Strategic Plan Project Manager

University of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst (MA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, seeks a Strategic Plan Project Manager to coordinate cross-functional initiatives, translate priorities into action plans, and monitor timelines and deliverables, partnering with faculty, staff, students, and external partners.

The role acts as a central hub for SBS Democracy Project activities, aligning research, events, public engagement, and curricular efforts with college priorities, and ensuring clear

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three years of experience in project management, program administration, organizational operations, or related areas.
• Excellent organizational skills, independent judgement, and attention to detail; ability to prioritize and manage several projects simultaneously.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to lead and interact effectively with diverse faculty and staff.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including credibly communicating with faculty, staff, and administration.
• Ability to read, understand, apply, and explain rules, regulations, and policies/procedures related to duties.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and ability to quickly learn additional software applications.

Responsibilities

• Manages the implementation of projects and initiatives associated with the SBS Strategic Plan, translating priorities into actionable workplans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and follow-up activities.
• Coordinates multiple concurrent projects involving faculty, staff, and students within the College and its departments, as well as campus and external partners, ensuring responsibilities and deadlines are clear.
• Monitors progress, identifies delays or challenges, and works with stakeholders to develop solutions to keep projects on track.
• Supports the SBS Democracy Project activities, coordinating research, working groups, funding programs, events, and curricular efforts.
• Coordinates communication with the College's Communications and Events Team to plan events and strategic communications.

Skills

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Judgment

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Title: Strategic Plan Project Manager

Executive Area: Academic Affairs

College/School/MBU: Social & Behavioral Sciences

Department: Dean - Social & Behavioral Sci

Work Location: Amherst

Schedule: Full Time

Work Arrangement: Hybrid

Job Summary

The Strategic Plan Project Manager supports the implementation of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences' (SBS) Strategic Plan by coordinating cross-functional initiatives involving faculty, staff, and students within the College and its departments, as well as campus and external partners. The position translates strategic priorities and emerging ideas into organized implementation plans, establishes and monitors timelines and deliverables, coordinates communication and documentation, and ensures that participants have the information and resources needed to move projects forward.

The Project Manager serves as a central coordinating point between individuals developing strategic initiatives and the staff and units responsible for their execution. The position works across college functions to organize workflows, identify dependencies, facilitate communication, track progress, and support successful implementation of college priorities.

A significant area of responsibility is supporting the SBS Democracy Project, a signature initiative of the Strategic Plan that brings together research, teaching, public engagement, events, student programming, community partnerships, and other activities across the College and University. The Project Manager coordinates the operational implementation of Democracy Project activities and serves as a liaison between various stakeholders.

Essential Functions

• Manages the implementation of projects and initiatives associated with the SBS Strategic Plan, translating strategic priorities into actionable workplans, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and follow-up activities.
• Coordinates multiple concurrent projects involving faculty, staff, and students within the College and its departments, as well as campus and external partners, ensuring that responsibilities, deadlines, and next steps are clearly established and communicated.
• Monitors project progress against established goals and timelines; identifies delays, gaps, competing priorities, and implementation challenges, and works with appropriate stakeholders to develop solutions and keep projects on track.
• Serves as a central point of coordination for the SBS Democracy Project, supporting the implementation of research initiatives, working groups, funding programs, events, public engagement activities, curricular efforts, partnerships, and related programming.
• Connects faculty-led ideas and strategic priorities with the administrative and operational functions necessary for implementation, helping define scope, responsibilities, sequencing, resource needs, and appropriate College partners.
• Coordinates closely with the College's Communications and Events Team to ensure timely planning and execution of events, forums, workshops, announcements, web content, promotional activities, and other strategic communications associated with the SBS Strategic Plan.
• Organizes strategic planning meetings, implementation discussions, forums, and working groups. Develops timelines and agendas, coordinating participants and materials, documenting decisions, and ensuring appropriate follow-up.
• Develops and maintains centralized project documentation, implementation calendars, project trackers, decision logs, status reports, and other systems that provide visibility into the progress of SBS Strategic Plan initiatives.
• Facilitates communication across departments and functional areas to ensure stakeholders receive timely and accurate information about project expectations, responsibilities, deadlines, decisions, and changes.
• Tracks Strategic Plan milestones, deliverables, and measures of progress and assists College leadership with periodic implementation updates, reports, presentations, and planning discussions.
• Coordinates processes associated with internal funding opportunities and other strategic initiatives, including timelines, communications, submissions, review processes, award documentation, and follow-up with participating faculty and units.
• Supports the development and implementation of new strategic initiatives as priorities evolve, establishing project structures and coordinating work across relevant College and University partners.
• Identifies opportunities to improve project management practices, workflows, documentation, and coordination across College initiatives and develops tools and processes that support effective implementation.

Other Functions

Performs related duties as assigned or required to meet department, executive area/division, and university goals and objectives.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three years of experience with project management, program administration, organizational operations, or related areas.
• Excellent organizational skills, independent judgement, and attention to detail; ability to prioritize and manage several projects simultaneously.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to lead and interact effectively, work productively, and maintain professional and harmonious working relationships with diverse faculty and staff.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to credibly and authoritatively communicate with faculty, staff, and administration as well as with other constituents.
• Ability to think creatively, problem-solve, and elicit cooperation from multiple offices and institutions, and build bridges. Ability to innovate practices and processes for optimized outcomes.
• Ability to read, understand, apply, and explain rules, regulations, and policies/procedures related to duties. Ability to understand and follow complex oral and written instructions and create effective and efficient work processes.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) and the ability to quickly learn additional relevant software applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education, particularly within a complex academic organization.
• Experience supporting strategic planning, organizational change, or implementation of institution-wide or cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience working with faculty and translating faculty- or leadership-generated concepts into operational plans.
• Experience coordinating events, forums, workshops, research initiatives, grant or funding programs, or public-facing programming.
• Familiarity with project-management methodologies and tools.

Additional Details

This position is subject to final budgetary and administrative approval.

Working Conditions

Work is performed in a standard office or indoor university environment and involves minimal physical exertion.

Work Schedule and Work Arrangement

Monday-Friday, 8:30AM-5:00PM

This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee’s work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Pay Grade: PSSAP Grade 26

This position will remain open for the time period required by any applicable collective bargaining agreement and will continue until a suitable candidate pool is identified.