Transformation Manager

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

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

George Mason University is on the move to be a leading higher education innovator in 21st century education. This includes the development of innovative programming and the delivery of personalized, customized education and student services to students who wish to attend Mason at our three campuses in Northern Virginia, our campus in South Korea, and/or online. As the largest public institution of higher education in Virginia, we are envisioning new ways of providing students with access to a George Mason education.

About the Position:

As a Transformation Manager within the Academic Administration pier in the Office of the Provost, this position brings specialized experience in project management, Higher Ed administration, change management, process improvement, business planning, operational effectiveness, or management consulting. The role supports largescale innovation and initiatives in education, with internal and external partners, in areas focusing on the student experience, research, teaching, and technology. Experience working with teams to plan, communicate and manage operational details, ideally in the public sector or higher education environments, is essential. This position also assists with evaluating strategic opportunities for the university so business analysis skills are needed.

This position is responsible for guiding projects through various stages of development and operation. The Transformation Manager is expected to implement and manage 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. 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 Manager reports to the Executive Director of Transformation Management and Operations, and 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;
• Implements sound project plans;
• Ensures scopes of work are accurate and followed, and timelines are defined and deadlines are met; 
• Provides risk analysis and contingency planning;
• Develops subject matter expertise in various academic and research operations and initiatives to provide advisory support to academic leaders and working groups;
• Collaborates with academic leadership, 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 senior leadership and partners, both technical and non-technical;
• Collects, analyzes and presents 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 and initiatives;
• Enhances project success by via 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
• Leads efforts to improve processes within the Office of the Provost and Academic Administration operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously and competing priorities;
• 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/passion to innovate, solve problems, and meet the challenges and opportunities of Higher Ed;
• Knowledgeable in project, program, product, or change management in a business and/or higher education environment;
• Knowledgeable in data analysis and presentation;
• Demonstrated organizational and time-management skills;
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including ability to communicate and collaborate with individuals at all levels in the organization;
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and competing priorities;
• Ability to work with multifunctional teams;
• Ability to work with client and customer service;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and project management tools; and
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or Change Management (CM) certification is preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Work experience within higher education. Experience with data visualization techniques.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Transformation Manager at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent with Resume for review.

Posting Open Date: February 20, 2026

Posting Close Date: March 6, 2026

Open Until Filled:  No