University of Colorado

University Staff

Description

Join Our Team and Make a Difference in Higher Education!

At the System Administration office at the University of Colorado, we are dedicated to building a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. Our office is committed to fostering a culture where employees find community, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to our mission and purpose.

By joining our team, you’ll have a direct impact on shaping the future of higher education. In addition to the Office of the Board of Regents, the University of Colorado’s system administration includes 19 units that provide essential services to CU’s campuses in Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver, as well as the Office of the President. While not a part of any one campus, we are proud to serve in the centralized office for the University system. Together, we ensure CU continues to deliver outstanding education, groundbreaking research, and valuable service to our communities.

We believe in creating an environment where the unique experiences and perspectives of everyone are embraced, enriching the work we do and the strategic outcomes we pursue. If you’re passionate about making a difference, contributing to a dynamic team, and supporting a mission that matters, we encourage you to apply and be part of our journey. Learn more about CU System Administration.

Position Summary:

University Information Services (UIS) provides technical services and enterprise applications to the University of Colorado campuses and the Office of the President. UIS is committed to excellence in customer service and technical expertise. Through the development of enterprise applications, UIS supports the University with systems used by students, faculty, human resources employees, finance employees, and others.

The Senior Project Manager reports into the UIS Project Management Office (PMO), which is part of the IT Business Services & Operations Team (IT BSO). The IT BSO team is responsible for cross-organizational processes and internal offerings that are used across UIS to successfully deliver on operational and external customer service goals. Our service offerings include Project & Portfolio Management, Organizational Change Management (OCM), IT Service Management, Quality Assurance, Finance & Administration, Strategic Planning Process & Facilitation, and UIS HR strategy and liaison representation. The nature of our work is collaborative with a focus on superb communication both within and across groups as well as with all CU campuses.

The Senior Project Manager’s primary role is to manage multiple concurrent IT projects in the UIS Portfolio of Projects via UIS project processes and methods. This requires effectively coordinating effort among multiple UIS teams, cross-campus teams, and vendors, and it requires navigating varying degrees of technical, vendor, governance, and key partner complexity. While leading and supporting complex projects from conception to finish, this position will aid in resource management, overall portfolio and project process and tool development, mentorship and education relating to project management, and continuous improvement efforts. This role aids UIS in serving its customers to achieve desired business outcomes via improved effectiveness and efficiency with both currently running and future projects.

This position reports to the Manager, Project Managers and is exempt from the State of Colorado Classified Staff system.

This position is project funded until 6/30/2028.

Where You Will Work:

Applicants must be Colorado residents or able to relocate to Colorado within a month of starting employment with University of Colorado System Administration.

Remote – this role is eligible to work remotely within Colorado.

Please note, leadership may adjust in-office work requirements with a minimum of three months' notice before any change can be implemented.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

Project Management

• Provide consistent management and support of multiple, concurrent IT projects in the UIS portfolio through all project phases. This requires implementing defined processes, being comfortable with using various project management frameworks, navigating sophisticated situations, risks & issues, leading technical, functional, vendor, and customer teams, and communicating to all levels of partners.
• Closely develop, document, and monitor detailed project schedules, timeline, budgets, and resource requirements.
• Form UIS and department/campus-level matrixed project teams, document roles & responsibilities, ensure level resource allocation, maintain meeting notes, and lead kick-offs, as needed.
• Produce regular status reports that include project milestone status, risks, issues and concerns, and recommendations for actions and critical issues to meet project goals.
• Effectively facilitate communication with project sponsors, key partners, team members, vendors, and management.
• Provide direct project management experience and expertise. Manage project and vendor teams to develop, document, implement, monitor, or achieve project-related deliverables including, but not limited to:
  • Project Charters
  • Project plan development and implementation
  • Role and responsibility definition and ensuring accountability structures are defined/implemented
  • Functional & technical requirements, including use cases and business processing mapping, as needed
  • Environment (SDLC) planning and coordination
  • Risk analysis, mitigation planning, monitoring & reporting
  • Vendor Management
  • Procurement-related needs (SOWs, RFPs) and budget development and monitoring
  • Performance Plan and other testing plans, as needed
  • Organizational change management risk assessment and plans including both training and communication plans.
  • Following OCM standard processes, as advised by the OCM team.
  • Producing regular verbal and written status reports for various levels of the organization (i.e., project team, leadership, advisory committees, executive, etc.)
  • Monitoring and control of execution with correlating risk and issue monitoring and resolution
  • Ensuring methodology for achieving deliverables is well-understood among project team members and key partners
  • New service or transition to operational support documentation
  • Lessons learned or retrospectives
• Develop expertise in the UIS Project Process and coordinate discussions to identify areas for improvement, including process refinement or template development. Once decisions on process refinement are made, updates, or develops appropriate documentation or templates, as well as related to communication plan.

Operational Support and Ongoing Refinements/Improvements

• Provide operational support and contribute to ongoing refinement/improvement efforts for the Project Management Office (PMO) including, but not limited to:
  • Contribute to ongoing ITBSO and PMO improvement efforts, including creating efficiencies in internal and external-facing processes, templates, and documentation and keeping related process documentation up to date.

