Senior Project Manager, DIBI

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Defense Industrial Base Institute is seeking a Senior Project Manager to join a team of researchers, students, staff, and faculty. The role advises, consults on, and guides project management for multiple large-scale, complex, cross-organizational projects in a research portfolio funded by federal agencies, including the Navy, Air Force, and NOAA. The Senior Project Manager works with project stakeholders to define charters and schedules and ensure compliance with budgets and amendments. The role oversees projects throughout their lifecycle, delivering comprehensive, innovative, and repeatable solutions while managing scope, schedule, and budget. It requires adapting quickly to changing conditions, identifying risks, recommending solutions, and shifting priorities across a broad range of activities. This is a one-year appointment tied to federal funding, and U.S. citizenship is required by the federal sponsor. The position leads project management activities, develops standardized project management services and resources, and provides leadership through employee selection, onboarding, development, delegation, and performance feedback. Travel of up to 30% is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
A minimum of 5–7 years of experience leading complex projects.
Experience working in a defense, market agency, or government environment.
Advanced knowledge of project management concepts, methodologies, practices, and procedures.
Project Management Professional (PMP) qualification.
Knowledge of Agile Scrum practices and program management.
Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
Expertise in Salesforce.gov, Smartsheet.gov, or similar project management tools.
Strong planning skills applied through relevant software.
Excellent written, verbal, client-facing, and internal communication skills.
Solid organizational skills, including attention to detail and multitasking.
U.S. citizenship, as required by the federal sponsor.
Ability to travel up to 30% of the time.

Responsibilities

Lead definition of project scope and objectives with relevant stakeholders and ensure technical feasibility.
Organize complex projects into structured phases and sprints to prioritize speed, improvements, and enhancements.
Create and maintain project documentation, including charters, communication plans, RACI matrices, risk registers, and process maps.
Develop detailed project plans and monitor and track progress.
Manage changes to project scope, schedule, and costs using appropriate verification techniques.
Assist Principal Investigators, Co-Principal Investigators, and project teams in analyzing progress, making decisions, prioritizing, and assessing and mitigating risks.
Perform risk management to minimize project risks.
Manage relationships with clients and stakeholders, including meeting with clients to gather detailed ordering briefs and clarify requirements.
Coordinate internal resources and third-party vendors to execute projects and ensure resource availability and allocation.
Delegate project tasks and measure and track project performance using appropriate tools and techniques to assess short- and long-term goals.
Report and escalate issues to management as needed.
Contribute to the design, development, and maintenance of a library of standardized project management templates.
Identify new applications of project management principles, promote adoption of practices and templates, and mature project management capabilities.
Assist with development of an internal project status dashboard.
Mentor others and serve as a resource for staff informally leading projects in their departments.
Select, onboard, and develop employees; set clear goals and expectations, delegate effectively, provide timely performance feedback, and conduct final performance reviews.