What are the responsibilities and job description for the Executive Director-Office of Project Management position at Excelsior?
The Executive Director of the Office of Project Management (OPM) provides leadership and oversight of all OPM operations. This role provides strategic oversight of Project Managers and Business Analysts, ensuring that projects are effectively scoped, resourced, and executed from initiation through completion.
In close collaboration with IT and unit leaders, the Executive Director supports project identification, evaluation, and planning. They work alongside the Director of Project Management and the Director of Business Analysis to assign appropriate personnel to initiatives and monitor progress to ensure alignment with institutional goals. The Executive Director also partners with senior leadership to prioritize projects and deliver timely updates and status reports to stakeholders.
This position reports to the Associate Vice President for Strategic Transformations & Institutional Impact
This is a full-time hybrid role with a minimum of two - three required days at Excelsior's home office of 7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY, with the remainder of the days worked from home.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:
- Foster a culture of shared accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement to drive high-performance outcomes.
- Provide strategic leadership to a team of Project Managers, Business Analysts, IT Analysts and other key personnel, ensuring they are equipped to manage and work on projects across the university.
- Work with the Director of Project Management and Director of Business Analysis to ensure proper planning, execution, and successful delivery of projects by the Office of Project Management, maintaining alignment with institutional goals.
- Proactively identify risks and implement mitigation strategies to safeguard project success
- Address escalated issues and remove barriers to maintain project momentum and team productivity.
- Track and analyze project performance metrics, providing timely and actionable reports to leadership.
- Develop, implement, and uphold consistent project management and business analysis methodologies, standards, and best practices.
- Partner with senior leadership to align project initiatives with broader strategic objectives and institutional priorities.
- Guide project prioritization based on strategic value, resource availability, institutional imperatives, and risk assessment.
- Act as a central point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, promoting trust and engagement.
- Facilitate clear and consistent communication among leadership, project teams, and stakeholders to ensure transparency and alignment.
- Stay informed on emerging trends and best practices in project management, business analysis and institutional effectiveness, applying relevant insights to enhance operations.
- Perform additional duties and project manage special initiatives as assigned.
Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able and willing to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor’s degree is required, Master’s preferred
- A minimum of seven years’ experience in project management, business analysis, or related work experience.
- A minimum of 4 years’ experience of directly managing teams
- Certification in Project Management and/or Business Analysis preferred.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Proven ability to lead and supervise teams, with demonstrated success in developing talent and fostering collaboration.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Excellent organizational, analytical, and decision-making skills, including the demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines while providing quality service and solutions.
- Hands-on experience with work management platforms such as Workfront, Monday.com, or similar tools
- Ability to establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships across units and functions.
- Comfort and familiarity with working in a multicultural and inclusive environment with sensitivity to diverse perspectives.
The hiring salary range for this position is $110,00.00 - $120,000.00. The hiring salary range above represents the University's good faith estimate at the time of posting.