"Project Senior Manager"

Posted: 02-Dec-25

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Categories: Staff/Administrative

Internal Number: 271448

A cover letter and resume are required for consideration for this position; include the cover letter as the first page of your resume. It should specifically address your interest in this position and outline particular skills and experience directly related to this position.

The mission of the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research is to catalyze, support, and safeguard U-M research. To that end, our team is constantly striving to foster new research, build partnerships, and provide support to our researchers in order to realize our vision of research that serves the world.

OVPR has numerous reporting units conducting research as well as units focused on services and support of our researchers. The service and support units all provide critical support to position our researchers for success. In addition, OVPR is led by a strong leadership team supporting the Vice President for Research and Innovation that consists of Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents for Research and Executive Directors. The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is seeking a project manager, reporting to the chief of staff and working closely with the leadership team, to help manage projects and services within our office that will serve the research community.

This project manager position will work to support the new OVPR Impact Institutes initiative, including development and implementation of processes to support the application, review, and programming for seed-stage and venture-stage institutes.

Under general direction, responsible for the management, performance, and completion of multiple concurrent projects, and provide a single point of contact for those projects.

Demonstrated ability to own a project from original concept through completion, demonstrating leadership and confidence with minimal oversight.

Ensures adherence to quality standards and reviews project deliverables.

Compare and evaluate various courses of action and have the authority to make independent decisions, free from immediate direction, within the scope of responsibility.

Develops detailed work plans, schedules, project estimates, resource plans, status reports progress tracking and projections. Manages project scope. Maintains effective and transparent documentation for the project owner or leadership team.

Measures project performance and tasks using appropriate tools and techniques in order to monitor the progress of the project, identify and quantify any variances, perform any required corrective actions and communicate to all stakeholders.

Provides analytical guidance to the project team.

Collaborates with business process owners and provides project scoping direction and set up. Ensure a common understanding by setting expectations in accordance with the project plan, in order to align the stakeholders and team members.

Effectively communicates stakeholder requirements to team members and communicates project progress to all stakeholders.

Prepares written communications and presentations for a variety of audiences including senior leadership. Effectively coordinates and facilitates communication planning and deliverables for projects and initiatives.

Communicates directly with various stakeholders across the organization, including center/institute directors, research associate deans, and other research leaders.

Takes projects from original concept through completion, on time and on budget (if applicable), using appropriate tools.

Identifies and assesses issues, risks, and interdependencies, and escalates appropriately. Proactively makes recommendations, before such information is requested.

Builds mutual trust and encourages respect and cooperation among team members.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

At least 7-10 years of considerable progressively responsible experience in project management.

Project management experience in research, academia, or a highly transferable setting.

Demonstrated success in coordinating cross-functional teams to achieve project goals and deliverables.

Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects at once.

Proven ability to create and manage detailed project plans, including schedules and project status reports.

Desired Qualifications

Experience working in fast paced, high output environments.

Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

Ability to communicate effectively in order to achieve results.

Knowledge of both theoretical and practical aspects of project management, techniques, and tools.

Experience with managing stakeholder relationships in a complex organization.

Strong analytical ability is required to gather and summarize data and information, solve administrative problems, and prioritize work assignments independently.

Ability to provide outstanding customer service.

Experience with research project management, preparation of research proposals, and serving as a direct liaison to faculty and research leadership.