ArtCenter College of Design is searching for an experienced Senior Project Manager, Technology Transformation to join our team.

The salary range for this position: $150,000.00 - 175,000.00

Finalsalary is based on education, experience, skills relevant to therole, and internal equity.

About ArtCenter
Foundedin 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a globalleader in art and design education and has had an international reputation forits rigorous, transdisciplinary curriculum, faculty of professionals, strongties to industry, and commitment to socially responsible design. ArtCenter is aprivate nonprofit fully accredited by the WASC Senior College and UniversityCommission (WSCUC).

Every position atArtCenter plays an important part in carrying out the cultural values, goals,strategic vision, and mission of the College. This includes upholding andcultivating an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming environment where everyonefeels a sense of belonging.

Reportingto the CFAO, the Senior Project Manager (SPM) will plan and deliver technologysolutions using established project management best practices, methodologies,and tools. This position is responsible for leading multiple College-wideinitiatives to modernize IT services, improve operational resilience, anddeliver strategic technological transformation outcomes.
The SPMwill partner across all operational departments and academic areas to unifyproject management practices college-wide, build organizational projectmanagement capability, and foster a culture of accountability, transparency,and results.

This is a full-time position. Normal business hours are Monday throughFriday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The position iseligible for flexible scheduling and can be performed hybrid with theexpectation of at least 3 days in the office. The demands of this work mayinclude weekends or evenings. The college reserves the right to modifyschedules as needed to meet the business needs with appropriate notice.

Essential Functions

Project Management - 35%

• Lead the full project lifecycle, including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout for assigned technology and transformation projects
• Conduct as-is assessments and feedback loops to understand the current state
• Participate in the development, prioritization and planning of assigned projects and related initiatives
• Review proposals, develop project charters, feasibility analyses, communication plans, schedules, staffing requirements or recommendations, and identify risks
• Coordinate internal and external resources to deliver projects on time, within scope, and within budget
• Establish practices and templates for the assigned project with an aim toward establishing a culture of project management throughout the organization
• Create and monitor budgets, manage and track dependencies and issues, and implement mitigation strategies
• Facilitate regular project meetings, utilize dashboard or a project management tracking chart to track project status and action items
• Maintain executive-level visibility on progress; convene other stakeholders in status update meetings as needed to advance projects
• Ensure compliance with project management governance, quality standards, and College policies
• Conduct post-implementation reviews and lessons learned to drive continuous improvement
• Develop standard operating procedures at the close of each project

Technology Transformation Execution - 30%

The SPM will execute the strategic priorities outlined in the Technology Assessment Report (May 2025) across three sequential phases:

• Phase 1 - Foundation and Cost Containment (Months 0-6)
  • Redesign IT procurement, rationalize vendors/applications, modernize IT financial model, assess cloud readiness, establish IT governance, strengthen cybersecurity, and launch change management framework
• Phase 2 - Stabilization and Strategic Planning (Months 6-12)
  • Implement business continuity and disaster recovery planning, assess hybrid IT support models, formalize data governance, and continue vendor/application optimization
• Phase 3 - Strategic Transformation and Scaling (Months 12-18)
  • Build strategic IT capacity, embed academic technology leadership, pilot cloud migrations, and institutionalize KPIs and real-time dashboards

Launch Extended Studies Pilot - 20%

The SPM will execute the strategic priorities associated with the launch of a pilot project for a new division of Extended Studies, including the design and creation of a project charter, plan, schedule, budget, and status reports. Key elements of this project include the following:

• Identify, document, and track milestones and dependencies across academics, enrollment and student services, technology acquisition and implementation, marketing and communications, finance, advancement, and any other stakeholders
• Monitor and manage the acquisition and implementation of technology required to support the administration of the pilot
• Manage the creation, review, acceptance, and launch a scalable catalog of courses and course content for Extended Studies
• Coordinate communication across internal and external partners/vendors

Stakeholder Engagement and Change Management - 10%

• Partner across all operational and academic departments to unify project management practices College-wide
• Engage with stakeholders, sponsors, and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with project objectives and institutional goals
• Develop and implement comprehensive change management strategies to support adoption of new processes, systems, and structures
• Facilitate workshops and learning sessions as well as facilitate and deliver communications to promote awareness and adoption of changes
• Support development of organizational project management capabilities by applying change management strategies, including targeted workshops, hands-on mentoring, and role modeling best practices

