Ascend Learning, Inc.
Project Manager (Project Management)
Ascend Learning is a national leader in data driven, online educational solutions for learners, educators and employers in high-growth, licensure-driven professions spanning healthcare, fitness and wellness, skilled trades, insurance and financial services. We are passionate about accelerating learning while impacting job readiness, employment success and employee retention with the belief that our work changes lives.
Our culture is intentionally results-driven and selfless with a relentless focus on our customers. We believe in trust, transparency, freedom and responsibility with a commitment to meritocracy, inclusion and diversity of thought. Continual investment in our over 1400 employees is also a core principal realized through ongoing professional development and providing opportunities to grow, develop and lead. Ascend Learning is headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and remote workers in cities across the U.S. and in the U.K
Jones & Bartlett Learning combines authoritative content with innovative technology to help educators teach more effectively and students learn more efficiently. Our comprehensive suite of print and digital education performance management solutions is designed to enrich the educational experience and deliver results for secondary, post-secondary and professional education markets.
The Project Manager (PM) is a people manager who will help drive the strategic direction of the Project Management team in conjunction with the Director of Project Management. The PM will manage a team of project specialists/senior project specialists and will be responsible for translating department strategy into actions, coaching the team, providing guidance on goals, workload balancing across the team, providing career development opportunities, and facilitating empowerment of their team. The PM will be expected to identify skills gaps across the team and identify learning opportunities for upskilling. The PM will lead large-scale print, digital, technology, and workflow initiatives and be assigned areas of responsibility (e.g., project management software implementation and deployment, companion website builds, optimization of our digital workflow, etc.). The PM ensures consistent operational efficiencies and high-quality deliverables. A standout idea generator and problem solver with excellent communication and organizational skills, the PM leads by example and coaches the team toward these behaviors. The PM will be well-versed in emerging publishing and digital technologies and trends across the competitive landscape.
Core Responsibilities:
• People management: Ongoing evaluation, coaching, and upskilling of direct reports and department team members
• Leadership and empowerment: Guide project specialist team to handle projects independently and begin to guide to the team to own workflow refinement efforts
• Operational efficiency: Ensure processes for print and digital workflows are working efficiently, empowering team to suggest modifications and improvements to workflows and modifying documentation as needed for refinement
• Cross-functional collaborator: Build strong interdepartmental relationships to understand discipline needs, customer needs, and long-term strategy and be able to easily communicate that to their team – putting strategy into tangible actions
• Vendor management: Actively participates in vendor contract negotiation, drafts service level agreements, sets expectations, evaluates performance, and ensures strong communication
• Workload balancing: Apply strategic planning skills to create a long-term workload balancing solution including leverage of vendors
• Solutions implementation: Seeks technology and workflow solutions to meet emerging business' needs
Characteristics of a successful candidate will include:
• Demonstrated experience with digital courseware and proven ability to improve, modernize, and troubleshoot digital workflows
• Strategic thinker with strong emphasis on execution and delivering results
• Accountable
• Innovative
• Proven track record of successfully training and onboarding team members or customers
• Analytical with urgency – focused on action and achievement of shared goals
• Experience building and developing high-performing teams
• Ability to evaluate team members' performance critically and effectively
• Decisive
• Proactive
• Delegates effectively
Technical skills:
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud
• Familiarity with XML/HTML, LTI, Common Cartridges, Moodle, Jira, Alfresco, ePub, FileMaker
Other:
• Project management software experience
• Vendor management experience preferred
• Experience with metadata and content reuse strategies
• Exposure to current accessibility standards and best practices. Experience with alt text, close caption, and transcription preferred but not required
Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
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