Skills Ontology and Learning Recognition Project Lead

Stateside; United States; Remote; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is seeking a Skills Ontology and Learning Recognition Project Lead to drive grant-funded initiatives across academic, technical, and partner teams. You will translate strategy into work plans, ensure traceability, and maintain momentum under the Director's guidance.

You will coordinate faculty subject matter experts, data specialists, and partner institutions to deliver governance, documentation, and implementation artifacts on schedule.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 5–7 years of project coordination or academic administration experience.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and stakeholder communication.
• Familiarity with skills taxonomies, ontologies, and credentialing concepts.
• Ability to document decisions, plans, and governance artifacts clearly.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the integrated project plan, timelines, and milestones for the learning-recognition workstreams.
• Coordinate day-to-day activity across faculty reviewers and data/interoperability staff.
• Track progress, elevate risks, and propose next steps to Director.
• Document taxonomy research, standards decisions, architecture and implementation changes.
• Coordinate review cycles, consolidate feedback, and maintain materials for project teams.
• Identify and onboard faculty reviewers and SMEs; manage work plans and meetings.
• Prepare governance materials, status reports, and traceability documentation for leadership.
• Monitor budget/resource needs and flag risks to timelines or dependencies.
• Support coordination with partner institutions for demonstrations and pilots.

Skills

Skills ontology

Cross-functional coordination

Documentation

Stakeholder communication

Project planning

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

PM tools

Documentation platforms

Job description

Skills Ontology and Learning Recognition Project Lead

Office of Registrar Exempt, Contingent II, Full Time, Pay Grade 3.4 Job location: Stateside Remote

This (role) role is funded through a grant from The Gates Foundation. The grant lasts 2 years and funding for this role is tied to that grant. In addition, this role will be responsible for the execution and delivery of grant project initiatives, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to align these projects with the university's broader strategic goals. The Skills Ontology and Learning Recognition Project Lead supports implementation of UMGC’s learning-recognition initiative by coordinating the day-to-day work required to operationalize the Director’s skills ontology, translation framework, and related project deliverables. Under the direction of the Skills Ontology and Learning Recognition Director, this role combines strong project-execution skills with working fluency in skills ontology and learning-recognition concepts to translate strategy into work plans, documentation, stakeholder follow-through, and coordinated delivery across academic, technical, and partner teams. Working closely with the Director, faculty subject matter experts, data and interoperability specialists, and participating partner institutions, the Project Lead maintains project momentum, organizes cross-functional workstreams, supports crosswalks, standards mappings, and implementation documentation, and helps ensure that UMGC’s learning-recognition approach is implemented consistently and transparently, with clear traceability and on schedule.

Project Planning & Workstream Coordination

• Maintain the integrated project plan, timelines, milestones, dependency tracking, and action logs for the learning-recognition workstreams.
• Coordinate day-to-day activity across faculty reviewers, subject matter experts, data and interoperability staff, advising, institutional research, Military and Veterans Programs, and other participating units.
• Track progress against deliverables, technical dependencies, and review cycles; elevate risks, delays, or implementation issues to the Director with recommended next steps.

Skills Mapping Operations & Documentation

• Support development and maintenance of working crosswalks, evidence tables, standards mappings, and version-controlled records that operationalize the Director’s skills-to-credit strategy.
• Document taxonomy research, standards decisions, architecture and implementation decisions, and process changes so methods remain transparent, auditable, traceable, and reusable.
• Coordinate review cycles, consolidate feedback, and maintain current working materials for project teams, technical contributors, and faculty reviewers.

Faculty & SME Engagement Logistics

• Identify, schedule, onboard, and coordinate faculty reviewers and external subject matter experts needed for mapping, policy review, and methodology implementation.
• Manage work plans, meeting schedules, contracts, stipends, and workload documentation in partnership with Academic Affairs, Human Resources, and other administrative offices.
• Prepare materials, agendas, and follow-up items that keep faculty and SMEs aligned on deliverables, review expectations, and deadlines.

Governance, Reporting & Communications

• Prepare governance materials, status reports, meeting notes, decision logs, and traceability documentation for internal leadership, partner discussions, and sponsored reporting needs.
• Organize content and documentation supporting reports, toolkit materials, implementation guides, and other dissemination outputs.
• Maintain centralized records of requirements, use cases, approvals, and workflow artifacts, including documentation that supports transparent review of AI-assisted recommendation processes.

