Project Manager, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Term)

The Project Manager (Term) position is part of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion department within the Division of Administration at Vanderbilt University and will provide project support to the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the development of strategic and operational initiatives to enhance the mission of the institution to foster increased equity, diversity, and inclusion campus- wide. Works with department leaders to plan and execute initiatives in a variety of areas. These efforts include conducting needs assessments, review and making recommendations in a variety of areas, implementing institutional solutions, as well as other types of initiatives.

Our office works to intentionally foster institutional equity, diversity and inclusion by creating educational opportunities, raising awareness and providing strategies and tools to bring to life the vision of inclusive excellence, both on our campus and in our city. The goal of our office is to help our community better understand one another so we can appreciate our differences, celebrate our common goals and work together toward inclusive excellence. Our office also collaborates with Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the university's research and educational missions, creating a welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Project Management and Leadership
  • Plan, implement, and manages special projects for the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to achieve defined goals and objectives initiatives,
  • Provides professional and/or technical leadership in the execution of day-to-day project activities (set priorities given resource constraints, facilitate meetings, monitor progress against established timeline, ensure documentation is complete and up to date)
  • Manage expectations and coordinate work of external resources and vendors and/or internal resources and departments that support the project, identify and engage appropriate stakeholders.
  • Provide recommendations in development of budget, resource allocation and other plans to support these projects.
  • Creates metrics and standards/dashboards for measurement of operational effectiveness and improvements.
  • Serve as backup to EDI Administrative Manager
• Communication and Change Management
  • Communicate within and across department to maximize information sharing around diversity and inclusion progress, needs, inter-dependencies and accomplishments.Manage the dissemination of news and information about the project to all stakeholders.
  • Anticipate and communicate the impact of change to the rest of the organization as needed.
  • Serve as lead point person for questions and issues.
  • Coordinate or provide training of staff as needed.
  • Recognize and reward improvements in and maintenance of new processes.
  • Translate and communicate learnings to leadership.
  • Develop communications including, but not limited to, presentations, briefs, official letters/statements, etc. to support various venues.
  • Manage special projects and events related to diversity and inclusion efforts.
• Process Improvement
  • Observe day-to-day departmental activities/operations to identify potential areas for improvement.
  • Develop methods for teams to understand current and ideal workflow.
  • Facilitate the identification of gaps in service level/processes and evaluate solutions within and across department.
  • Identify and initiate implementation of opportunities to improve efficiencies.
  • Explore 'best in class' critical success factors to compare approach and activities to the ideal standard.
  • Uses data to demonstrate improvement in processes, systems and outcomes.
  • Standardize services, processes, resources, and practices where appropriate to improvement efficiency maximizing departmental services.
  • Assure successful implementation of people, process and systems changes to support redefined service delivery model.
  • Synthesize and evaluation practice variance and workflow efficiency data.
• Participate in institutional task forces and other special committees related to the achievement of the department's goals and objectives.
  • As assigned, represent department in various task forces.
  • Document and communicate any key issues and/or follow-up.
  • Ensure all issues/follow-up are addresses and closed.

NOTE: A Term position is a staff position that exists for a period longer than six months but is not expected to last beyond one year. Although a position may exist for a specified or indefinite period, staff who accept term positions are not guaranteed employment for the entire period; they are employed for indefinite periods within the limit of the appointment. There are no guarantees of continued employment, either within the term or when the term ends.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required.
• Five years of relevant experience required.
• At least two years of experience in the area of multicultural affairs, diversity or social justice is necessary.
• Theoretical and practical project management knowledge.
• Strong graphic skills are necessary such as utilizing a PowerPoint platform to create infographics and assist in project design solutions.
• Strong organization, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience with Google Docs, Zoom and Skype.