"IT Senior Project Leader, Wharton Computing and Instructional Technology"

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

IT Senior Project Leader, Wharton Computing and Instructional Technology

Job Profile Title

Information Technology Project Leader Senior

Job Description Summary

Wharton School Overview Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education's individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a diverse population of staff, representing a rich array of backgrounds, expertise, and cultures. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

Reporting to the Executive Director, WCIT Communications -- this position has overall accountability for the development, continuous improvement, and implementation of a Project Coordination Office (PCO) organization for Wharton Computing.

This includes workflow processes and practices, standards, and project status reporting and communication, and of resources and resource allocation to ensure projects are delivered on-time, on-budget with quality results in alignment with business expectations. You will inventory existing projects, identify the de facto project managers for each project, and provide resources and training to formalize the practice of project management for those (sometimes informal) project managers. Also help identify project sponsors, owners, key performance indicators, and communications plans for many (heretofore un-catalogued) complex and highly visible projects with myriad stakeholders across the school.

Develop and promote project management best practices that will be successful in a highly federated environment like Wharton. Work to make the PCO a center of excellence drawn upon by the entire IT organization to provide services and share expertise. Provide mentoring to staff both inside and outside of the PCO to build the overall project management bench-strength in the organization. Create a portfolio management and reporting process with Senior leadership and the CIO.

As part of ongoing future development of Project Management/Coordination practice, evaluate current PM technologies and products, and ensure appropriate tools are available for the organization. Develop and implements new Risk Management protocols, Project lifecycle planning, Financial/Budgeting management, and other project governance practices to deepen overall bench-strength for portfolio management across the organization. Collaborate and influence common project practice across the University.

In addition, provide direct Project Management for Identity and Access Management services for Wharton. Also, direct Project Management for cloud migration, governance, training, communications, and budgeting for Wharton's cloud-based infrastructure in Amazon Web Services.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Establish inventory, governance, and process for Project Coordination, including identifying project sponsors, owners, key performance indicators, and communications plans for many complex and highly visible projects with myriad stakeholders across the School. Perform all project management duties related to key projects that are critical to the business of the School.
• Work directly with project teams across the organization to facilitate and ensure effective planning, development, adherence to identified best practices, and execution of current projects in the organization's portfolio. Direct Project Management for cloud migration, governance, training, communications, and budgeting for Wharton's AWS-based infrastructure.
• Lead the creation and implementation of a Project Management Center of Excellence for Wharton Computing and the School. This includes identifying supported project management tools for a variety of projects, selecting a supported project management framework, and creating guidelines, toolkits, and best practices. Take the lead on evangelizing, championing, and cultivating effective project management practices in collaboration with School and University colleagues.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree and 5-7 years of progressive experience in IT project management, including large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives. Or, equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working in complex, decentralized, or highly federated organizational environments.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent is preferred.

Technical & Methodology Expertise

• Strong knowledge of project management methodologies and portfolio management best practices.
• Experience with cloud projects (preferably AWS) and associated governance, budgeting, and training activities is preferred.
• Understanding of identity and access management concepts, tools, and processes.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for engaging with senior leadership, project sponsors, and technical teams.
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to translate technical information into business terms.
• Ability to work effectively across departments and influence the adoption of best practices without direct authority.

Pay Range: $100,000.00 - $138,000.00 Annual Rate Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.