Senior Project Manager, Enterprise Systems- AZ/IL- Information Technology Services

Summary

The Senior Project Manager, Enterprise Systems serves as Midwestern University’s lead project management professional for the Oracle Fusion Cloud transformation and, on an ongoing basis, for the University’s portfolio of enterprise systems projects. During the implementation, this position is the primary University-side project manager and serves as the day-to-day counterpart to the Drivestream Project Manager, owning the integrated project plan, issue and risk management, status reporting, and change management and training coordination across the Human Capital Management, Finance, Financial Aid, and Student pillars.

In addition to the Oracle Fusion pillars, this position plans and manages the projects required to modify ancillary University systems affected by the transformation, most significantly the adoption of a new General Ledger Chart of Accounts structure. These systems include Epic, Jaggaer, Transact/IDX, and Vetspire, along with other applications and integrations that carry financial coding. The Senior Project Manager is accountable for sequencing this remediation work so that ancillary system readiness aligns with the Finance pillar go-live and with the University’s fiscal calendar.

Following go-live of each Oracle Fusion pillar, the Senior Project Manager continues to manage the University’s ongoing portfolio of enterprise systems projects, including subsequent module deployments, optimization initiatives, ancillary system replacements, and cross-functional technology projects sponsored by University leadership. The position leads through influence rather than direct supervision, coordinating functional and technical analysts assigned to project work by the Manager, Cloud Enterprise Systems, and working closely with the Enterprise Systems Architect, functional pillar leads, and executive stakeholders.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Project and Portfolio Management
  • Serve as the primary Midwestern University project manager for the Oracle Fusion Cloud implementation across the HCM, Finance, EPM, Financial Aid, and Student pillars, owning the integrated project plan, schedule, scope, budget, and resource plan
  • Serve as the day-to-day counterpart to the Drivestream Project Manager, jointly leading weekly status meetings and producing the weekly TaskStream status report that reflects the current state of tasks, issues, and risks
  • Maintain and manage the program’s work plans in MethodStream and TaskStream, ensuring that deliverables, dependencies, and acceptance criteria are clearly documented and actively tracked
  • Prepare materials for Tollgate reviews, phase gate reviews, and Go/No-Go decisions, and support the Program Lead in the presentation of program status to the Executive Governance Committee
  • Following implementation, maintain the ongoing enterprise systems project portfolio, including project intake, chartering, prioritization, and reporting on portfolio health to the AVP of ITS Applications
  • Establish and apply consistent project management standards, templates, and lifecycle practices across the enterprise systems portfolio
• Chart of Accounts Remediation and Ancillary Systems Projects
  • Plan, sequence, and manage the projects required to modify ancillary University systems to support the new General Ledger Chart of Accounts structure, including Epic, Jaggaer, Transact/IDX, and Vetspire
  • Partner with the Finance pillar working group, the Controller’s Office, and ancillary system owners to translate Chart of Accounts design decisions into specific configuration, mapping, and integration requirements for each downstream system
  • Develop and maintain a consolidated inventory of systems, interfaces, reports, and processes that carry financial coding, and track each item to remediation, retirement, or accepted risk
  • Coordinate with ancillary system vendors and internal system owners on scope, level of effort, contracting, and delivery schedules for required changes
  • Manage cross-system dependencies so that ancillary remediation, conversion, and cutover activities align with the Finance pillar go-live, the fiscal year boundary, and applicable reporting and audit cycles
  • Coordinate validation, reconciliation, and parallel testing of financial coding across ancillary systems with Finance, Financial Aid, clinical operations, and Institutional Research stakeholders
  • Coordinate with clinical, veterinary, and auxiliary operations leadership to ensure that changes to Epic, Vetspire, and Transact/IDX are planned around patient care, teaching, and revenue cycle constraints
• Risk, Issue, and Scope Management
  • Identify, assess, track, and escalate risks and issues through the program’s governance tiers in accordance with the MWU Oracle Cloud Transformation Partnership Governance Framework
  • Lead the intake, evaluation, and disposition of potential scope changes in partnership with the Drivestream Project Manager and the Program Lead, including preparation of Change Orders when required
  • Facilitate resolution of cross-pillar and cross-system dependencies and inter-team conflicts, escalating to the Program Lead or the Business Process Program Director when decisions exceed the authority of the working groups
  • Maintain the program and portfolio decision log, ensuring that decisions, their rationale, and their owners are documented and communicated
• Change Management, Training, and Communications
  • Develop and maintain a formal change management and training plan for the program in partnership with the Program Lead, Business Process Directors, and the Office of Communications and Marketing
  • Coordinate training curricula across pillars, including Drivestream Academy enrollment, working group preparation for App Reviews, and end-user training prior to each go-live
  • Draft program communications content for review and approval by the Program Lead, and partner with the Communications and Website Coordinator to maintain the project website and deliver timely campus updates
  • Assess organizational readiness ahead of each go-live and recommend mitigations where adoption risk is identified
• Vendor and Partner Coordination
  • Manage the day-to-day project relationship with Drivestream, Inc. as the University’s systems integrator, and coordinate with Oracle Corporation through the Oracle Customer Success Manager on implementation matters
  • Monitor Drivestream implementation deliverables for adherence to the Statement of Work, review and recommend acceptance of deliverables, and track consumption of implementation hours and other contractual commitments
  • Coordinate project-level engagement with ancillary system vendors supporting Chart of Accounts remediation and other portfolio projects
  • Partner with the Manager, Cloud Enterprise Systems on the transition of vendor relationships from implementation delivery to Application Managed Services and steady-state operations
• Governance and Stakeholder Engagement
  • Participate in the Program Leadership Team and support the Program Lead in the operation of the three-tier governance framework, including the Executive Governance Committee, Program Leadership Team, and Pillar Working Groups
  • Collaborate with pillar executives, working group leads, and subject matter experts to translate business priorities into prioritized, scoped, and scheduled project work
  • Coordinate the assignment and availability of functional and technical analysts with the Manager, Cloud Enterprise Systems to protect the time of subject matter experts and ensure that the right people are engaged at the right point in the project lifecycle
  • Represent Midwestern University in HESS Collective working group sessions and other peer forums as appropriate
• Budget, Procurement, and Contract Administration
  • Support the AVP of ITS Applications in the development, monitoring, and reforecasting of project and implementation budgets for enterprise systems initiatives
  • Coordinate procurement activities related to enterprise systems projects, including Statements of Work, Change Orders, and integration services, in partnership with University procurement and legal functions
  • Track project financials against approved budgets and report variances with recommended corrective action

