Project Manager II

Education is ever-evolving. And so are we.

We seek passionate people from diverse backgrounds who are committed to helping improve the work of schools as a trusted partner in advancing learning. By joining the Cognia team, you will be immersed in a community of energetic and resourceful people dedicated to a common vision to impact and inspire education providers to advance and enable pathways of success for all learners. At Cognia we have developed a holistic approach to education that empowers schools to create real outcomes and optimize learning for students of all backgrounds, servicing more than 36,000 institutions, 5 million teachers, and 25 million students in 85 countries. When you join Cognia, you join a team of experts passionate about our mission and embracing our core values in everything we do.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

The Project Manager II is responsible for the direction, coordination, execution, implementation, control and closing of assigned projects in alignment with company strategy, goals, methods, and commitments. Projects may vary in size of scope and budget and may have moderate complexity, uncertainty and change. Project managers are typically assigned to specific areas within the organization where domain knowledge is necessary to manage scope and budget. This position has a responsibility for managing projects to budget and/or identifying opportunities for business process improvement.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES:

• Ensure that appropriate project management methods are utilized so that assigned projects are completed within the approved scope, time, and cost.
• Participate in initiatives around standardization and continuous improvement of project management practices.
• Utilize formalized and standardized project management processes, tools and techniques (e.g., scheduling, communications, change management, status reporting, etc.) to achieve the products, services, or results that the project was undertaken to produce within the approved scope, time, and cost.
• Lead project team to achieve functional area project goals.
• Identify and define strategic and business purpose of assigned projects; monitor and manage project activities to achieve project goals and benefits to ensure strategic alignment.
• Contribute to solution design and development, including defining the work, and budget to support the solution.
• Collaborate with program management and subject matter experts to determine solutions and level of effort in response to change requests.
• Manage increasingly complex client and stakeholder expectations regarding project scope, schedule, deliverables, risks, issues and project activities as well as manage progressive elaboration to remove uncertainty during the course of the project; manage day-to-day stakeholder interaction and communicate effectively to achieve immediate and long-range goals.
• Maintain effective team and stakeholder working relationships, communications, and project management processes.
• Monitor and control the quality of work performed by vendors and subcontractors, and ensure they are familiar with organizational procedures and expectations as well as deliverable requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Manage all phases of the project from Initiation through Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing, including development and maintenance of charter/business case, project scope, schedules, costs, risks, resource plans, management of changes and related communication.
• Lead and facilitate effective project meetings (internal and external) with clear/concise purpose, objectives, agenda, and document and communicate results including risks, actions, issues, decisions.
• May serve as project manager or team leader on multiple projects concurrently.
• Demonstrate open and effective communication within the department, with other entities within the organization, and with external stakeholders.
• Perform duties and fulfill responsibilities that may, from time to time, include related or unrelated tasks.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree preferred and four (4) years of project management experience in a related field required; or an acceptable equivalent combination of related education and project management training and experience (this includes experience in both project management and the assigned functional domain area)
• Relevant industry experience preferred
• Knowledge and application of PMBOK practices required
• Experience with SharePoint, JIRA, Smartsheet, and/or other project management tools in addition to the Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio) with emphasis on JIRA, MS Project, and Excel for use in schedule building and JIRA workflow creation and maintenance preferred
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred

Competencies:

• Proven record of success in managing projects
• Client/stakeholder management skills; ability to define appropriate expectations and execute client/stakeholder communications in collaboration with project sponsors and leadership
• Working knowledge of project governance and execution
• Working knowledge of process improvement methodologies (such as Six Sigma)
• Strong verbal and written communication and negotiation skills
• Open to change and new information; adaptable behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; ability to deal with ambiguity
• Effective decision-making abilities; makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish project goals; causes change
• Manage work against budget and demonstrated ability to make fiscally responsible decisions
• Demonstrated ability to influence and motivate team members; adaptable leadership styles to a variety of situations

Anticipated Travel (may include local, national, and/or international travel):

• Limited travel (0-10%)
• Travel to All Staff Company Meeting required

At Cognia, we recognize the critical role played by our teams in carrying out the organization's important educational mission. As a reflection of that recognition our exceptional benefits offerings include generous paid time off and holiday breaks, comprehensive insurance plans, and a 12.5% retirement savings contribution which is immediately vested, all effective on your date of hire. This represents a strong commitment by the organization to attract and retain the highest quality workforce - to ensure our continued ability to effectively serve our mission for years to come.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, protected veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristics protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations. Cognia is an Equal Opportunity Employer.