[Hiring] Senior IT Project Manager @Cornell University

Role Description

The Senior IT Project Manager (CEMI) is responsible for leading large-scale, complex, and strategically important technology projects that support the institution’s academic, research, and administrative missions. This role manages initiatives with broad campus impact, requiring coordination across decentralized units, diverse stakeholder groups, and cross-functional technical teams. Senior IT Project Managers provide leadership throughout the full project lifecycle—initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing projects—while ensuring that all work aligns with institutional priorities, standards, and policies.

This position requires advanced project management expertise, strong strategic thinking, and the ability to influence decision-making across a wide range of technical and non-technical audiences. Senior IT Project Managers serve as trusted advisors to leadership, mentor project staff, and contribute to organizational project management standards and continuous improvement practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Leadership & Delivery
  • Lead large, complex, and high-visibility IT projects from initiation through implementation and closeout.
  • Develop and manage detailed project plans, schedules, milestones, and resource allocations.
  • Drive execution and maintain accountability for project outcomes, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and within budget.
  • Resolve project issues and remove barriers through collaboration, negotiation, and strategic decision-making.
  • Assume program leadership responsibilities, guiding multi-project initiatives where a formal Program Manager role is not in place.
• Stakeholder & Governance Management
  • Engage and coordinate with faculty, staff, administrators, and external partners across diverse institutional units.
  • Facilitate governance processes, including steering committee updates, decision-making sessions, and executive briefings.
  • Build consensus among stakeholders with differing priorities and expectations.
  • Foster strong relationships and maintain alignment between technical teams and institutional leadership.
• Scope, Schedule & Budget Management
  • Lead definition and management of project scope, ensuring proper documentation and evaluation of change requests.
  • Develop and monitor project budgets, forecasts, and financial reports.
  • Proactively identify and manage dependencies, constraints, and cross-functional impacts.
  • Ensure project controls, methodologies, and documentation standards are upheld.
• Risk, Issue & Quality Management
  • Identify, assess, and mitigate risks and issues throughout the project lifecycle.
  • Implement robust risk-management strategies to minimize project disruption.
  • Oversee project quality assurance to ensure technical and functional deliverables meet institutional requirements.
  • Coordinate and support user acceptance testing, validation, and compliance reviews.
• Communication & Reporting
  • Develop communication strategies and project documentation, including status updates, dashboards, presentations, and executive summaries.
  • Lead project meetings, facilitate discussions, and ensure transparency in decision-making and progress reporting.
  • Communicate complex technical information clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Team Leadership & Collaboration
  • Coordinate and motivate cross-functional teams, including developers, analysts, engineers, and administrative staff.
  • Mentor, coach, and provide guidance to project managers, project coordinators, and junior team members.
  • Support continuous improvement of project management practices and contribute to PMO or organizational standards.
• Vendor & Contract Management
  • Lead vendor selection, contract negotiations, and procurement activities when applicable.
  • Manage vendor performance, ensuring deliverables and timelines meet contractual expectations.
• Project Closeout & Organizational Transition
  • Oversee project closure, post-implementation evaluations, and lessons-learned documentation.
  • Ensure solutions transition smoothly to ongoing operational support teams.
  • Recommend process enhancements based on project outcomes.
• Continuous Service Improvement (CSI)
  • Provide structured feedback and participate in efforts to refine project management methodologies across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, business, project management, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5-7 years of project management experience, preferably managing IT, software development, or web/technology projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent projects of varying size, complexity, and scope.
• Strong understanding of project management methodologies (e.g., Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, hybrid approaches).
• Experience with requirements gathering, scope definition, scheduling, resource coordination, and risk management.
• Proven success leading cross-functional technical teams in complex organizational environments.
• Advanced skills in communication, negotiation, facilitation, and consensus-building.
• Proven ability to build relationships, facilitate collaboration, manage stakeholder expectations, and lead teams without formal authority.
• Ability to work effectively in decentralized, matrixed, or higher-education environments.
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills, with sound judgment and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage priorities, and adapt to shifting organizational needs.
• Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, MS Project, Smartsheet, Trello, Confluence, SharePoint, Teams).
• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI-ACP, Certified Scrum Master (CSM), or equivalent certification.
• Experience managing large-scale IT projects in a higher-education or public-sector environment.
• Experience with enterprise systems, Identity Management, IT Service Management or AI initiatives, custom software development, integrations, cloud migrations, or infrastructure modernization.
• Knowledge of higher-education governance, accessibility standards, research computing needs, and security/compliance frameworks.
• Experience with vendor management, RFP processes, and contract oversight.

Application Information

• No Visa Sponsorship of any kind is available for this position.
• No Relocation assistance will be provided for this position.

Benefits

• This position is based in Ithaca, New York, however, the successful applicant may perform this role remotely anywhere within the United States.
• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
• Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands.
• Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays.
• Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program.