Risk, Budget & Resource Tracking

• Maintain the project risk register and support mitigation tracking in coordination with the Director and project leadership.
• Monitor personnel and non-personnel expenditures, resource needs, and administrative dependencies related to project operations and faculty engagement.
• Flag emerging issues early and recommend sequencing or resourcing adjustments when timelines, dependencies, or review requirements change.

Partner & Pilot Coordination

• Support coordination with partner institutions and ecosystem organizations by scheduling working sessions, documenting requirements, and tracking shared commitments.
• Coordinate logistics and follow-through for demonstrations, pilots, interoperability and standards discussions, schema or data-exchange working sessions, and other cross-institution activities.
• Collaborate with data and interoperability specialists to organize materials related to reusable data structures, standards mappings, APIs, and partner-facing implementation discussions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in higher education administration, education, workforce development, project management, instructional design, information science, assessment, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in project or program coordination, academic administration, learning recognition, workforce-aligned education, skills-related initiatives, or a related area.
• Experience managing project plans, workstreams, timelines, documentation, and stakeholder communication across multiple contributors and functional areas.
• Working familiarity with skills taxonomies, ontologies, competency frameworks, prior learning assessment (PLA), credentialing, or structured crosswalks; ability to support subject‑matter work without serving as the primary methodological authority.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate faculty or subject matter expert engagement, including meeting preparation, work‑plan management, follow‑up, documentation, and review logistics.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and written communication skills, including experience producing status reports, meeting materials, technical documentation, implementation records, and process guides.
• Comfort working with project management tools, shared documentation environments, implementation artifacts, risk tracking, budget/resource monitoring, and transparent decision logs in a cross‑functional setting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting grant‑funded initiatives, multi‑institution collaborations, or externally sponsored projects.
• Familiarity with military learning evaluation, workforce learning records, digital credentials, interoperability‑related initiatives, or standards‑mapping work.
• Exposure to AI‑assisted recommendation or evaluation workflows, documentation traceability, data governance, or quality assurance practices.
• PMP certification, CAPM, Agile/project coordination training, or comparable experience managing complex project delivery.
• Experience working in partnership with Academic Affairs, faculty governance, sponsored programs, institutional research, assessment functions, or technical/data teams in a university setting.

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination. UMGC is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, ancestry, political affiliation or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Workplace Accommodations: The University of Maryland Global Campus Global Campus (UMGC) is committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive working environment for people of all abilities. UMGC is dedicated to the principle that no qualified individual with a disability shall, based on disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of the University, or be subjected to discrimination. For information about UMGC’s Reasonable Workplace Accommodation Policy or to request an accommodation, applicants/candidates can contact Employee Accommodations via email at [e-mail].

Benefits Package Highlights

• Generous Time Off: Enjoy 22 days of paid vacation, 15 days of sick leave, 3 personal days, and 16 paid holidays (17 during general election years). Time off rates will be prorated based on the number of hours worked.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Access to health care, medical with vision, dental, and prescription plans for both individuals and families, effective from the 1st of the month following your hire date.
• Contingent II employees who work on average 30 or more hours per week (130 hours per month) are eligible for subsidized state of Maryland medical and prescription benefits.
• Contingent II employees who work on average less than 30 hours per week but at least 20 hours per week are eligible for a stipend to assist in the purchase of a health plan.
• Insurance Options: Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, and Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance.
• NOTE: C2 Part‑time employees working less than 0.5 FTE are not eligible for LTD.
• Retirement Stipend: Contingent II employees receive a retirement stipend equal to 7.25 percent of their base salary and are eligible to contribute to a supplemental retirement account (SRA).
• Supplemental Retirement Plans: include 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and various Roth options. The university does not provide subsidies or matching funds.
• Tuition Remission: CII employees are eligible immediately for Tuition Remission at UMGC or at University of Maryland College Park.
• Spouses and dependent children are eligible for undergraduate tuition remission after two years of service.
• NOTE: For part‑time employees (at least 50 percent of the time), tuition remission benefits are prorated.

SS Contingent II_2020.pdf (umgc.edu)

Hiring Range: $105,000.00 - $110,000.00

UMGC is not just a great place to learn. It’s also a great place to work. The university offers an array of career options, along with ample opportunities for growth and advancement. Explore the broad range of faculty and staff positions and become a member of the UMGC community.