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 Program Scheduler is a technical and analytical position responsible for creating and managing MS Project plans; generating reports from MS Project plans to support project management; and for contributing data for the overall analysis of resource allocation, mitigation of schedule conflicts, and solution modeling. The Program Scheduler plays a critical role in ensuring project deliverables are made on time, on schedule, and within budget through careful planning and analysis of schedule data. This position is responsible for the scheduling of multiple programs/projects of varying size and complexity and interacts with multiple project teams and clients in the development, optimization, baselining, maintenance, and analysis of project plans.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES:

• Collaborate with Portfolio Management program and project managers, internal functional teams, external vendors, and clients to develop, calibrate, baseline, monitor, and analyze multiple program schedules to drive completion of contracted client deliverables for educational assessment programs.
• Analyze, manage, and communicate schedule status, delivery risks, and collaborate with project teams to develop and implement risk mitigation and schedule recovery plans.
• Proactively collaborate with program and project managers to update MS Project schedules and monitor delivery of program requirements; participate in regular meetings to obtain and report on deliverable status; facilitate meetings with project teams and key stakeholders throughout various stages of schedule development and maintenance.
• Communicate reports from the program schedules that show the current state of resources, schedules, milestones and task owners.
• Assess issues that may impact program schedules, analyze risks and gaps within the schedules, and communicate them appropriately within the internal team.
• Create schedule reports for various audiences (internal functional teams, vendors, clients).
• Contribute to the change management process by evaluating impact through generating "what-if" scenario reports that model out conflicts and resolution options.
• Support portfolio, program, and project managers in use of MS Project.
• Apply schedule management best practices and provide feedback to the Master Scheduler to continuously improve the project schedule template and schedule management standard operating procedures.
• Work with Master Scheduler to ensure project plans follow best practices and are maintained using consistent language for standard reporting.
• Support proposal solutions by creating project schedules for budget and resource planning.
• Perform duties and fulfill responsibilities that may, from time to time, include related or unrelated tasks.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience; minimum of three (3) years' experience in a program or project management environment responsible for facilitating schedules across functional teams required
• Experience utilizing MS Project or similar scheduling software beyond basic functions preferred
• Educational assessment industry experience preferred
• Experience in risk management and contingency planning a plus
• Project portfolio management (PPM) system experience (e.g., MS Project Server, Clarity, Deltek, Rational, Primavera) a plus
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in MS Project a plus
• Industry certification, e.g., PMP, CAPM or university degree with major in project management a plus
• University continuation education certification and or internal project management certification from recognized employer a plus

Competencies:

• Strong data analysis and reporting skills
• Effective meeting management and communication skills
• Ability to understand complex functional area processes to model task dependencies and analyze schedule issues
• Ability to identify and forecast schedule disruptions that may have a negative impact
• Ability to assess the urgency of multiple, competing tasks and to prioritize and organize work assignments

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

• Limited travel (0-10%)
• Travel to Annual 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 an affirmative 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, and is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.