The Project Manager will lead the development and execution of a project management strategy that supports Cradles to Crayons' organizational goals and long-term planning. Reporting to the Chief of Staff and working closely with the Senior Leadership Team, this role manages a portfolio of high-impact projects, drives cross-functional collaboration, and ensures alignment with the organization's mission and strategic priorities.
The ideal candidate is a skilled project leader with a systems-thinking mindset, strong communication skills, and a passion for operational excellence and social impact.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Reporting to the Chief of Staff and in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, create and execute a strategic project management strategy and framework to strengthen and improve organizational systems, processes, and structures.
- Participate in and align projects with organizational strategic planning and multi-year planning in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team.
- Support and inform market goal and resource planning in alignment with the project roadmap.
- Manage the organizational portfolio of strategic projects and high-priority initiatives.
- For each project: Initiation: lead processes to evaluate purpose, goals, impact (return on investment), and effort (resources needed/available) to determine viability, timing, and identify the project team with role clarity (i.e., RACI or MOCHA Framework). Secure appropriate approvals and initial buy-in.
- Planning: work with the project team to gather requirements, budget, resource needs, determine scope, objectives, and deliverables.
- Execution: work with the project team to advance deliverables, assess progress, identify issues, mitigate risks, and review the planned budget.
- Collaboration: lead and motivate cross-project team meetings, fostering collaboration and communication, to review status updates and plan, providing timely status updates to stakeholders and the Senior Leadership Team across the organization.
- Close: create and lead an implementation hand-off, celebrate successes, document lessons learned, and archive project resources.
- Assess and partner with external consulting firms based on expertise, methodologies, and alignment with organizational needs and objectives.
- Select and design project management software tools for the organization.
- Design and deliver learning sessions and resources to increase awareness, buy-in, and collaboration.
- Consult with and support leaders on team and departmental projects.
- Continuously adapt processes and practices to meet organizational needs, modeling and leading a positive 'One Cradles' culture underpinned by Cradles' mission and values.
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
- Bachelor's Degree or Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification (preferred but not required).
- 5+ years of relevant experience managing and leading complex projects.
- Knowledge of project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall) and systems (e.g., Excel, Smartsheet, Airtable).
- Willingness to travel approximately 1-4 times per year to local markets (Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia) as needed.
- Ability to independently identify and resolve issues, making decisions confidently.
- Proven ability to produce high-quality results autonomously with minimal guidance.
- Strong relationship-building and collaboration skills, with a focus on high-quality customer service.
- Passion for leveraging data and analytics to identify trends, solve problems, and improve practices and processes.
- Highly organized with excellent planning, prioritization, and multitasking skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
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