Senior Projects Manager - Special Projects

RiseMe; Durham (NC); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Vacation and holidays

Parental leave

Wellness stipend

Mobile device stipend

Downtown parking

Job summary

Durham Next is a nonprofit organization working with Discover Durham to advance Durham through strategic projects and community partnerships. The Senior Project Manager – Special Projects leads cross-functional workstreams and coordinates program delivery in a hybrid Durham environment.

Responsibilities include steering executive priorities, managing project portfolios, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring timely reporting to leadership and boards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Economic Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Community Development, or related field.
• Five years of increasingly responsible experience in economic development or related programs.
• Experience managing complex projects and project teams.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic and operational partner to the Executive Director, helping translate organizational priorities into clear next steps and follow-up needs.
• Coordinate meetings, prepare briefing materials, presentations, and follow-up items for staff and stakeholders.
• Manage a portfolio of projects and programs from planning through execution with timelines, budgets, and milestones.
• Establish tracking systems for outcomes, dashboards, and progress reports for leadership, board, funders, and partners.
• Support governance, board activities, recruitment, orientation, and continuity of leadership.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Economic Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Community Development, or related field

Tools

Asana

Job description

Job Details

Level: Experienced, Job Location: Discover Durham - Durham, NC, Position Type: Full Time, Education Level: 4 Year Degree, Salary Range: $75000.00 - $85000.00Salary, Job Shift: Day, Job Category: Government,

Durham Next is a nonprofit organization operated by Discover Durham and is a visionary community partnership for the sustainable advancement of Durham as the best place to live, work and visit. Durham Next aims to create a prosperous Durham for everyone by actively pursuing transformative projects, programs and other community-based opportunities that will attract visitors and newcomers and build a thriving environment for our residents. Discover Durham is Durham’s marketing and sales agency, generating economic impact by drawing 13 million leisure, business, and sports visitors to our vibrant community each year. Discover Durham also operates the Durham Sports Commission (DSC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create economic and social impact by leading the community’s efforts to attract, support, and promote youth, amateur, collegiate, and professional sporting and recreational events.

Primary Responsibilities

Executive & Organizational Support

Serve as a strategic and operational partner to the Executive Director, helping translate organizational priorities and decisions into clear next steps, assignments, timelines, and follow-through. Anticipate and coordinate information, preparation, and follow-up needs for key meetings, decisions, initiatives, and stakeholder engagements, including briefing materials, presentations, correspondence, and other executive materials. Coordinate meeting preparation, documentation, and follow-through for staff, project teams, and other priority meetings, including agendas, decisions, action items, and next steps. Serve as a central coordination point for the Durham Next team, connecting individual workstreams to organizational priorities and ensuring responsibilities, handoffs, timelines, dependencies, and decisions are clear and addressed. Establish and maintain systems for tracking organizational priorities, decisions, assignments, commitments, deadlines, and follow-up. Coordinate the team’s operating cadence, including staff meetings, project reviews, planning sessions, retreats, and other internal working sessions. Lead or support special assignments and emerging priorities on behalf of the Executive Director and handle sensitive or time-sensitive organizational matters with sound judgment and discretion.

Project, Program & Portfolio Management

Manage a portfolio of special projects, programs, and organizational priorities from planning through execution, including development of scopes, work plans, timelines, milestones, budgets, responsibilities, and tracking systems. Maintain an organization-wide view of Durham Next’s portfolio of programs and projects, monitoring dependencies, decision points, resource needs, capacity constraints, competing priorities, and gaps in ownership and elevating risks or issues to the Executive Director. Coordinate consultants, contractors, procurement, solicitations, and contracting processes associated with assigned projects and programs, including scopes of work, RFPs, deliverables, timelines, invoices, and related follow-up. Establish and maintain systems for tracking organizational outcomes, benchmarks, and performance measures; coordinate data collection and prepare progress reports, dashboards, and other updates for leadership, the Board, funders, and partners.

Governance Support

Partner with the Executive Director to support effective operations of the Durham Next Board of Directors and its committees. Support development and coordination of Board agendas, meeting materials, presentations, reports, dashboards, and supporting documentation in collaboration with the Executive Director and appropriate staff. Track Board decisions, requests, commitments, and follow-up actions and ensure responsible parties are aware of deadlines and expectations. Support Board recruitment, orientation, onboarding, engagement, and annual planning activities and maintain related governance records.

Community Engagement & Partnerships

Support the ongoing management and coordination of the Community Advisory Council (CAC), including meeting cadence, agendas, member communications, participation tracking, and follow-through. Coordinate with staff, consultants, and project partners to determine when and how projects should engage the CAC and ensure feedback, recommendations, and follow-up actions are communicated to appropriate project teams. Support CAC member recruitment, onboarding, engagement, and retention and coordinate presenters, facilitation, materials, and meeting needs. Coordinate and support relationships with government, community, business, nonprofit, philanthropic, and other partners connected to Durham Next priorities. Participate in external meetings and working groups as assigned and coordinate resulting information, commitments, and follow-up. Coordinate with Discover Durham’s marketing and communications team to support consistent and timely communication about Durham Next initiatives.

Qualifications

Required Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Economic Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Community Development, or related field. Five years of increasingly responsible experience in the implementation of economic development, community development, or capital project construction initiatives. Demonstrated success in managing complex projects and project teams. Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in Economic Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Community Development, Urban/Regional Planning, or related field. Experience in Asana or other project management software. Strong political and cultural sensitivity; ability to work across diverse communities and build consensus. Experience working with nonprofit organizations, boards and community stakeholders. Excellent leadership, facilitation, and communication skills.

Salary & Benefits

Durham Next offers exceptional benefits, including employer-paid insurance premiums for staff and employer contributions to HSA, generous retirement contributions to the NC pension program, a flexible hybrid work schedule, an enviable vacation and holiday allowance, paid parental leave, a wellness stipend, a monthly mobile device stipend, paid downtown parking, and a great team of coworkers. It is a hybrid work environment, with employees expected to be in the office at least three days a week. Plus, you’ll work in a prime location on Main Street in the heart of downtown Durham. As Senior Project Manager – Special Projects, you can expect a salary in the range of $75,000-$85,000 commensurate with experience.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Durham Next is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.