Mentorship and Training

• Serve as a mentor/trainer to project leads and other UIS staff to aid them in successful execution and/or understanding of project processes.
• Train new team members on the project tools and processes.
• Provide general support and education relating to project management, PMO processes, and templates to team members and internal and external partners. When applicable, participate in cross-CU discussions related to project management best processes.

What We Offer:

Salary: The anticipated hiring range has been established at $100,000-$105,000. This position will start after April 6, 2026.

CU System Administration takes into consideration a combination of the selected candidate’s education, training and experience as it relates to the position, as well as the position’s scope and complexity, internal pay equity and external market value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Benefits: With our unparalleled range of benefits, including top-notch healthcare, comprehensive wellness programs, enriching professional development, and a dynamic work-life balance, we ensure your holistic growth and happiness.

• No-cost or low-cost medical & dental plan options, some inclusive of IVF assistance.
• Disability, Life, Vision Insurance options.
• Multiple retirement planning options including a mandatory 401(a) plan where CU contributes 10% of your gross pay, a 401k or 403b plan and a 457 deferred compensation plan.
• Pre-tax savings plans, such as Health care and Dependent care flexible spending accounts.
• Embrace a healthy work-life balance with ample sick and vacation leave, along with at least 12 paid holidays. This includes a dedicated week off for winter break.
• 6 weeks of parental leave to adjust to the joys of parenthood.
• A tuition benefit program for you and/or your dependents.
• Free RTD EcoPass and Free Onsite Parking at our 1800 Grant Street Office.
• Many additional perks & programs with the CU Advantage.

Additional taxable fringe benefits may be available.

For more information on benefits programs, please review our Comprehensive Benefits Guide.

Access our Total Compensation Calculator to see what your total rewards could be at CU. (This position is a University Staff position)

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

Please ensure your resume includes any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against these qualifications. You must meet all minimum requirements listed at the time of application to be considered for this role.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education. A combination of education, technology training and industry certifications, and related experience may substitute for the degree on a year for year basis.
• Three (3) years of experience with:
  • Project management experience within IT
  • Applying central project tools with exposure to workflows, central templates, resource reports, and timeline functionality

Preferred Qualifications:

• Five (5) years of experience as detailed above
• PMP certification strongly preferred - must be willing to obtain PMP within 18 months of employment
• Preferred experience includes implementing and/or maintaining large ERP-applications, Infrastructure solutions or supporting tools
• Agile-based experience and/or related certifications
• Project management process development and refinement
• Resource capacity analysis and management
• Mentoring of aspiring project managers or project coordinators
• Experience working within Higher Education
• Experience in running multi-department projects
• Experience in reporting out to Executive level sponsors and key partners

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Project Management principles and best processes, including various frameworks and methodologies including sequential, iterative and hybrid approaches
• Demonstrable record of project management success and effectiveness including managing concurrent projects and with large projects in sophisticated, matrixed organizations
• Skilled in effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving for different audience levels ranging from individual contributors to governance level
• Ability to be adaptable and to work independently and under pressure, to manage concurrent tasks and responsibilities, to follow defined processes, and to deal with changing priorities while maintaining personal effectiveness.
• Ability to keep projects on projected timelines and to hold team members accountable for their required deliverables
• Ability to complete detailed, thorough, and accurate research, and appropriately apply to projects assigned.
• Ability to educate on the value of the different project processes, why they are needed, and how they lead to the end goal of a successful launch.
• Understanding of the use of Organization of Change Management standard processes and tools within programs and projects
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with co-workers, supervisors, other University Personnel, vendors, and the public.
• Has applied a central project tool with exposure to workflows, central templates, resource reports, and timeline functionality (i.e., Microsoft Project Server, TeamDynamix)
• Has used Office 365 suite of applications for productivity and collaboration (i.e., Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint).

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please attach the following as separate documents to your application:

1. A cover letter identifying the job specific minimum qualifications you possess
2. A resume including any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against the qualifications listed in the posting.

Please ensure you check the “Job Specific Attachments” box next to each document on the “Required Documents” page of the application for the appropriate documents to be attached.

Per the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, you are not required to provide your date of birth, dates of school attendance, or dates of graduation on your resume or cover letter. If an application requires additional materials, such as a transcript or certification, you may redact identifying information relating to your date or birth, dates of school attendance, or dates of graduation.

When to Apply:

For full consideration completed applications must be submitted by February 5, 2026. Reference checking is a standard step in our hiring process. You may be asked to provide contact information, including email addresses, for up to five references as part of the search process for this position. *Please note: All application materials must be submitted through CU Careers; emailed materials will not be considered.*

Sponsorship Statement:

We are unable to sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado is committed to providing a safe and productive learning and living community. To achieve that goal, we conduct background investigations for all final applicants being considered for employment. Background investigations include a criminal history record check, and when appropriate, a financial history, motor vehicle history and/or fingerprinting background check. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that a verification of employment eligibility be documented for all new employees by the end of the third day of work. The University of Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.

ADA Statement:

We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting. Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: systemhr@cu.edu.

Resume/CV

Job Category

Information Technology

Primary Location

Denver S0001 -- System Administration - 50119 - University InformationServices

Schedule

Full-time

Posting Date

Jan 26, 2026

Unposting Date

Ongoing System HR Recruiting systemhr.recruiting@cu.edu 00811309

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