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in computer science, information technology, business administration, project management, or a related field from an accredited institution. Master’s degree preferred. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred. Minimum of five to seven years of experience managing enterprise transformation projects, with demonstrated responsibility for integrated project planning, vendor management, risk and issue management, and change management. Experience coordinating multidisciplinary functional and technical teams in a matrixed environment without direct reporting authority is required. Experience with Oracle Fusion Cloud, Workday, or comparable enterprise cloud platforms strongly preferred. Experience with financial system implementations involving Chart of Accounts design or redesign preferred. Higher education experience preferred.

The individual must have the following skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in project management methodologies, tools, and practices, including integrated project planning, critical path and dependency management, risk and issue management, status reporting, and change control
• Proven ability to lead, influence, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams of functional and technical information technology professionals in a complex, matrixed environment without direct supervisory authority
• Working knowledge of Oracle Fusion Cloud or comparable enterprise cloud platforms (e.g., Workday, Ellucian, Jaggaer), including familiarity with HCM, ERP, EPM, Financial Aid, and student system modules
• Understanding of General Ledger Chart of Accounts structures and their downstream effects on integrated clinical, procurement, payment, and academic systems
• Experience managing systems integrator and software vendor relationships against Statements of Work, service-level commitments, and contractual obligations
• Strong change management and communications skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts for executive and non-technical audiences
• Sound judgment in the escalation and resolution of issues, with the ability to balance project velocity against institutional risk and stakeholder concerns
• Knowledge of IT governance, data security, privacy, and compliance standards, including FERPA, GLBA, HIPAA, and Title IV where applicable to enterprise systems projects
• Excellent problem-solving, interpersonal, and facilitation skills, with the ability to build trust across executive leadership, functional departments, and partner organizations

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, or push or pull equipment. The employee is frequently required to sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Midwestern University is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides graduate and post-graduate education in the health sciences. The University has two campuses, one in Downers Grove, Illinois and the other in Glendale, Arizona. More than 6,000 full-time students are enrolled in graduate programs in osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, cardiovascular perfusion, podiatry, optometry, clinical psychology, speech language pathology, biomedical sciences and veterinary medicine. Over 500 full-time faculty members and 400 staff members are dedicated to the education and development of our students in an environment that encourages learning, respect for all members of the health care team, service, interdisciplinary scholarly activity, and personal growth.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance plans as well as life insurance, short/long term disability and pet insurance.  We offer flexible spending accounts including healthcare reimbursement and child/dependent care account.  We offer a work life balance with competitive time off package including paid holiday’s, sick/flex days, personal days and vacation days.  We offer a 403(b) retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, child care subsidy reimbursement program, identity theft protection and an employee assistance program.  Wellness is important to us and we offer a wellness facility on-site with a fully equipped fitness facility. 

Midwestern University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not discriminate against an employee or applicant based upon race; color; religion; creed; national origin or ancestry; ethnicity; sex (including pregnancy); gender (including gender expressions, gender identity; and sexual orientation); marital status; age; disability; citizenship; past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services; genetic information; or any other protected class, in accord with all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Midwestern University complies with the Smoke-Free Arizona Act (A.R.S. 36-601.01) and the Smoke Free Illinois Act (410 ILCS 82/).  Midwestern University complies with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and Arizona Equal Pay Acts.