Large-Scale Collaboration Grant Project Manager

Santa Clara University•Berkeley, CA

10d•$37 - $45•Hybrid

About The Position

Under the supervision of the Sr. Assistant Dean / Chief Operating Officer and in close coordination with project co-leads, the Project Manager provides administrative, operational, and tactical leadership for the implementation of the $10 Million Lilly Endowment Large-Scale Collaboration Grant. This 5-year grant project supports the launch and integration of the Pope Francis Institute for Pastoral Flourishing (PFI), the relocation and integration of JST-SCU into Santa Clara University’s main campus, and the expansion of regional and national network partnerships. The Project Manager serves as the primary operational engine driving daily grant activities. This position is responsible for ensuring all strategic deliverables, sub-project timelines, inter-departmental workflows, budget tracking, and official compliance reporting to the Lilly Endowment are executed seamlessly, accurately, and on schedule.

Requirements

Thorough understanding of formal project management methodologies, lifecycle frameworks, and grant administration tools.
Familiarity with private foundation grant administration (experience with Lilly Endowment grants or higher education sponsored programs highly preferred).
Understanding of university organizational structures, academic administration, and multi-institutional collaborative networks.
Knowledge of Catholic ecclesiology, ministerial formation, and the pastoral realities in the United States preferred.
Strong understanding of the values, ideals, and mission of Jesuit higher education and the Jesuit School of Theology preferred.
Knowledge of ATS-accredited graduate theological education preferred.
Demonstrated mastery of project management tools (e.g., Asana, Smartsheet, MS Project, Google Workspace) and budget management software.
Strong written communication skills, with proven ability to synthesize complex project data into formal narrative grant reports.
Excellent organizational skills, sharp attention to detail, and ability to manage multi-million-dollar project budgets.
Exceptional task-management ability: capable of driving execution across complex, concurrent timelines with high autonomy.
Proven ability to build collaborative relationships and gain alignment among diverse stakeholders (faculty, university administrators, external nonprofit leaders, and foundation officers).
Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive, solution-oriented approach to execution.
Bachelor’s degree required
Two to four years of progressively responsible project management experience managing complex, multi-year, multi-stakeholder grants or strategic institutional initiatives.
Extensive keyboarding and desk work utilizing computer systems.
Occasional travel to partner organizations, national conferences, or university events.
Ability to facilitate long-format project planning meetings and workshops.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Public Administration (MPA), Educational Leadership, Higher Education Administration, or a related field preferred.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as the central point of tactical execution, project tracking, and workflow management for all initiatives funded under the $10M Lilly LSC Grant.
Develop and maintain comprehensive master project plans, timelines, work breakdown structures, and milestone tracking frameworks across all grant components.
Monitor day-to-day progress across project working groups, internal SCU departments (JST, GPPM, Religious Studies), and external collaborating partners.
Manage the operational roadmap for Year 1 ("Year of Co-Design"), coordinating inter-departmental task forces, curriculum alignment teams, and committee deliverables.
Identify operational bottlenecks, risks, or schedule deviations, implementing corrective action plans to maintain project momentum.
Manage overall compliance with Lilly Endowment Grant Agreement terms, conditions, and reporting requirements.
Partner closely with SCU Office of Sponsored Projects (SPO), JST Finance, and University Development to monitor the $10M budget, track expenditure allocations, approve line-item disbursements, and manage sub-award contracts.
Coordinate, write, and submit all annual narrative program reports and collaborate with the SPO to submit financial reports to the Lilly Endowment by established deadlines.
Collect, aggregate, and verify project data, revenue match metrics, and qualitative/quantitative outcomes from constituent units (such as CLTM, PFI, and external partner networks) for centralized reporting.
Oversee budget revision requests and line-item reallocations in accordance with Lilly Endowment policy guidelines.
Facilitate regular communication, meeting schedules, documentation, and reporting streams for the Grant Steering Committee, Advisory Boards, and Working Groups.
Serve as the primary liaison between internal academic units and external partner organizations (e.g., ACHTUS, RECOSS, Iskali, regional dioceses, Discerning Deacons), managing partner contracts, stipends, and joint project deliverables.
Maintain central project repositories, shared documentation, communications archives, and collaborative platforms (e.g., Google Workspace/Drive) to ensure transparent governance.
Coordinate the execution of project events, national symposia, planning retreats, workshops, and advisory council meetings in collaboration with project staff.
Implement the grant’s strategic communication and dissemination plan, sharing project insights, best practices, and research outputs with national theological networks and peer institutions.
Maintain systematic evaluation data and performance indicators to measure long-term institutional impact and pastoral reach.
Other duties as assigned in support of JST’s mission and operational needs