Project Manager

Upwork; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Upwork is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead cross-functional initiatives across HR, People Operations, and business operations. The role requires independent management from planning through completion, with a focus on process improvement, stakeholder coordination, and operational excellence.

You will define goals and milestones, develop onboarding programs for PMs, standardize policies, and collaborate with Legal, Finance, and Tech to keep projects on track.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of experience in project management, program management, or related field.
• PMP certification or equivalent certification required.
• Ability to independently lead multiple concurrent projects and deliver within timelines.
• Experience in HR, People Operations, or operations initiatives preferred.
• Strong planning, risk, stakeholder coordination, and documentation skills.
• Experience developing onboarding/training programs and operational workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional projects from planning to closeout.
• Assess projects, identify gaps, and develop plans to restore progress.
• Define goals, milestones, timelines, responsibilities, dependencies, and success criteria.
• Develop onboarding and training processes for Project Managers.
• Coordinate policy reviews, agreements, and documentation templates.
• Collaborate with HR, People Ops, Technology, Finance, Legal, and Operations.
• Facilitate meetings, document decisions, assign actions, and follow up.
• Identify risks and resource constraints, escalate when needed.
• Maintain project plans, status reports, notes, and lessons learned.
• Establish centralized documentation systems and standardized templates.
• Provide leadership with concise updates on progress, risks, and decisions.
• Maintain professionalism, discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Risk management

Planning & scheduling

Communication

Discretion & confidentiality

Education

PMP certification

Tools

Teamwork

Job description

A highly dynamic, purpose-driven Single Family Office is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead cross-functional initiatives across HR, People Operations, and business operations. The ideal candidate has a strong background in project management, process improvement, stakeholder coordination, and organizational development, with the ability to independently manage projects from planning through implementation and completion. This role requires exceptional organizational skills, sound judgment, discretion, and a commitment to operational excellence.

Job Description

• Lead multiple cross-functional projects from initial planning and scope definition through implementation and closeout.
• Assess existing projects, identify gaps and obstacles, and develop actionable plans to restore progress and achieve objectives.
• Define project goals, deliverables, milestones, timelines, responsibilities, dependencies, and success criteria.
• Develop and improve onboarding and training processes for Project Managers to support efficient integration and independent project execution.
• Coordinate the review, standardization, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of company policies, agreements, and templates.
• Collaborate with HR, People Operations, Technology, Finance, Legal, Operations, and other stakeholders to ensure projects remain on track.
• Facilitate meetings, document decisions, assign action items, and proactively follow up on outstanding tasks and deadlines.
• Identify project risks, resource constraints, competing priorities, and dependencies, escalating issues when necessary.
• Maintain accurate project plans, status reports, meeting notes, decision records, and supporting documentation.
• Establish centralized documentation systems, standardized templates, checklists, and workflows to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Monitor project outcomes, coordinate implementation, confirm ongoing ownership, and document lessons learned.
• Provide leadership with concise updates on project progress, milestones, risks, resource requirements, and decisions requiring attention.
• Maintain professionalism, confidentiality, and discretion when handling sensitive business, employee, and organizational information.

Qualifications

• 5-8+ years of progressive experience in project management, program management, project operations, or a related field.
• PMP certification or a comparable recognized project-management certification is required.
• Proven ability to independently lead multiple concurrent projects and deliver results within established timelines.
• Strong experience in project planning, scope management, resource allocation, risk management, stakeholder coordination, and project closeout.
• Experience managing HR, People Operations, business operations, process improvement, or similar organizational initiatives is strongly preferred.
• Experience developing onboarding programs, training processes, operational workflows, and supporting documentation is preferred.
• Familiarity with policy reviews, agreement standardization, compliance-related projects, or document-management initiatives is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, meeting facilitation, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Ability to assess existing projects, identify gaps, establish clear priorities, and drive outstanding deliverables to completion.
• Sound judgment and the ability to determine when issues require specialist expertise or leadership approval.
• Experience using project-management and collaboration platforms; familiarity with Teamwork or comparable tools is preferred.
• Ability to establish effective processes without unnecessary complexity and adapt to changing business priorities.
• High standards of professionalism, discretion, confidentiality, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Experience in a family office, professional services, consulting, startup, or similarly dynamic environment is a plus.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple deadlines, and collaborate with stakeholders across different functions.
• Ability to work at a computer for 8+ hours per day, with prolonged periods of sitting or standing.
• Occasional availability outside standard business hours may be required based on project or business needs.

Additional Information

• Hybrid remote/onsite position based in Santa Monica, California.
• Contract-to-hire opportunity.
• Relocation expenses are not provided.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Equal Opportunity Employer committed to maintaining an inclusive, respectful, and nondiscriminatory workplace.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified individuals with disabilities and for religious beliefs and practices, in accordance with applicable law.