(Sr) Project Management Assistant, Early Childhood
Child Trends is looking for a Project Management Assistant / Senior Project Management Assistant. This position is based in the Minnesota office. This position will be responsible for supporting projects within the Early Childhood program area related to project, budget, and process management. The Project Management Assistant will interface with his or her direct supervisor, administration, and Project Managers to provide technical assistance in the areas of project and budget management and to support researchers in navigating existing administrative processes, ensuring efficiency and consistency across the program area. This person may also help oversee cross-project or program area budgets.
General Description:
Responsible for implementing systems that allow for improved project functioning. Assists in supporting project managers through processes during the entire project lifecycle, including the proposal phase, project startup, ongoing project management, and project closeout. Provides active technical assistance to new project managers on best practices and policies related to project management. Provides support for tracking internal data.
Candidates wishing to be considered for the position are strongly encouraged to submit their application by June 28, 2019. Expected start date: sometime between July 15, 2019 and August 30, 2019.
TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provides project start-up support for Project Managers including but not limited to setting up project documentation systems, completion of project plan documents (staffing, quality control, data security plans, etc.), and set up and train staff on a budget tracking tool.
- Meets regularly with Project Managers to collect “project health” metrics. These metrics could include: Are staffing needs met? Is the budget on track? Are timelines being met? Are subs/consultants performing as expected? Is the client satisfied?
These metrics will be centrally tracked to help identify trends and facilitate follow-ups.
- Provides problem-solving support to Project Managers and, when appropriate, escalates issues to supervisor. For example, this person may assist project managers in identifying if a project is over or under spending and help identify appropriate next steps to remedy the issue.
- Provides project close-out support by coordinating with the project, accounting, and contracts team.
- Collaborates and serves as a liaison with accounting and contracts to ensure best practices and policies are implemented on all projects.
- Helps orient project staff to internal policies and procedures.
- Shares lessons learned on projects with program area leadership to ensure a culture of continuous learning that will benefit future projects.
- Supports the creation and maintenance of internal data systems used for program area and business management.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree (with experience in a quantitative discipline preferred) or 2-3 years of relevant experience for Project Management Assistant. Bachelor’s degree and 2 years’ experience working in advanced levels of Microsoft Excel plus minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in project management for Sr. Project Management Assistant.
- Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills including an ability to work with pivot tables and be comfortable with nested functions including if, VLOOKUP, MATCH, and SUMPRODUCT.
- Ability to demonstrate patience and clarity when teaching others.
- Ability to work across teams with a range of personalities.
- Process-oriented but with an ability to be flexible when needed.
- Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent organization skills, attention to detail, communication skills, and ability to handle multiple tasks.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience managing budgets preferred.
- Basic understanding of relational databases preferred.
- Experience working with the contracts and expenses (project management included) of organizations that do federal contracting is a plus.
- Experience working with Microsoft SharePoint is a plus.
How to Apply:
Please follow the “apply” link to submit your application. When asked by the system to upload resume, please upload one document that includes your resume, cover letter, transcripts, a writing sample and contact information for three professional references. Materials must be combined into one document in order to be uploaded. If you have any difficulties with this process please email the requested materials to recruitment @childtrends.org and make sure to reference the position in the subject line. No phone calls please!
Child Trends, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children by conducting research and providing science-based information to improve the decisions, programs, and policies that affect children. With annual revenue of $23 million and 192 employees, our clients include federal, state and local government agencies, foundations, and service providers. Our headquarters is located in Bethesda, Maryland, with offices in Minneapolis and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2018, we were recognized as a Great Place to Work for Women,Best Workplace in Consulting & Professional Services and Best Small & Medium Workplace.
Child Trends is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer . Protected veterans and individuals with disability encouraged to apply.