Academic Project Manager at Bethel University – St. Paul, Minnesota

About Bethel University

Bethel University is a leader in Christ-centered higher education with approximately 4,700 students from 50 states and 32 countries enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult education programs. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bethel offers bachelor's and advanced degrees in nearly 100 fields. Educationally excellent classroom-based and online programs equip graduates to make exceptional contributions in life-long service to God and the world.

Bethel University’s Christ-centered mission includes a commitment to equal educational opportunity and equal employment opportunity. Bethel does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, or age in its admissions, educational programs, or employment practices.

Position Overview

The Academic Project Manager leads the academic project management areas including execution of mission-critical initiatives that bridge academic planning and policy, technology infrastructure, and data infrastructure. This role is responsible for managing the academic program and project portfolio, advancing the academic elements of university systems implementation, and facilitating operational workflow improvements in academic affairs. Additionally, they will lead projects for academic planning and performance measurement, and for data modeling and analytics.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Project & Program Portfolio Management

Translate University and academic strategic priorities into an academic leadership portfolio of projects, including tracking and reporting of progress. Manage program launch, revision, and sunset processes with corresponding areas (e.g. Deans, Academic Operations, Academic Design, Advising, Admissions, Marketing, etc.) Facilitate project teams to ensure academic initiatives advance university priorities, budget alignment, and corresponding engagement expectations.

Academic Systems Implementation

Manage the portfolio of software solutions for academic systems including operational and student success areas. Partner with IT to develop complex data integration plans between Salesforce and existing and future applications. Support change management efforts, including the development of engagement, documentation, and training plans.

Process Improvement & Automation

Identify and support academic policy changes by faculty and administration and ensure systems and processes support the policy change. Engage with other operational areas for business process re-engineering within identified academic areas. Facilitate projects to identify and deploy AI tools for identified areas of improvement.

Data Modeling & Analytics Management

Partner with Institutional Data and Research to support identified projects—from defining the business case to the final deployment of dashboards. Collaborate with relevant university units to advance projects related to data governance, data integrations, and performance metrics.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's DegreeExperience: Minimum 3 years of related experienceExperience with systems implementation and data managementKnowledge of higher education support areas preferredKnowledge of the higher education market preferredKnowledge of accreditation and regulatory environment for higher education preferredKnowledge, Skills & Abilities:Ability to lead cross-functional teams through complex variable processes with multiple constituents Ability to lead collaborative problem-solving Ability to lead change in a complex environment Ability to exercise professional judgment that considers the interests of multiple constituents Ability to handle highly sensitive information with confidentiality Strong project management skills Strong verbal and written communication skills Strong systems thinking to navigate process changes Skills in Microsoft and/or Google environments Skills in using Smartsheets for project management preferred Skill in obtaining, analyzing, and evaluating publicly available data Benefits

Bethel is committed to offering meaningful benefits to our employees including health insurance, retirement plans, and a generous time off package. Learn more about these offerings here.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity in hiring .

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time

The pay range for this role is:72,000 - 77,000 USD per year(Bethel University)