Transformation Associate

Department: Academic Administration

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The Office of the Provost champions an inclusive university community devoted to academic excellence, consequential research and scholarship, and innovative practices that inspire, engage, and transform lives. The Office of the Provost is charged with overseeing all aspects of education, research, and public engagement of the university. The provost has direct oversight over all colleges, schools, and academic support units. Additionally, in conjunction with the senior administration of the university, the provost is responsible for the allocation of resources for academic programs and functions. Supporting the provost in these efforts is the Academic Administration team which is devoted to sustaining George Mason’s mission.

The Academic Administration team provides leadership and strategic guidance through resource allocation and alignment, business analyses, modeling, project management, partnership development, and communications. The office also manages the administrative, budget, and personnel operations for the Office of the Provost and the offices for which it has direct oversight.

About the Position:

The Transformation Management and Operations Team serves as an internal support structure for the University and is charged with preparing and incubating new ideas for hand-off to operational leaders.

The Transformation Associate within the Academic Administration pier in the Office of the Provost supports largescale innovation and initiatives in education, with internal and external partners, in areas focusing on the student experience, research, teaching, and technology and assists with evaluating strategic opportunities for the university. The Transformation Associate is responsible for guiding projects through various stages of development and operation and assists in the implementation and management of new and transformative projects, driving them from inception through launch, working in conjunction with campus stakeholders and key partners to promote and ensure operational success.

This position reports to the Director of Transformation Management and Operations and works in partnership with university stakeholders including Academic Units under the Office of the Provost, schools and colleges, and other university divisions such as ITS, HR, and Finance.

Responsibilities:

• Develops project plans, facilitates working groups, and establishes goals and milestones for projects under the guidance of senior team members;
• Implements sound project plans, ensures scopes of work are accurate and followed, and timelines are defined and deadlines are met;
• Assists in providing risk analysis and contingency planning;
• Provides support to Transformation team members on large-scale initiatives;
• Develops subject matter expertise in various academic and research operations and initiatives to provide support to academic leaders and working groups;
• Collaborates with academic pier colleagues, information technology services staff, enrollment service managers, business unit personnel and external strategic business partners to launch, plan, develop and deliver projects;
• Communicates needs, progress, risks, and recommendations to transformation team leadership to disseminate to partners, both technical and non-technical;
• Assists in the collection, analysis and presentation of data from internal and external sources to help mobilize support for initiatives and foster a better understanding of opportunities both inside and external to the university;
• Works with internal resources to get market research and analysis;
• Supports and develops business cases;
• Completes process mapping and documentation as needed;
• Develops and implements effective change management strategies for all projects;
• Enhances project success by gaining stakeholder alignment from project ideation to implementation.
• Supports a continuous improvement program for project management by incorporating best practices in “post-mortem” review, project delivery assessment, root cause analysis, etc., and incorporate changes as appropriate; and
• Supports efforts to improve processes within the Office of the Provost and Academic Administration operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience managing multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously;
• Experience working with multifunctional teams;
• Demonstrated experience in project, program, product, or change management in a business and/or higher education environment;
• Demonstrated experience with data analysis and presentation;
• Demonstrated experience with client and customer service;
• Knowledge to innovate, solve problems, and meet the challenges and opportunities of higher education;
• Knowledge of project, program, product, or change management in a business and/or higher education environment;
• Knowledge of data analysis and presentation, including skill in business analytics;
• Demonstrated organizational and time-management skills;
• Effective written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including ability to communicate and collaborate with individuals at all levels in the organization;
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously;
• Ability to work effectively with multifunctional teams;
• Ability to work with client and customer service; and
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office suite and project management tools.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Change Management (CM) certification preferred;
• Work experience within higher education; and
• Experience with data visualization techniques.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Transformation Associate at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a cover letter and resume for review.

Posting Open Date: February 11, 2025

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  March 02, 2025

Open Until Filled:  Yes