Project Manager (Finance Focus)

University of Wisconsin; United States; On-site; USD 115,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

Health/dental/vision/life insurance

Tax-advantaged savings accounts

Wisconsin Retirement System pension

Job summary

University of Wisconsin–Madison seeks a seasoned IT Project Manager II to guide complex Workday initiatives and manage vendor delivery across the WEST portfolio. You will align finance and HR systems with institutional goals, coordinating cross-functional teams and executives to achieve measurable project value.

The role emphasizes strong communication, governance, and strategic collaboration with Finance and Research Administration leadership to sustain Workday and related system improvements.

Qualifications

• Experience with Workday or ERP systems.
• Proven track record leading multi-unit, moderately complex projects in higher education/public sector.
• Advanced PM methodologies: Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid.
• Experience with Smartsheet, Jira, MS Project.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Bachelor’s in business administration/PM/IS or related field.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and facilitate vendor workflow and track deliverables for complex projects.
• Draft and deliver project status communications and reports.
• Act as main client contact for multi-unit projects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to align goals.
• Foster an inclusive, respectful team environment.
• Provide advanced technical and analytical guidance to project teams.
• Estimate tasks, apply PM methods, manage risks and drive completion.

Skills

ERP familiarity

Project leadership

Agile/Hybrid/Waterfall

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder communication

Budget & cost analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, PM, IS, or related field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

Jira

Microsoft Project

Job description

Current Employees

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Position Details

Job Category: Academic Staff Employment Type: Regular Job Profile: IT Project Manager II (MSN)

Job Summary

Common: Provides advanced technical, analytical, and strategic guidance for information technology (IT) projects. Manages vendor workflow and deliverables for complex projects and facilitates project status communication to clients to support IT developments necessary for mission related functions. Unique: The Workday Enterprise Solutions Team (WEST) is responsible for the administration and optimization of Workday and related systems for Finance, Human Resources, and Research Administration across the Universities of Wisconsin System, while focusing on people, processes, and technology. This team will concentrate on continuous improvement and system maintenance, release enhancements, support, and strategic integration of the Workday ERP and related systems to achieve business objectives. The Project Manager plays a critical role within the WEST Project Management and Administrative Operations team, driving successful planning and execution of initiatives for the Workday Finance and Research Administration teams. This position will be aligned with the Workday Finance functional area, partnering closely with Finance and Research Administration Director to support the planning, coordination, and execution of finance-related initiatives across the WEST portfolio. The project manager role provides project leadership for efforts impacting Workday Financial Management, Adaptive Planning, Huron Research Suite (RAMP), and ChemManager/ShopUW+ to ensure alignment with institutional financial processes and priorities. Success in this role requires the ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives on behalf of WEST Finance with varying cross-functional domain impacts, including financial business processes, reporting and analytics, integrations, data warehousing, security, enterprise document management, and HCM partnership. This individual will serve as a liaison between WEST functional finance teams and WEST technical, translating business needs into coordinated project delivery. By fostering collaboration, managing governance and stakeholder engagement, and aligning project outcomes with institutional financial goals, this position ensures initiatives deliver measurable value and support the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Workday Finance capabilities.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Schedules and facilitates communication for the integration of vendor workflow and tracks and reviews vendor deliverables for moderately complex, multi-unit projects
• Drafts and delivers project status communications and reports
• Serves as a main point of contact for clients in the development and implementation of multi-unit, moderately complex projects
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to align project goals with broader organizational priorities and requirements
• Works actively to foster a respectful, inclusive and safe team environment
• Provides advanced technical and analytical guidance to project teams
• Identifies and estimates tasks, applies established project management, process improvement, and budget and cost analysis methodologies to identify obstacles and drive project completion

Required Qualifications

• Experience working with or supporting initiatives related to Workday or other ERP systems
• Proven track record of leading successful multi-unit, moderately complex projects, preferably in a higher education or public sector environment
• Advanced proficiency in project management methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid approaches
• Experience with project management tools such as Smartsheet, Jira, or Microsoft Project
• Demonstrated ability to lead diverse, cross-functional teams and build strong relationships with stakeholders at all organizational levels
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to executive leadership and stakeholders
• Proven experience supporting executive or director-level leadership in project delivery and operational initiatives
• Experience working with stakeholders to understand needs, keep them engaged, and confirm alignment, along with strong skills in managing risks, allocating resources, and communicating effectively
• Skilled in aligning projects with organizational strategy and objectives, assessing performance through KPIs and metrics, and translating technical and operational details into clear, actionable updates and visualizations for non-technical audiences
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree preferred in business administration, Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field
• Certification in Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or similar credentials is strongly preferred
• 7+ years of experience managing complex, cross-functional projects in areas such as Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain, or IT systems
• Experience with project management tools such as Smartsheet, Jira, or Microsoft Project
• Experience working within structured governance frameworks

Education

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field required. Advanced degree preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation: Well qualified applicants can expect to earn between $115,000 - $140,000, with final salary based on experience and qualifications.

• generous paid time off
• competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance
• tax-advantaged savings accounts
• participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund

For a summary of benefits, please see: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf.

References and Hiring Process

References will be requested of final candidates. All applicants will be notified after the search is complete and a candidate has been selected.

Eligibility and Employment Assurance

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employee F1 STEM OPT Extension participants.

Contact Information

Daniel McCusky, HR Generalist [e-mail]

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

Accommodation & Background Checks

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you. Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Other Compliance Information

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.

Employment Philosophy

Work with purpose, make an impact, and grow your career. The University of Wisconsin–Madison is committed to equity, inclusion and employee well-being as we proudly work to improve the lives of people in Wisconsin and beyond. UW–Madison offers a wide range of professions that cover various interests and skill levels. We employ everything from accountants to arborists, chefs to custodians, editors to electricians, graphic designers to groundskeepers, HR associates to HVAC technicians, librarians to locksmiths, mechanics to medical assistants, painters to police officers, web designers to welders, and absolutely everything in between! No matter what you are looking for professionally, chances are you will not only find it but will thrive at it while working at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.