Senior or Lead Program Manager

At ACT, Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to a mission that has never been more important: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing that mission within our organization, by helping our team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values.

We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, 403B with company contributions, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.

The ACT State Program Manager uses strong communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills to lead the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of statewide assessment programs to successfully deliver all contracted products and services and to meet the needs of the state client, its constituents, members of the extended ACT program team, and the overall business. This includes working closely with a variety of external customers and both external and internal stakeholders.

You will be joining a team of program management professionals with skills and expertise in working with and developing strong relationships with external clients; following PMI-aligned methodologies to plan, implement, and manage the ongoing delivery of large-scale statewide assessment programs; employing keen business acumen to retain and grow the business; thinking strategically to support customers, team members, and stakeholders; and having some fun along the way.

The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $71,250 to $105,000 depending on the level. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. The Senior level is not incentive eligible, but the Lead level is.

Work location: Remote

What you will be working on:

Focuses on state contract delivery and serves as the primary point of contact with the external customer
• Understands, monitors, and reviews state contract requirements and deliverables to optimize contract performance
• Develops and leverages strong customer relationships to identify ways in which to expand opportunities within assigned states
• Follows required project management methodologies in the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of assigned contracts
• Initiates and leads the contract renewal processes, including, but not limited to:
  • collaborating with the customer to define requirements for the renewal contract
  • updating contract documents
  • defining requirements and leading the effort to cost enhancements and/or new deliverables
  • coordinating the renewal with cross-functional team
  • and tracking all tasks through to renewal contract execution
• Works internally to bring closure to customer requests in a timely manner
• Supports proposal development efforts that may include requirements analysis, solutions development, writing/editing proposal text, costing, and participating in proposal review processes

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

Senior Program Manager:

• A customer-centric focus and a strong sense of urgency while working through a complex matrix organization to ensure success for the customer, organization, and team members
• Tenacity, initiative, and persistence to bring closure to customer requests in a timely manner
• Ability to adapt quickly to change and navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced environment that requires frequent prioritization and strong decision-making skills
• Outstanding interpersonal, written, verbal communication and facilitation skills; tactful, direct, articulate, and thoughtful communicator with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization
• Ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with customers and internal stakeholders, which often includes cross-functional teams, by encouraging and supporting collaboration
• Ability to learn and utilize full lifecycle project management skills and methodologies to initiate, plan, implement, manage, and close out assigned programs
• Ability to take initiative, motivate others and work both independently and as part of a team
• Strong business and financial acumen
• Acts decisively with sound judgement; uses data to analyze options and form opinions
• Ability to apply continuous improvement to existing processes and programs
• Develops ideas that are new, better, or unique; embraces and promotes diverse perspectives
• Ability to manage change and navigate positively in an environment experiencing change at a fast pace
• Ability to readily manage a portfolio of 3-5 mid- to large-scale statewide assessment programs with varying levels of complexity
• Demonstrated expertise in a leadership role to navigate a high-stakes program through a complex matrix environment
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and articulate carefully considered tactics to improve program delivery and retain customer satisfaction
• A minimum of five (5) years' progressively responsible program management experience that includes:
  • accountability for leading the delivery of mid-to-large scale contracts with significant complexity; preferably for statewide contracted products and services
  • experience with independently planning and implementing new contracts and/or business initiatives
  • experience initiating and supporting contract renewal efforts, readily handling costing to support new contract line item

Lead Program Manager:

Meets Senior Program Manager level requirements plus:

• Knowledgeable in P&L management, budgeting, costing
• Demonstrates an ability to navigate complex contractual requirements and communicate them to key stakeholders throughout the broader organization
• A Project Management Professional (PMP) credential through the Project Management Institute (PMI)
• A minimum of seven (7) years' progressively responsible program management experience that includes:
  • accountability for leading the delivery of large-scale contracts with significant complexity, a high degree of risk and potential impact to the organization; preferably for statewide contracted products and services
  • Brings the voice of the customer to the table when meeting with internal stakeholders to develop solutions to problems or new initiatives.
  • Skilled in understanding and interpreting nuanced communication and developing and retaining relationships with all internal and external stakeholders.

For all levels:

• Skills and knowledge required for success in this position attained through experience, education (Bachelor's degree in Business or related area of study), or a combination of both

It's a plus if you have:

• Experience in educational assessment industry
• Experience working in a matrix environment with a diverse group of internal stakeholders to deliver contracted products and services
• Experience in supporting proposal efforts, including text development and costing

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!