Project Manager, Digital Strategies

Vanderbilt University; Nashville (TN); Sur place; USD 90 000 - 120 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Vanderbilt University seeks a Project Manager, Digital Strategies to lead complex digital projects from concept to launch. You will act as the primary liaison between the Digital Strategies team and university partners, aligning goals with team capabilities and ensuring clear communication and stakeholder management throughout the project lifecycle.

This role also supports UX Design and Development Teams and facilitates agile ceremonies to enhance velocity and responsiveness in a hybrid,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• CSM/PSM certifications preferred but not required.
• 5+ years of project management experience; higher education experience preferred.
• Experience with Wrike or similar PM software preferred.

Responsabilités

• Lead complex digital projects from concept to launch and manage partner relationships.
• Facilitate agile ceremonies for UX and development teams (sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, retrospectives).
• Maintain project documentation (scope, timeline, post-launch site docs) and manage backlogs.
• Communicate constraints, trade-offs, and timelines clearly to partners and internal teams.

Connaissances

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder communication

Relationship management

Agile methodologies

Cross-functional collaboration

Formation

Bachelor's degree

Outils

Wrike

Description du poste

Position Summary

The Project Manager, Digital Strategies leads complex digital projects from concept to launch while serving as the primary liaison and relationship manager between the Digital Strategies team and university partners. This role drives strategic alignment between partner goals and team capabilities, ensuring strong execution, clear communication, and confident stakeholder management throughout the project lifecycle. Additionally, the Project Manager is accountable for ensuring that projects move smoothly from concept to launch, that partners feel genuinely understood throughout the process, and that the team has the clarity and support needed to do strong work.

Position Summary

The Project Manager, Digital Strategies leads complex digital projects from concept to launch while serving as the primary liaison and relationship manager between the Digital Strategies team and university partners. This role drives strategic alignment between partner goals and team capabilities, ensuring strong execution, clear communication, and confident stakeholder management throughout the project lifecycle. Additionally, the Project Manager is accountable for ensuring that projects move smoothly from concept to launch, that partners feel genuinely understood throughout the process, and that the team has the clarity and support needed to do strong work.

This role also supports the UX Design and Development Teams and facilitates agile ceremonies and iterative delivery practices to enhance team velocity and responsiveness.

About The Work Unit

The Communications and Marketing team at Vanderbilt University is a dynamic and deeply collaborative group. The division, with all of its departments and sub-teams, serves as the institution-wide center of excellence for communications and marketing, developing and executing strategies that inform, engage and inspire others to participate in Vanderbilt University’s global academic and research mission. The division is a key strategic adviser and partner for other divisions in the university, providing comprehensive plans and thoughtful analysis on messaging opportunities and constraints. The Communications and Marketing team continuously seeks innovative solutions to new and emerging challenges in order to deliver results at scale to advance the larger mission, values and priorities of the university.

Key Functions And Expected Performance

• Strategic Partner Engagement & Alignment
• Serve as the liaison and relationship manager to university partners (schools, units, centers, divisions)
• Conduct proactive conversations with key partners to understand their strategic priorities and digital goals
• Help partners articulate their needs and understand how digital solutions serve their broader institutional objectives
• Communicate project constraints, trade-offs, and timelines in a way that partners feel heard and respectedEnsure alignment between partner expectations and team capacity and capabilities
• Project Execution and Timeline Management
• Lead the setup and management of all assigned digital projects in Wrike and Notion establishing clear project structure and timelines
• Create realistic deadlines and action items for team members, stakeholders, and external vendors
• Maintain accurate, current project documentation including scope of work, project timeline, and post-launch site documentation
• Monitor project progress, identify bottlenecks and risks, and facilitate solutions to keep projects on track
• Manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, balancing quick-turnaround requests with long-lead initiatives
• Guide projects through pivots and scope changes while maintaining team momentum and partner confidence
• Facilitate agile ceremonies for the UX Design and Development teams including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives
• Maintain and prioritize project backlogs in coordination with team leads and partners as needed
• Help the team identify and remove impediments that slow sprint progress or delivery
• Support iterative delivery for the UX Design and Development Teams, balancing agile flexibility with the structured timelines required by partners and internal projects
• Communication and Coordination
• Maintain clear, frequent communication with team members and partners through meetings, status updates, and documentation
• Create and manage project agendas, meeting notes, and internal/external status updates
• Ensure all stakeholders have accurate information and understand next steps
• Translate partner needs into clear project briefs and documentation for the team
• Process and Systems Management
• Manage established project management systems and workflows (Wrike, templates, approval processes)
• Identify opportunities to improve processes for recurring project types
• Design and implement new systems and processes for novel or complex projects that require customized approaches
• Maintain organized project documentation and institutional knowledge
• Facilitate agile ceremonies for applicable projects, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives
• Maintain and prioritize project backlogs in coordination with team leads and partners as needed
• Help the team identify and remove impediments that slow sprint progress or delivery
• Apply agile/scrum frameworks selectively and pragmatically based on project type, team capacity, and partner needs
• Leverage technology, automation and emerging AI-enabled tools to improve project planning, workflow management, research, information synthesis and communications development.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, strengthen visibility and coordination and improve the speed and quality of execution while applying appropriate judgment, confidentiality and institutional standards.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

Supervisory Relationships

This position does not have supervisory responsibility; this position reports administratively and functionally to the Director of Project Management and Production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution necessary
• Formal certification (CSM, PSM) is preferred but not required.
• 5+ years of project management experience is necessary (higher education experience preferred).
• Experience with Wrike or similar project management software is preferred.
• Experience in digital development environments is preferred.
• Proficient with Wrike and project management methodologies; strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Clear communicator across multiple audiences; able to translate between partner needs and team capabilities
• Identifies bottlenecks and facilitates solutions; adapts to changing project needs
• Understands how digital projects serve institutional goals; helps partners think through priorities and trade-offs
• Works independently; demonstrates discretion, professionalism, and sound judgment
• Familiarity with scrum frameworks and agile principles; ability to facilitate ceremonies, maintain backlogs, and support iterative delivery in. a hybrid PM/agile environment.
• Demonstrated ability to adopt and effectively use emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to improve productivity, workflow and quality of work.