Non-Essential Duties - 5%

• Serve on educational, departmental, or College-wide committees, work groups, task forces and/or councils to advance project management work
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in business, information technology, project management, or related field from an accredited college or university
• At least 5 years of experience managing complex technology or organizational transformation projects
• Proficiency in project management methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, Kanban, Scrum, Lean) and related tools
• Strong budgeting, scheduling, and risk management skills
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels; excellent presentation skills to explain technological terms, practices, modules and standard operating procedures
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced, change-oriented environments
• Experience working with technology transformation projects or large-scale creation of content
• Ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion and recognize the confidential nature of ArtCenter business
• Ability to enforce and implement policies and procedures
• Demonstrated experience in cultivating an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming environment into workplace practices within ArtCenter's diverse communities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education or non-profits
• Current certification(s) in project management such as PMP, CAPM, Agile, or similar certification(s)

Physical Demands and Working Environment

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office setting with frequent interruptions and distractions; extended periods of time viewing computer monitor; interactions with other individuals. Due to the nature of the work environment, there is regular exposure to fumes, dust and noise.

Physical: The position is performed in an office setting. Employee is stationary most of the time but may move around the office environment for brief periods of time. Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight (up to 10 pounds); to operate modern office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information. Regular and consistent attendance are required for most positions. Ability to travel between campuses.

Vision: Must be able to have the visual capacity to perform activities such as preparing and reading reports, viewing a computer terminal and other normal office work with or without correction.

Hearing: Must be able to communicate effectively in the course of normal office communication or exchange ideas with or without correction.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the employee assigned to this job; they do not purport to describe all functions. Employees may be assigned other duties, and the essential functions may be changed from time to time as necessary.

Diversity Statement
ArtCenter is fully committed to fostering a culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging not only in vision but in practice. Our path forward is predicated on our belief that multiple points of view, life experiences, ethnicities, cultures and belief systems are essential to academic and creative excellence. We strive to learn more about difference while respecting the rich diversity in our world, attending to important questions about racial injustice and decolonizing our curriculum. Our campus environment must be vigilant in supporting the full participation of students, faculty, and staff of every race, color, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, socioeconomic status and political viewpoint.

Equal Opportunity EmployerArtCenter is committed to a policy of equalemployment opportunity and does not discriminate against its employees orapplicants on the basis of race (including hair texture and protectivehairstyle), color, religion (includes religious dress and grooming practices),sex/gender (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and/or relatedmedical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, maritalstatus, medical condition (genetic characteristics, cancer, or a record orhistory of cancer), military or veteran status, national origin, ancestry,disability (mental and physical, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and geneticcharacteristics), genetic information, request for family care or medicalleave, age (over 40), criminal background (Fair Chance Act), reproductivehealth decision-making, off-duty and off-premisescannabis use, or any other actual or perceived characteristic protected byapplicable state or federal law. Equal employment opportunity is extended toall persons in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, includingwithout limitation, recruitment, hiring, upgrading, learning and professionaldevelopment, promotion, compensation, benefits, leave of absence, transfer,discipline, layoff, recall and termination. This commitment applies to allpersons involved in the operations of ArtCenter and prohibits unlawfuldiscrimination by any employee of ArtCenter. Applicants who wish to request an accommodation for a disability may contact the Office of Employee Experience and Engagement at (626) 396-2470.

Applicant Rights (Prior Cannabis Use)
ArtCenterwill not request information from an applicant relating to the applicant'sprior use of cannabis. ArtCenter will not use information obtained from acriminal history about an applicant or employee's prior cannabis use, unlessArtCenter is permitted to consider that information under applicable law.

Employment At-Will
All employment with ArtCenter is for anunspecified term and is "at-will." Employees are free to resign at any time,with or without reason, and with or without prior notice. Similarly, ArtCenterhas the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time, with orwithout cause, and with or without prior notice. This "at-will" employment,which includes the College's right to transfer, discipline, demote, or changethe conditions of employment with or without cause and with or without priornotice, cannot be modified, amended orwaived by any oral or implied agreement, and may be modified or altered only byan express individualized written employment agreement signed by both theemployee and the College president

ArtCenter Employees have a Mandatory Duty to Report
All employees who know or have reason to know of allegations or acts that violate ArtCenter's Title IX Policy prohibiting discrimination, harassment, retaliation, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking shall promptly inform the Director, Title IX Compliance and Programs or designee, or the Associate Dean of Students or designee. Faculty, who have a mandatory duty to report, are required to disclose all information including the names of the parties, even where the person has requested their name remain confidential.

Pursuant to the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), all employees who know of or have reason to suspect child abuse or neglect involving alleged victims under age 18 shall promptly inform local law enforcement or the county welfare department.