Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. The University of California, Santa Cruz is a public university known for its innovative and experimental approach to education. They are seeking a Project Manager to oversee multiple projects related to enrollment management, outreach, and marketing campaigns, while ensuring effective communication and collaboration across various departments.
Responsibilities
- Leads cross-departmental project teams and, as needed, directs department staff and supervisors in developing project plans
- Develops detailed project plans; schedules and monitors budgets, resources, and timelines; and drives delivery on schedule and within budget
- Partners with senior leadership to prioritize initiatives, sequence work across departments, and ensure alignment with UC Scout's strategic plan, annual goals, and resource capacity
- Identifies interdependencies across projects and mitigates conflicts in timelines or staffing
- Regularly explores and applies AI tools to streamline tasks, generate insights, and solve problems more efficiently
- Anticipates the organizational impact of new processes or systems and develops change management strategies to support adoption
- Establishes escalation points and proactively manages risks and mitigation strategies
- Defines project success metrics, monitors post-launch outcomes, and conducts post-project evaluations to capture lessons learned and inform future initiatives
- Coaches department leads and supervisors on project planning, workflow management, and accountability practices; promotes consistent project management standards across UC Scout
- Applies project management concepts with an in-depth understanding of practices and procedures to support complex projects across multiple teams
- Analyzes project-related issues of diverse scope, identifies root causes, and determines solutions using sound judgment
- Maintains an ongoing understanding of cross-team workflows and how projects impact one another
- Synthesizes information across departments to identify systemic issues and recommend strategic adjustments
- Serves as a central integrator across Customer Support, Outreach, and Business Intelligence, translating strategic goals into structured, actionable plans
- Initiates, designs, and leads project proposals, reports, and supporting documentation
- Contributes to a team culture of experimentation and continuous learning around emerging technologies
- Develops executive summaries, dashboards, and regular status updates to inform senior leadership and support decision-making
- Provides project updates at UC Scout all-team meetings and other forums, as appropriate
- Oversees and proofreads communications from other departments to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment
- Ensures transparency of timelines, risks, and resource needs across leadership and project stakeholders
- Establishes and maintains a formal project intake and evaluation process
- Defines project scope and approval pathways before launch, including clear ownership, decision rights, and accountability
- Establishes and maintains standardized project management frameworks and documentation practices
- Stays current with relevant AI developments and proactively identifies opportunities to apply them in their role
- Evaluates and recommends improvements to tools and workflows to enhance efficiency and transparency
- Maintains and optimizes UC Scout's project management toolset (e.g., Google Workspace, Asana, Airtable, Confluence)
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training
- Advanced knowledge of project management principles, practices, and methodologies, with demonstrated success implementing them in complex, cross-functional environments
- Demonstrated experience managing projects in a marketing, enrollment, outreach, or student services environment, with a clear understanding of how these functions drive organizational outcomes
- Demonstrated ability to anticipate risks, prioritize effectively, and apply sound judgment to solve complex problems
- Demonstrated ability to clearly communicate project updates and strategic recommendations to non-technical stakeholders–including marketing and customer support teams– translating complex project information into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences at all levels of the organization and across departments
- Demonstrates a growth mindset toward emerging technologies, with experience or willingness to explore and adopt AI-powered tools to enhance productivity, support data-driven decision-making, and drive continuous improvement in workflows and outcomes
- Strong attention to detail
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional team projects
- Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and build alignment through well-reasoned, persuasive communication
- Strong organizational, tracking, and planning skills, including the ability to analyze projects of broad and diverse scope and understand cost and resource impacts
- Strong presentation skills
- Experience working within a student-facing academic program, enrollment, or curriculum delivery organization
- Demonstrated experience embedded within or directly supporting a marketing, outreach, or customer support team managing projects that include campaign execution, enrollment pipelines, or customer-facing service delivery. Familiar with the goals, workflows, and success metrics of these functions
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives while balancing strategic priorities and operational demands
- Experience establishing or improving project governance systems, workflows, or intake processes
- Project Management Certification
Benefits
- Full benefits
- Ability to work long periods of time at a computer with or without accommodation.
- This is a fully remote position, and the selected candidate must be able to work successfully from a home/remote office and be able to fulfill the requirements of the UCSC telecommuting agreement.
- This position works remotely, requiring a telecommuting agreement and adherence to the UCSC Telecommuting/Remote Work Guidelines.
- Selected candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment criminal history background check.
- Selected candidate must pass the employment misconduct disclosure process.
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as directed.
- Ability to maintain appearance and conduct suitable for working in a professional setting.
- Selected candidate will be required to complete training within established time frames as directed including UC compliance training.
- The University of California has implemented a Vaccination Policy covering all employees. Employees, including new hires, are required to comply with any applicable policies relating to the University of California vaccine program.
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