RISE Project Manager

University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 68,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous vacation

Paid time off

Retirement benefits

Job summary

The RISE Project Manager serves as a member of the OVCR Research Development team at UW–Madison. The three positions support the university’s RI SE themes: AI, EARTH, and THRIVE, with each PM handling one theme and coordinating related initiatives.

Reporting to the RISE HQ Lead, the role collaborates with initiative leadership, faculty, researchers, and campus partners to advance priorities and ensure successful implementation.

Qualifications

• Three or more years in project management, program administration, research administration, higher education administration, or related fields.
• Experience managing projects with multiple stakeholders, priorities, and deadlines.
• Strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Identify extramural funding opportunities related to RISE themes.
• Create a project plan, monitor progress, and manage risks and issues.
• Set priorities, allocate tasks, and collaborate with project staff to meet targets and milestones.
• Oversee outside contractors to ensure quality and service Standards.
• Estimate costs, resources, and timelines; manage changes and follow change control processes.
• Prepare regular reports to communicate status to stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

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.

Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Regular

Job Profile

Project Manager II

Job Summary

The RISE Project Manager serves as a member of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) Research Development team. The OVCR will establish three RISE Project Manager positions to support UW–Madison's Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) themes: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Environment: Adaptation, Resilience, Technology, and Humanity (EARTH), and Health and Well-Being (THRIVE). Each RISE Project Manager will be assigned primary responsibility for supporting one RISE theme and will serve as the principal project management and coordination resource for initiatives and activities within that theme.

While administratively housed within OVCR Research Development, each position will initially report to the RISE HQ Lead responsible for one of the three RISE themes (AI, EARTH, or THRIVE). The RISE Project Manager will work closely with the RISE HQ Lead, RISE initiative leadership, and faculty leaders to advance strategic priorities, interdisciplinary research activities, stakeholder engagement efforts, and implementation goals. The position will receive ongoing direction regarding priorities within the assigned RISE theme and support the successful execution of related initiatives and activities.

Collectively, the three positions provide project management, coordination, and implementation support for strategic RISE priorities and initiatives. While each position serves as the primary liaison for its assigned RISE theme, incumbents may contribute a limited portion of their effort to broader OVCR strategic priorities, research development activities, and emerging institutional initiatives as organizational needs evolve. The RISE Project Manager manages multiple concurrent projects from initiation through completion. The position serves as a strategic connector, facilitator, and project management resource responsible for coordinating interdisciplinary initiatives, supporting collaboration among faculty and stakeholders, developing and monitoring project plans, managing timelines and deliverables, and advancing strategic priorities established by RISE and OVCR leadership.

The RISE Project Manager works closely with RISE HQ Leads, RISE initiative leadership, faculty, researchers, centers, institutes, campus partners, and external stakeholders to support successful implementation of initiative goals.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Identifies extramural funding opportunities related to subject matter within one or more of the RISE themes (5%)
• Creates a project plan, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, and identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues (35%)
• Sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones (30%)
• Manages the activities of outside contractors to ensure they are integrated into the project and that the organization receives satisfactory standards of service (5%)
• Facilitates the estimation of project costs, resources, and time required to complete the assigned phase of a project and monitors activities, negotiates for resources, and assigns tasks to ensure these targets are met. Follows established change control processes if targets can no longer be met (10%)
• Prepares regular reports to communicate the status of the project within and beyond the project team (15%)

Department

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), Research Development

Compensation

The minimum annual salary for this position is $75,000 but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

The employee in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; and participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

Required Qualifications

• At least three years of experience in project management, program administration, research administration, higher education administration, or a related field
• Experience managing projects involving multiple stakeholders, priorities, and deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, build productive working relationships, and exercise sound judgment
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Five or more years of relevant professional experience
• Experience supporting strategic initiatives, interdisciplinary collaborations, organizational change efforts, or research-related activities
• Experience in higher education, research administration, healthcare, government, nonprofit, or another complex organization

Education

Required: Bachelor's degree

Work Locations

This position requires work to be performed onsite in Madison, WI. Partial remote work up to 40% (2 days/week) may be available for this position.

Eligibility and Background Checks

A successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment. University sponsorship is not available for this position.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Contact Information

Amanda Mayer: [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.

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.

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.