Project Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and execution of multiple simultaneous publishing projects from concept through product launch.
• Develop, own, and manage project documentation, resource planning, status reports, and dashboards using Smartsheet, Excel, Confluence, and other project management tools.
• Build and maintain integrated project schedules that accurately reflect cross-functional dependencies, resource availability, and critical path milestones.
• Continuously monitor project progress, adjust schedules proactively, and problem-solve to resolve issues and keep projects on track.
• Identify project risks, assess impacts, develop mitigation strategies, and communicate recommendations to leadership before schedule or budget impacts occur.
• Facilitate project kickoff meetings, draft launch memos, and establish clear expectations for scope, timelines, deliverables, and responsibilities.
• Drive projects to successful completion by maintaining schedule integrity, scope control, budget awareness, and quality expectations.
• Act as a liaison with subject matter expert (SME) committees, freelancers, vendors, and the cross-functional in-house team to facilitate project success.
• Maintain project components and product roadmap between revision cycles.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Serve as the central point of coordination across internal teams and external partners.
• Drive project progress among technical writing, editorial, production, design, art, permissions, testing, digital development, marketing, and product leadership.
• Ensure handovers are clean, well-organized, and communicated clearly across departments and to stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships with subject matter experts (SMEs), committees, freelancers, vendors, and publishing partners.
• Lead recurring project status meetings that drive accountability, remove roadblocks, and maintain project momentum.
• Facilitate timely decision-making by identifying issues, presenting options, and escalating decisions when appropriate.
• Support successful product launches by collaborating with Marketing, Workforce Development, Customer Service, and Sales.
• Prepare concise project health reports, executive summaries, and milestone updates for leadership.

Product Operations & Delivery

• Manage the complete publishing lifecycle for assigned products.
• Prepare and maintain digital content mapping documentation.
• Perform QA of platform builds as needed.
• Facilitate and manage file handoffs across internal teams, our publishing partner, and external vendors.
• Support product planning by coordinating market research activities and ensuring product plan aligns with the approved product decisions.

Workflow Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Champion efficient publishing operations across the Product Development department.
• Evaluate existing workflows and recommend process improvements that increase efficiency, transparency, and quality.
• Standardize project management practices, templates, documentation, and reporting.
• Identify opportunities for automation, improved resource planning, and schedule optimization.
• Support implementation of new tools and best practices that improve project visibility and cross-functional collaboration.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across publishing operations.
• Support leadership in change management for new workflows and processes.

Customer & Stakeholder Support

• Provide timely, professional support to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Respond to product-related questions and customer feedback in Salesforce.
• Ensure resolution of product issues, reprint corrections, and digital updates.
• Collaborate with the Testing team on assessment-related questions.
• Collaborate with the Translation Project Manager to facilitate translation requests.
• Create and/or circulate revision maps, marketing copy, release dates, and other project-related information to other departments.