The Manager of Relationship & Project Management is responsible for managing the design, implementation, and support of university-wide product, project, and relationship management experiences. They will serve as a champion and advocate for productive ITS-campus relationships and guide the division in fostering strong and collaborative partnerships between IT Solutions and TWU students, faculty, and staff. In this role, they will lead the team that guides and manages a portfolio of products, projects, and services that align to TWU's technology strategic priorities and future-state agile, digital university experience.

As a member of the IT Solutions (ITS) leadership team, the Manager of Relationship & Project Management will help lead the division in realizing its mission to empower an agile, digital university and elevate technology as a strategic institutional asset. They are expected to work with the CIO and other divisional leaders to drive cultural and technological transformation within the Office of Technology and promote a collaborative, human-centered, innovative, accountable, transparent, and inclusive culture within ITS.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Director, Customer Service & Engagement

Supervises: Product Experience Owners, and Technology Project Manager

ESSENTIAL DUTIES - May include, but not limited to the following:

Management (35%)

• Builds, supports, and expands a culture that is supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion where employees from all backgrounds can succeed and thrive.
• Trains, coaches, and mentors employees under their supervision.
• Plans and conducts performance appraisals of employees under their supervision.
• Conducts research on emerging products, services, protocols, and standards in support of the functions within Relationship & Project Management.
• Prepares area budget and evaluates costs and performance of existing and new initiatives.
• Manages collaborative, cross-functional teams comprised of IT staff and/or business unit constituents and vendors/service providers.

Operations (30%)

• Manages the vision and roadmap for various product portfolios in collaboration with departmental team members, campus partners, and constituent stakeholders. Leads the development and implementation of major project timelines, where appropriate.
• Designs and implements effective relationship and project management processes, including appropriate metrics and tools to report on the effectiveness of those relationships, projects, and project portfolio.
• Conducts regular reviews, priority-setting, and planning sessions with campus partners. Serves as an advocate for those priorities/plans and other partner technology needs within ITS.
• Recommends new or enhanced IT services or service bundles based on partner input and knowledge of partner needs, including aiding in the requirements gathering, service assessment, and development of services.
• In consultation with IT Solutions teams and university partners, develops and maintains ITS-general, service-specific, campus-wide, or partner-specific service level agreements (SLAs)where appropriate.
• Analyzes performance of activities within their area and documents resolutions, identifies and remediates problem areas, and devises and delivers solutions to enhance quality of area's systems and services.
• Designs and monitors request handling and escalation policies and procedures; manage the processing of incoming requests to ensure courteous, timely, and effective resolution of end user issues.
• Tracks and analyzes department and/or service trends and generate reports for internal and external audiences.

Relationship Building (25%)

• Builds and maintains collaborative and consultative relationships with campus partners and serves as their primary point of contact for IT coordination of services, communication, planning, and assessment.
• Gains an in-depth understanding of partners' goals, strategies, processes, and requirements.
• Reports regularly to campus partners and ITS leadership on partner-related IT projects, services, and support; the delivery of services according to service level agreements; and levels of client satisfaction.
• Creates, leads, or participates in communities of practice, working groups, planning or assessment sessions, governance groups, and other collaborative efforts with key stakeholders.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES

Participation & Support (10%)

• Maintains awareness of current practices and future trends and best practices in business relationship management, project management, product management, and business analysis processes and best practices.
• Represents IT Solutions and participates in the campus community by serving on working groups, project teams, and university committees.
• Performs other duties as requested.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES - The following are essential:

• Proven track record managing complex projects.
• Ability to think strategically about the application of technology to solve business problems and develop user/business-driven technology strategies and plans.
• Strong written and oral communication skills (including ability to present ideas in user-friendly, business-friendly and technical language) and interpersonal skills with a focus on rapport-building, listening and questioning skills.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities, including ability to anticipate, identify, and solve critical problems.
• Exceptional customer service orientation.
• Ability to build effective relationships and strong commitment to working collegially and collaboratively with constituents at all levels in a diverse and distributed environment.
• Ability to use a personal computer and other office equipment, including related university software and email.

Additional/Desirable Skills & Abilities

• Project management professional (PMP) and/or IT certifications, such as agile, ITIL or Six Sigma.
• Experience with Agile project management.
• Experience in managing software development life cycle from requirements to delivery.
• Experience leading business process analysis, mapping, and improvement.
• Demonstrated progressive experience in the management of a technical support team.
• Strong documentation skills.
• Ability to conduct research into a wide range of computing issues as required.
• Keen attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Experience in a higher education setting.
• Familiarity with Texas Administrative Code (TAC 202).

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described in the Essential Duties and below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

The employee may be required to travel.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

All employees are responsible for maintaining an environment that is free from discrimination, intimidation, harassment, including sexual harassment. Work is normally performed in a typical interior work environment.

SAFETY

TWU promotes a safe working environment. Employees are responsible for completing assigned tasks safely and efficiently, and supervisors are responsible for creating and maintaining a safe work environment. Employees must report any unsafe work conditions or practices, as well as any near-miss incidents, to their supervisor and Risk Management. Supervisors and employees should ensure that injury/accident reports are submitted to the Office of Human Resources and Risk Management within 24 hours of the incident.

Bachelor's degree required. Additional job-related experience may substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Seven years of relevant experience in product/project management, business analysis, client relations/relationship management, service management, and/or partnership development. Additional job-related education may substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Regular and reliable attendance at the University during regular scheduled days and work hours is an essential function of this position.

Work is performed under minimal supervision and performance is based on the effective operation of the administrative function. The performance evaluation is conducted through the performance evaluation system and in accordance with the University Policies & Procedures.