PROJECT MANAGER, STRATEGIC OPERATIONS AND DATA ANALYSIS

Socket.dev; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 93,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Denver Public Schools is seeking a senior project leader to collaborate with the Office of Talent and other executives. You will oversee enterprise-scale initiatives from inception through completion, coordinating cross-functional teams and external stakeholders to drive strategy and execution.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, KPI tracking, risk management, and change leadership as you align programs with board priorities and the district's strategic roadmap.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's preferred.
• 3–5 years managing or supporting complex projects, including planning, budgeting, resource and risk management.
• Lead for racial and educational equity; support all students with access to high quality education.
• Residence in Colorado required.
• Must be able to meet the physical demands of the position.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a senior advisor to executive leadership on strategic planning, governance, policy, and enterprise initiatives within the Office of Talent.
• Leads, designs, implements and monitors large-scale projects aligned with the district's roadmap and initiatives.
• Collaborates with department leaders to develop vision and strategy for district initiatives; develops recommendations from diverse stakeholder feedback.
• Tracks program milestones and KPIs; gathers data to evaluate effectiveness and inform course corrections.
• Establishes relationships with internal/external stakeholders to inform deliverables and support data-informed decisions.
• Partners with Communications to develop strategies for broad awareness and buy-in.
• Leads change management to facilitate implementation; serves as subject matter expert on assigned projects.
• Researches best practices from other districts to inform program design.
• Blends strategic foresight with execution oversight across initiatives; drives leadership across the Office of Talent.
• Leads data analysis efforts focusing on leading and lagging indicators (e.g., retention).

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Strategic planning

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Job description

About this job:

Works closely with Office of Talent's leadership team as well as other senior leaders throughout the organization, to drive large-scale projects and initiatives that stem from the district’s strategic roadmap. Manages and coordinates enterprise-level projects across multiple functions, from inception to completion, interfacing with key internal and external stakeholders. Plans and facilitates decision-making meetings with senior leaders to drive program priorities, leveraging data analysis, key performance indicators, and operational insights to progress manage and inform effectiveness of strategy, decision-making, and execution. May include but not limited to the implementation and build out of the Oracle platform across the enterprise.

What DPS Offers You:

• A Culture that values Equity, Accountability, Integrity, Collaboration and Fun with a shared vision that Every Learner Thrives.
• Salary Range: $93,744 - $114,819 annually.
• In addition to competitive compensation, DPS has other Total Reward offerings such as; time off, health and wellness benefits, and PERA Retirement.

What You'll Do:

• Serves as a senior advisor to executive leadership on strategic planning, governance, policy, and enterprise initiatives within the Office of Talent.
• Leads, designs, implements and monitors complex, large-scale projects, in alignment with organizational values, the District’s strategic roadmap and initiatives.
• Collaborates with department leadership teams and other senior leaders throughout the organization, to develop the vision and strategy for large-scale district initiatives; develops options and recommendations based on feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders. Ensures alignment between Board priorities, Superintendent direction, and operational execution.
• Tracks program milestones and provides ongoing updates to the project team; establishes and monitors key performance indicators (KPIs), gathers quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate program effectiveness throughout the lifecycle of the project to inform course corrections; proactively identifies and mitigates risks.
• Establishes and cultivates relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to inform program deliverables, translate business needs into analytical priorities, and support data-informed decision making.
• Partners with the Communications team to develop comprehensive communications strategies to ensure broad awareness and buy-in.
• Leads change management efforts to facilitate project implementation.
• Serves as the subject matter expert on assigned projects.
• Researches and identifies effective practices that have been implemented in other school districts and organizations at the local and national level to inform program design.
• Blends high-level strategic foresight with detailed execution oversight across initiatives and individuals in the Office of Talent.
• Leads data analysis efforts by designing enterprise scorecards, dashboards, and performance reporting focused on leading and lagging indicators (e.g., retention), while managing annual planning calendars, executive meeting structures, and accountability systems that ensure strategic priorities translate into measurable outcomes.
• Analyzes workforce, operational, and program data to identify trends, measure impact, and provide actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
• Creates and presents executive briefings, presentations, and strategic updates for the Office of Talent and senior leadership to communicate priorities, progress, recommendations, and action steps.
• Flexibility to support executive leadership outside traditional business hours, as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

What You’ll Need:

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree, Master's preferred.
• Three (3) to five (5) years managing and/or supporting complex projects, including planning, estimating/budgeting, resource planning, risk assessment, expectationmanagement, scope and issue management with complex business and IT projects.K-12 education leadership experience preferred.
• Lead for racial and educational excellence and work to dismantle systems of oppression and inequity in our community, along with believing in and supporting all students so they feel seen and heard with access to high quality education.
• Live and work with a permanent home address in Colorado while working with us.
• Have the ability with or without accommodations to meet the physical demands of the position.

Denver Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender expression, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or any other status protected by law or regulations. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors.

Students First. Integrity. Equity. Collaboration. Accountability. Fun

Denver Public Schools is committed to meeting the educational needs of every student with great schools in every neighborhood. Our goal is to provide every child in Denver with rigorous, enriching educational opportunities from preschool through high school graduation. DPS is comprised of nearly 200 schools including traditional, magnet, charter and alternative pathways schools, with an enrollment of more than 90,000 students.

DPS has become the fastest-growing school district in the country in terms of enrollment and the fastest-growing large school district in the state in terms of student academic growth. Learn more at dpsk12.org.