IT Project Management Specialist

This position is posted at the Advanced Career Level but may be filled at the Career Level depending on the candidate's qualifications. Duties and responsibilities may differ if filled at the lower rank.

Responsibilities

• Manages the full lifecycle of assigned UITS projects, including scope definition, scheduling, resource coordination, and delivery.
• Develops and maintains project documentation such as project charters, schedules, status reports, and risk logs.
• Coordinates project team activities, assigning tasks, tracking progress, and removing obstacles to keep projects on track.
• Communicates project status, milestones, risks, and issues regularly to stakeholders and IT leadership.
• Facilitates project meetings, including kickoffs, working sessions, and retrospectives, and documents outcomes and action items.
• Monitors project budgets, tracks actual versus planned expenditures, and flags variances for management review.
• Manages relationships with vendors and third-party service providers to ensure contractual obligations are met.
• Identifies and escalates project risks and issues in a timely manner, proposing mitigation strategies.
• Collaborates with stakeholders to gather and document business and technical requirements.
• Ensures project closeout activities are completed, including final documentation, lessons learned, and transition to operations.
• Leads end-to-end delivery of complex, large-scale UITS projects from initiation through closeout, ensuring adherence to scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards.
• Develops comprehensive project plans, including work breakdown structures, resource plans, risk registers, and communication plans.
• Manages project budgets, tracks expenditures, forecasts costs, and reports variances to stakeholders and leadership.
• Facilitates stakeholder engagement across diverse university units, building consensus and managing competing priorities.
• Identifies, assesses, and proactively mitigates project risks and issues, escalating to leadership as appropriate.
• Mentors and provides guidance to Project Managers and Project Coordinators, promoting professional development and adherence to PMO standards.
• Coordinates cross-functional teams including IT staff, external vendors, and university partners to achieve project objectives.
• Ensures thorough project documentation, including requirements, status reports, meeting minutes, decisions, and lessons learned.
• Drives adoption of project management best practices and contributes to the continuous improvement of PMO processes and templates.
• Presents project status, risks, and recommendations to UITS leadership and stakeholders.
• Leads planning and implementation of complex IT projects involving university staff from different teams and external partners on interrelated project tasks.
• Designs, creates, executes, and manages advanced project work plans and workflow documents; establishes project timelines and revises as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements.
• Manages budget and monitors progress of projects at highest levels to ensure that quality and cost constraints are met.
• Reports and documents project milestones to share with leaders, stakeholders, and/or project partners.
• Makes recommendations to leadership to improve project management approaches and processes.
• Researches and stays up to date with IT project management best practices, approaches, and trends.
• Creates and fosters relationships with key project stakeholders and service owners to ensure functional user expectations and requirements are articulated and integrated.
• Provides guidance and support to less experienced peers.

Requirements

Advanced Career Level

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• 5 years of technical project management experience.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
• 5 years of project management experience, with at least 3 years managing complex, enterprise-level IT projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing projects with cross-functional teams and multiple stakeholder groups.
• Experience managing IT project budgets of significant scope.
• Experience in a higher education or similarly complex organizational environment.
• Prior experience mentoring or leading junior project management staff.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification upon date of hire.
• Agile, Scrum, or other relevant certifications upon date of hire.

Career Level

• Bachelor's degree preferably in a related field.
• 2 years of technical project/program support or related experience.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
• 3 years of project management experience, with demonstrated ability to independently manage IT projects from initiation through closeout.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and working with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience tracking and reporting on project budgets.
• Experience working in higher education or a similarly complex organizational setting.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, obtained within 18 months from date of hire.
• Agile or Scrum certification.

Skills

Required:

• Proficient written and verbal communication skills.
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism.
• Demonstrated time management and priority setting skills.
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality.
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty.
• Highly thorough and dependable.
• Demonstrates a high level of accuracy, even under pressure.
• Possesses a high degree of initiative.
• Ability to influence internal and/or external constituents.

Preferred (Advanced Career Level):

• Advanced knowledge of project management methodologies including Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and hybrid frameworks.
• Strong ability to develop and manage detailed project plans, schedules, and budgets.
• Excellent leadership, facilitation, and negotiation skills with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Proficiency in project management tools such as MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or similar platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to manage risk proactively and make sound decisions in complex, evolving situations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare and deliver executive-level presentations.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and competing priorities effectively.
• Knowledge of IT systems, infrastructure, software development lifecycles, and relevant technology domains.
• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural competence to work effectively with diverse university communities.
• Ability to mentor staff and contribute to team development and PMO process improvement.

Preferred (Career Level):

• Working knowledge of project management methodologies including Waterfall, Agile, and hybrid approaches.
• Ability to develop and manage project plans, schedules, risk logs, and status reports.
• Proficiency in project management software such as MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or similar tools.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to facilitate meetings and build productive working relationships with team members and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated problem-solving ability and sound judgment in identifying and addressing project issues.
• Basic understanding of IT systems, software development, and technology infrastructure concepts.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to customer service and delivering high-quality outcomes for university stakeholders.

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance.
• Health savings account with generous IU contributions.
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts.
• Basic group life insurance paid by IU.
• Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance.
• Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting.
• Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options.
• Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses.
• 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year.
• Generous paid time off plans.
• Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events.
• Employee assistance program (EAP).