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WFPC hiring a Project Manager

Duke WFPC hiring a project planner, posted July 28, 2023.

Continue readingWFPC hiring a Project Manager

PROJECT MANAGER for WORLD FOOD POLICY CENTER

  • Work Arrangement:  Hybrid (On-Site and Remote mix)
  • Requisition Number: 235152
  • Regular or Temporary: Regular
  • Location: Durham, NC, US, 27710
  • Personnel Area: UNIVERSITY
  • Date:  Jul 28, 2023

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

– APPLY –

GRANT FUNDED AND RENEWABLE (Dependent on future funding)

OUR MISSION

The World Food Policy Center is a research, education, and convening organization within Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Our mission is to advance connected and inclusive food system policy and practice in support of equity and resilience of local/national/global food systems. Through our work, we explore human perspectives at each stage of problem analysis, solution design, and testing. We strive to uncover historical drivers of inequality and to bridge disconnected areas of food-related policy and practice intentionally. And, we seek to enhance community health and wellbeing by learning from and connecting with the people most affected by food system challenges.

Our work centers on:

  • food policy evaluation
  • inequality in the food system
  • food system governance & financing
  • building resilient food systems

OCCUPATIONAL SUMMARY

Apply project management knowledge, technical and interpersonal skills, and project management tools and techniques to meet the project requirements of medium to large research projects. Some desk research support will be useful in the management of projects as well as student supervision. This position is with the Duke World Food Policy Center (WFPC), the primary home, and the Duke Center for International Development (DCID).

WORK PERFORMED

  • Implement standard project management processes, tools, and methodology by contributing to the maintenance of standard processes and standard project templates, tools, and guidelines to support the application of the standard project management methodology and consistently applying standard project management methodology, processes, and tools to project management.
  • Providing ‘Just-In-Time’ training to project teams using basic and standard processes and tools.
  • Conducting project learning reviews and identifying and sharing best practices across the organization/department.
  • Manage publications workflow (submissions, revisions, and coordination with communications director for outreach). Provide support for preparing interim and final reports to funders.
  • Identify who should be a part of the project team and negotiate with managers for team member assignments, i.e., faculty, students, researchers, and staff members. This effort may include outside partners and subcontractors.
  • Plan, lead, and facilitate regular cross-functional project team meetings. Develop detailed task lists, work effort assessments, and short- and long-term resource allocation plans based on input from all key players and team members. Document these details using tools such as work breakdown structures or outlines.
  • Develop detailed budgets and schedules based on task breakdown, materials and information, and resource allocation plans. Manage project budgets to ensure all expenses are appropriate, timely, correctly allocated, and reconciled.
  • Proactively assess and analyze with the team any risks and issues that may compromise project team performance and results and develop plans to remove or mitigate them. Maintain risk and issue logs. Monitor schedules, issue logs and risk management plans, and warn of serious deviations or variations that may compromise project results.
  • Proactively identify changes in work scope and ensure appropriate planning measures are taken with internal and external clients to reassess, renegotiate and amend the scope of work responsibilities, proposals, contracts, and budgets.
  • Act as liaison between all parties concerned to address proposed modifications to project scope, schedule, or budget and influence to minimize changes.
  • Work with functional managers to resolve schedule and resource conflicts. Escalate difficult project issues as appropriate.
  • Arrange and maintain relevant outsourcing relationships maintain records of expenses and track milestones and/or percent complete for contracted work and inform accounting as these levels are attained so invoices can be sent to sponsors and payments to contractors can be approved promptly.
  • Provide support for preparing interim and final reports to funders.
  • Initiate, establish, and maintain relationships with all key project stakeholders, whether internal or external to the organization.  Supervise students and part-time labor as needed.
  • While project management is critical to this position, the successful applicant will have opportunities to engage in research and serve as a research team member.
  • Other duties: Assist in writing and editing materials such as monographs, slides, newsletters, national reports, and project website content.
  • Perform any other related duties incidental to the work described herein.
  • The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This list does not exhaust all responsibilities and duties required of personnel so classified.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Bachelor’s degree. Additional training in Project Management or related training is desired.

EXPERIENCE

Two years of experience in project management, with increasing scope and independence.

OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Bachelor’s degree. Additional training in Project Management or related training is desired.

Experience

Two years of experience in project management, with increasing scope and independence.

OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual’s age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.