The ITS Program Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing a range of technology initiatives that align with the university’s strategic goals. This role serves as a key liaison among the Information Technology Services (ITS) team, campus stakeholders, and external vendors. The Program Manager ensures the successful delivery of enterprise technology projects on time, within scope, and within budget while promoting transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement in project execution.
This position requires a self-starter with strong leadership skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to manage competing priorities with confidence. The ITS Program Manager is accountable for project outcomes and is expected to mentor junior project managers, facilitate consensus across diverse teams, and negotiate and prioritize requirements with stakeholders to ensure alignment with institutional objectives.
About ITS at UNE
The Information Technology Services (ITS) department at the University of New England supports the university’s academic and administrative operations through services such as high-speed internet, digital learning platforms, and campus computing resources. The team fosters a collaborative environment focused on delivering reliable, secure, and responsive technology solutions that empower students, faculty, and staff to teach, learn, and work effectively.
About UNE
UNE is Maine’s largest private university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study-abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible online offerings. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to positively impact a world full of challenges. We are the state’s top provider of health professionals and home to Maine’s only medical and dental colleges, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care programs, and nationally recognized programs in the marine sciences, the natural and social sciences, business, the humanities, and the arts.?????????????????????
Benefits Overview
UNE offers a generous comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. The package includes varied health and dental plans; a retirement plan that includes up to an 8% match; extensive paid leave including holidays, vacation, sick and personal time; and educational benefits. Please visit the Human Resources Benefits site (https://www.une.edu/hr/benefits) for additional information regarding UNE’s fantastic benefits package.
Responsibilities
- Coordinate and manage a portfolio of technology projects, including enterprise software implementations, upgrades, and system enhancements.
- Collaborate with project sponsors and department stakeholders to define project goals, gather requirements, and establish detailed work plans.
- Maintain project schedules, budgets, resource plans, and regular status reporting.
- Facilitate communication between technical teams, administrative offices, and vendor partners throughout the project lifecycle.
- Oversee risk management, testing, quality assurance, and user acceptance efforts.
- Track and report on performance metrics using project management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, SharePoint, Jira).
- Support strategic initiatives by aligning projects with institutional goals, assisting with vendor selection, and contributing to IT planning conversations.
- Coordinate and lead regular stakeholder meetings to track progress, address issues, and maintain alignment across diverse teams.
- Serve as a champion for continuous improvement by identifying process gaps, suggesting refinements, and supporting adoption of IT best practices.
- Act as a strategic partner to leadership, offering insights on deployment approaches and scalable implementation plans.
- Mentor junior project managers and team members to build internal project management capacity.
- Negotiate priorities and requirements with business and technical stakeholders to ensure feasible and value-aligned outcomes.
- Other applicable duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in information technology, business administration, or a related field required or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired.
- 5+ years of professional experience in project management, preferably within an IT organization or higher education setting.
- Experience managing enterprise software projects, especially related to ERP systems (e.g., Ellucian Banner), CRM systems and LMS systems.
- PMP, CAPM, CSM, ITIL, or ITSM certification preferred.
- Strong ability to manage cross-functional teams and navigate complex stakeholder environments.
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines.
- Proficiency in project management and collaboration tools such as Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Teams, SharePoint, and Office 365.
- Proven capacity to lead projects involving both internal resources and third-party vendors.
- Ability to plan, communicate, and generate stakeholder buy-in for project goals, status, and decisions.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with a focus on clarity, diplomacy, and consensus-building.
- High level of initiative, problem-solving ability, and accountability in driving outcomes.
- Occasional evening or weekend work may be required to meet project deadlines or support critical implementations.