Senior Project Manager

Pitzer College•Claremont, CA

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Project Manager for Data, Systems, and Integrations provides institution-wide leadership for enterprise data, systems coordination, integrations, project governance, and process improvement. The role establishes standards, accountability structures, and governance practices to align technology and data initiatives with institutional priorities, regulatory obligations, and the student experience. It partners with senior leadership, functional owners, data stewards, technical teams, and vendors to prioritize projects, clarify decision rights, resolve barriers, manage risk, and support successful adoption of system and process changes across the College. The position leads project governance and change management, operationalizes institutional data standards, supports data-informed decision-making, and oversees coordination and vendor management for supported applications. It is a regular, exempt, full-time staff position working 12 months per year. The schedule is generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, though hours may vary with College or department needs. The position is hybrid and requires a reliable, secure computer and internet connection and a suitable, safe, ergonomically appropriate remote workstation. It is generally sedentary and involves prolonged sitting and computer use.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
At least three years of related experience.
Growth mindset and a people-focused approach that values people over processes and tools.
Collaborative, solutions-focused approach based on the requirements and desired outcomes of those served.
Aptitude for responding to change rather than rigidly following a set plan.
Ability to gather user requirements and help develop solutions.
Ability to instruct others individually and in group settings.
Ability to interact productively and collaboratively with a diverse campus population.
Ability to prioritize and plan work efficiently while meeting deadlines and expectations.
Ability to provide high-quality customer service.
Clear and persuasive English speaking and writing, with attention to detail and audience needs.

Nice To Haves

Work experience in higher education institutions.
Experience with the Microsoft suite, specifically Power BI.
PMP certification.

Responsibilities

Meet with senior leadership to guide and prioritize Data, Systems, and Integrations (DSI) projects and resourcing.
Coordinate project timelines, track progress, and keep stakeholders informed throughout the project lifecycle.
Establish standards for system ownership, data stewardship, process documentation, and operational readiness before implementation.
Define project scope, decision rights, milestones, dependencies, risk levels, and accountability structures with functional owners.
Ensure projects identify sponsors, business owners, data owners, technical owners, deadlines, and success measures.
Hold project participants accountable for deliverables, decisions, testing, documentation, and timely communication.
Identify stalled, under-resourced, duplicative, or misaligned projects and recommend corrective action to the VP and senior leadership.
Conduct post-implementation reviews, evaluate whether objectives were met, and recommend process enhancements.
Work with functional users and technical teams to identify challenges, develop solutions, and communicate system updates accessibly and actionably to the campus community.
Lead change-management planning for system, data, and process changes that affect campus operations.
Develop communication, training, adoption, and transition plans for successful implementation.
Ensure functional users understand new processes, deadlines, responsibilities, and consequences of non-adoption.
Partner with departments to identify workflow impacts and confirm operational readiness before launch.
Co-chair the Data Management & Integrity Committee with data stewards to develop institutional data policies and practices.
Operationalize standards for data definitions, data quality, system documentation, access protocols, reporting logic, and data stewardship.
Coordinate with data stewards to resolve conflicting definitions, inconsistent business practices, and data-quality issues.
Serve as the DSI co-chair in the Enrollment Management working group, supporting strategic enrollment management initiatives.
Oversee maintenance of the institutional data dictionary and data democratization in partnership with data stewards.
Foster a campus culture of data-informed decision-making through collaboration, communication, reporting, and system solutions.
Set annual DSI goals in partnership with the VP.
Partner with Information Technology and Finance to maximize software utilization, coordinate systems, and eliminate duplicate efforts.
Provide vendor review and management oversight for supported applications.