Catamaran Project and Communications Manager

TITLE Catamaran Project and Communications Manager

CLASSIFICATION Full-time employment; exempt from overtime

REPORTS TO Catamaran Director

SUMMARY The project manager works closely with the Catamaran director and other colleagues in support of Catamaran—a large, streamlined system for regulatory compliance management for the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Special Education (OSE). Catamaran project managers assist the director and senior project manager with their assigned OSE unit(s), becoming fluent in the specific work performed by those units. The project manager ensures that projects remain on schedule for high-quality delivery. The project manager is also responsible for drafting and formatting communications documents, assisting with website maintenance and updates, and supporting the development of project-specific designs, training materials, and other resources for a successful project launch.

Essential Duties

- Creates project scopes, schedules, and related administrative tasks for moderately complex projects

- Manages all aspects of training and communications for the project, such as drafting, editing, and formatting email campaigns, presentations, and other training materials, including the recording and editing of training videos and webinars

- Manages the maintenance and updates of the Catamaran Technical Assistance website

- Coordinates project status meetings by creating agendas, taking and distributing notes, and performing other project administrative tasks

- Identifies and manages project risks and issues, participating in solutions as needed

- Maintains basic knowledge of state and federal requirement monitoring, manages client expectations and stakeholder communications, and supports implementation of an effective project governance system

- Creates regular internal and external project status reports for staff, clients, and subcontracting partners

- Provides administrative support for managing subcontracting partner participation on assigned projects

- Documents process workflows, requirements, system/feature designs, and test plans under the guidance of the director or senior project manager

- Executes a well-defined project management process and ongoing process improvement initiatives

- Writes well-structured, easy-to-understand documents for various audiences; adheres to the Catamaran style guide when creating content for users, project stakeholders, and team members, translating technical issues into clear language

- Develops subject matter expertise under the guidance of the director or senior project manager

Expectations of All PSCers

- Collaborates and communicates well with staff and clients in a fast-paced environment with diverse people and projects, fostering a supportive, creative working environment for all PSC colleagues

- Demonstrates initiative, critical thinking, and sound judgment to generate ideas, work approaches, presentation of information, and issue resolution

- Manages workload effectively while engaged in multiple projects concurrently with high accuracy and attention to detail, seeking clarification when appropriate

- Adheres to PSC’s quality assurance processes

- Seeks areas of personal growth and identifies steps toward success, including mentorship, ongoing learning, and professional development opportunities

- Is occasionally available beyond regular work hours as necessary to respond to staff and firm needs

Competency Profile

Technical Expertise

Possesses strong information technology skills with the ability to interpret, comment on, and problem-solve complex technical issues; understands and applies the Americans with Disabilities Act for website and document compliance

Communication

Effectively and appropriately communicates and adapts knowledge in various contexts, both verbally and in writing; articulates findings clearly and concisely; actively listens to clients and responds to their needs

Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills

Systematically organizes and compares the various aspects of a problem or situation, determines cause-and-effect relationships, anticipates variables, and interprets and explains both qualitative and quantitative data; envisions innovative solutions and anticipates the issues and needs that will arise from each approach

Organization and Time Management

Manages time effectively to complete required tasks, follows schedules as needed, prioritizes important deliverables, estimates timetables for deliverables, and completes tasks within a well-defined time frame; pivots when time frames change; works on multiple projects concurrently and prioritizes tasks across projects

Curiosity

Seeks new knowledge to enhance personal and professional development; asks thoughtful and focused questions and listens sincerely to the answers; maintains a growth mindset to support PSC's mission

Comfort with Change

Adapts effectively to change; decides and acts without having the total picture; comfortably handles risk and uncertainty

Qualifications

- A bachelor’s degree with one or more years of relevant work experience, or five or more years of relevant work experience without a degree

- Demonstrated experience performing similar duties, including project coordination, communication, and technical writing

- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and meeting/webinar platforms, and an understanding of workflow diagramming software (e.g., Visio), project management tools, and relational databases

- Basic knowledge of project management methodology and/or software lifecycle concepts is preferred

- Experience with email campaign, video editing, and website content management software (e.g., Constant Contact, Camtasia, WordPress) is a plus

Compensation

- Salary range of $79,080 - $118,617 commensurate with education and experience

- Competitive medical, dental, life, disability, voluntary vision, and voluntary legal insurance plans

- Company 401(k) contribution

- Paid time off granted upon start date

- Nine paid holidays per year and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day

- Paid parking