Senior Director of Planning and Project Management

American University•Washington, DC

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Sr. Director, Planning and Project Development is responsible for leading strategic planning initiatives, overseeing the development and execution of major capital and operational projects, and ensuring alignment with the University’s long-term goals. This role also leads the Office of Space Planning and Management, ensuring that campus space is effectively planned, allocated, and managed to support academic, research, and administrative priorities. The Sr. Director develops, evaluates, and presents alternatives related to project scope, budget, and schedule, supporting informed decision-making by University leadership. They may serve in either a leadership or support role on projects as assigned, always ensuring a high degree of responsiveness to service requests and operational needs. The Sr. Director promotes and enforces a culture of customer service excellence, ensuring that interactions with students, faculty, staff, and other internal and external stakeholders reflect the University’s values of collaboration, respect, and accountability. This role requires an experienced planner and project manager who can guide complex initiatives from concept to completion while balancing technical knowledge, strategic thinking, and stakeholder engagement.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering or Construction Management.
10+ years of relevant experience.
Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in institutional planning and project development, including leadership roles in space planning, capital project management, and stakeholder engagement within higher education or similar environments.
Proven ability to lead complex projects, manage teams, and navigate regulatory requirements using relevant planning and project management tools.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or equivalent.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously, preferably in a higher education setting directly for an institutional owner.
Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills and ability to facilitate and manage groups or teams, preferably in a higher education setting directly for an intuitional owner.
Ability to drive excellence and high performance within staff.

Responsibilities

Leads campus-wide planning efforts; develops project scopes, schedules, budgets; evaluates and presents planning alternatives; aligns initiatives with institutional goals.
Serves in lead or support role on capital and operational projects; coordinates with internal stakeholders; monitors planning milestones and deliverables.
Ensures responsive, service-oriented interactions with students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders; represents the department in meetings and presentations.
Supervises planning and space management staff; manages workload, mentoring, and performance expectations.
Develops and manages planning-related budgets; ensures compliance with institutional policies, codes, and regulations.
Performs additional duties or special projects as requested to support departmental or institutional goals.