Sr. Project Manager

American College of Education is hiring a Senior Project Manager to lead end-to-end delivery of cross-functional initiatives and support teams as a Scrum Master where needed. The role aligns Agile delivery, people, processes, and technology with organizational priorities and measurable business outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Leads the strategic application and evolution of Agile (Scrum and scaled frameworks) across multiple teams to align delivery with business objectives and measurable outcomes
• Leads and coordinates multiple Agile teams and large, complex cross-functional initiatives, ensuring alignment across product, engineering, and business stakeholders
• Defines and enforces project and initiative-level delivery governance, quality standards, and delivery best practices to improve predictability, scalability, and delivery performance
• Drives proactive risk, dependency, and scope management across large projects and strategic initiatives, escalating and influencing executive stakeholders to resolve competing priorities and ensure delivery success
• Establishes and drives data-driven delivery metrics (velocity, predictability, throughput, outcome based KPIs) to continuously improve team and project delivery performance
• Leads cross-functional teams and influences stakeholders across all levels of the organization, while maintaining accurate project documentation
• Leads executive-level communication, translating complex delivery insights into clear, actionable updates for senior leadership and stakeholders
• Manages project financials, including forecasting, budget tracking, cost management, and ensuring alignment to business outcomes
• Ensures successful delivery and value realization by aligning outcomes to defined business objectives and driving post-implementation reviews and continuous improvement
• Champions and supports Agile maturity initiatives, continuously improving team effectiveness, delivery practices, and adoption of Agile principles
• Mentors Scrum Masters, less-experienced Project Managers, and team members, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and leadership development
• Owns delivery decision-making across assigned projects and initiatives, balancing scope, timeline, cost, and quality to achieve optimal business outcomes
• Aligns project objectives and delivery plans with organizational priorities while managing competing delivery demands
• Builds strong relationships with executive stakeholders, influencing priorities, resolving conflicts, and driving alignment across initiatives and delivery objectives
• Proactively seeks and confronts risk and issues openly and quickly, while effectively communicating relevant project/practice information to IT management as needed
• Determines new, creative ways to employ teams on projects, distribute responsibilities, share lessons learned, and implement industry best practices
• Identifies opportunities for internal improvement and leads the development and execution of improvement plans
• Accountable for end-to-end delivery and realization of measurable business outcomes, including improvements in operational efficiency, student experience, and system performance
• Leads change management activities associated with assigned projects and initiatives, ensuring successful adoption of new processes, tools, and capabilities
• Partners closely with Product Management and Product Owners to ensure alignment between business priorities, roadmap execution, and delivery capacity
• Performs other duties as assigned

Requirements:

• You are a strategic delivery leader who can influence outcomes across the organization and align complex

initiatives to enterprise priorities

• You bring a strong balance of execution, excellence, and strategic thinking,

ensuring delivery drives measurable business impact

• You are enthusiastic about helping students achieve

their educational goals

• You are comfortable operating in both structured and agile environments, applying the right approach to achieving results
• You thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and are effective at leading cross-functional teams toward shared goals
• You communicate clearly and confidently with stakeholders at all levels, including executive leadership, and bring a strong attention to detail in managing complex delivery efforts
• You are adaptable, pragmatic, and capable of driving accountability while fostering team effectiveness
• You possess a strong attention to detail
• Operates with a high degree of autonomy and accountability across complex initiatives
• Proven ability to influence prioritization and trade-off decisions at the leadership level
• Strong ability to manage and resolve conflict across cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience driving alignment across competing business priorities
• Ability to translate strategic goals into executable delivery plans
• Demonstrated success improving delivery performance through metrics and process optimization
• Experience driving organizational change and Agile transformation
• Proven ability to align delivery to business strategy and measurable outcomes
• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate at senior leadership levels
• Ability to operate in ambiguous environments and define structure where none exists
• Ability to lead delivery in high-pressure environments with competing priorities
• Drives collaboration and alignment across cross-functional teams and leadership stakeholders
• Demonstrates self-reliance by meeting/exceeding workflow needs
• Demonstrates positive attitude and motivation, concern for students, teamwork, and excellent time management skills
• Must have exceptional communication, organization, and time management skills
• Must be "self-motivated" as well as creative and efficient in proposing solutions to complex, time critical problems
• Must be collaborative in driving decisions and a team-player
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail
• Bachelor's degree or combination of relevant education and experience
• PMP or CSM Certifications or relevant experience
• 5+ years serving in a Scrum Master or Agile leadership capacity across multiple teams
• 6-8 years of experience in Project Management or related fields
• Demonstrated success leading large initiatives through influence in matrixed organizations without direct authority
• Experience leading large, complex, enterprise-scale projects and strategic initiatives involving multiple cross-functional teams
• Proven ability to lead multiple teams and programs within a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Experience presenting to and influencing executive leadership
• Experience with multiple project management techniques, including agile process with SCRUM implementation frameworks
• Thorough understanding of IT service offerings, technical preferences, and technical direction
• Deep expertise in Agile tooling (e.g., Azure DevOps) to enable scalable delivery practices, reporting, and workflow optimization
• Experience managing delivery across highly integrated enterprise ecosystems, including CRM, SIS, and marketing automation platforms
• Ability to Coach and “lead by example” the breakdown of business needs into EPIC, Features and User Stories
• Proven ability to drive decision-making and accountability across multiple stakeholders in ambiguous and evolving environments
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with audience in perspective
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of business principles, processes, and technology
• Strong knowledge of Teams, Word, Excel, OneNote, Visio, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Excellent collaborator able to work with virtual and global cross functional teams
• Experience with systems and business processes to support new product introductions
• Knowledge of multiple existing Scrum Agile frameworks and project management methodology
• Strong analytical, budgetary, and critical thinking skills
• Proven ability to lead multiple teams and complex cross-functional initiatives within a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Experience establishing delivery governance, managing project risks and dependencies, and driving

• successful outcomes for large, complex initiatives

• Experience with a PPM solution
• Have expert knowledge and ability to identify opportunities for change and the ability to convey the

• need for change to IT management

• Experience in high growth small-midsize companies, preferably in Higher Education, strongly preferred