Strategic Initiatives Program Manager

Carnegie Mellon University; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Tuition benefits

Paid time off & holidays

Pittsburgh transit bus pass

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh seeks a Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives to lead planning and execution of major university priorities. You will translate strategy into detailed workplans, assign owners, manage timelines, and report progress to senior leaders.

The role requires strong project-management discipline, excellent communication, and the ability to influence without formal authority across academic and administrative units. Travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; master's degree is a plus or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience managing complex, cross-functional programs, strategic initiatives, organizational change efforts, or enterprise projects.
• Experience in higher education, government, consulting, or another complex mission-driven organization is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and operate effectively in a complex, decentralized environment.
• PMP, Prosci, Lean, Six Sigma, or a comparable credential is helpful but not required.
• Proficiency with project-management, collaboration, and data-tracking tools such as Smartsheet, Asana, Microsoft Project, Power BI, or Excel is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage assigned strategic initiatives from planning through implementation, developing clear scopes, workplans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and measures of success.
• Translate high-level or evolving direction into practical execution plans with defined owners, dependencies, decision points, and deadlines.
• Maintain integrated project plans, tracking tools, dashboards, and documentation across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Monitor progress and follow-through, identify slippage or gaps, and work with accountable owners to restore momentum or elevate issues appropriately.
• Support resource planning by identifying capacity, budget, technology, procurement, or other implementation needs and surfacing constraints to initiative leadership.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Communication

PMP/Lean Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Smartsheet

Asana

Microsoft Project

Power BI

Excel

Job description

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh seeks a Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives to lead planning and execution of major university priorities. You will translate strategy into detailed workplans, assign owners, manage timelines, and report progress to senior leaders.

The role requires strong project-management discipline, excellent communication, and the ability to influence without formal authority across academic and administrative units. Travel may be required.