Project Manager
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- Central Office
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- Oct 06, 2025 Post Date
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- 127 Total Views
The School District of Philadelphia is committed to becoming the fastest improving District in the country and transforming the educational opportunities it offers to our city’s more than 200,000 students. The District seeks leaders who have a passion for working with schools and communities who are committed to ensuring all students achieve. Serving a population as diverse as ours requires creativity, commitment and vision. Will you join us?
Job Summary
The role of the Project Manager is to help implement the District’s overall strategic management goal: creating an aligned organization capable of supporting a high-performing system of schools.
The work of the Project Manager will touch on all of the core components of strategic management: determining organizational goals; prioritizing and pursuing the highest impact strategies to achieve those goals; tracking progress against targets; strategic problem-solving; coordinating across functional areas; evaluating and adjusting strategies based on data; holding the organization and team members accountable for progress toward collective goals; and identifying and celebrating individual and team contributions to overall efforts.
A successful Project Manager will enjoy working at a fast pace; serving in leader, facilitator, and team member roles; developing innovative, evidence-based strategies and solutions to operational barriers; resolving policy barriers; and institutionalizing change.
Essential Functions
• Drives incorporation of performance management approaches – and performance culture – in key interactions across the organization.
• Establishes routines and facilitates regular project meetings among various District staff involved in implementing and evaluating Action Plan initiatives or project components, or System of Great Schools process for purposes of progress monitoring, program review, and program improvement.
• Provides problem-solving support to initiative managers and helps ensure that input and feedback from colleagues across the organization is solicited and incorporated. • Supports initiative managers to identify risks, strategize solutions, and develop plans to address identified issues in order to maintain initiative/project momentum.
Additional Functions for the Performance Management Specialty
• Collaborates with managers of priority Action Plan initiatives to define performance goals, set targets, and develop project timelines and milestones to help reach performance goals. • Helps drive annual “system of great schools” process, including data analysis, recommendation development, decision-making, and communication; support underlying quantitative and qualitative data analysis; developing annual recommendations for high-stakes school actions;
facilitating Cabinet and Board of Education review of recommendations and preparation of necessary resolutions and communications.
• Support the continued rollout of the portfolio of actions related to the Anchor Goals, including development and review of metrics, targets, and trajectories; standing up of Action Teams; preparation for and facilitation support for performance dialogues and progress assessments.
• Helps to finalize District performance metrics, and supporting the completion of District dashboards, including the system of leadership review.
• Coordinates with the Office of Strategic Analytics on preparation for monthly Executive Team meetings, including the system of follow-up on commitments and integration with other relevant District performance management functions.
• Work as part of a team to create and drive the overall work of the Strategy Delivery Unit.
Minimum Requirements
• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Three years of full-time, paid, professional experience in project management, consulting, policy, operations, or research, which has included working in education or a related field.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Five years of full-time, paid, three years of full-time, paid, professional experience in project management, consulting, policy, operations, or research, which has included working in education or a related field.
OR
• Any equivalent combination of training and experience determined to be acceptable by the Office of Talent.
NOTE: An applicant who does not meet the minimum education or work experience requirements listed above may be considered if, at the sole discretion of the Talent Office, they have a unique combination of education and work experiences that indicates potential for success in this role.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Demonstrated knowledge of:
• process improvement and the methods utilized to implement systemic change. o principles, practices, and procedures underlying strategic planning.
• principles, practices, and procedures underlying coordination of large-scale projects and initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to:
• lead and implement strategic initiatives under aggressive deadlines.
• function as an entrepreneurial self-starter, a team leader, a facilitator, and as a member of a team.
• work on multiple projects simultaneously, as evidenced by an ability to balance and prioritize multiple competing priorities.
• identify and break down complex problems and develop strategies to address the identified issues based on quantitative and/or qualitative evidence.
• build and maintain strong, effective working relationships across all levels of an organization.
• coordinate cross-functional teams.
• understand, interpret, and analyze a variety of data sources.
• design and develop systems, tools, and schedules for collecting, maintaining, and reporting on performance data.
• adapt to different situations, particularly when new information is provided.
• communicate in a clear and concise manner, both orally and in writing.
• use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.
Nondiscrimination
The School District of Philadelphia provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status, gender identity, or genetic information. Please refer to Board Policy 348 for further information regarding the District's commitment to Nondiscrimination in Employment Practice.
