment and the ability to produce clear, concise reports for senior decision‑makers.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.