Project Manager, Special Projects (Operations and HR)

Job Description

Founded by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a new kind of philanthropy that’s leveraging technology to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges – from eradicating disease, to improving education. Across our core initiatives of Science and Education, we’re pairing engineering with grantmaking, impact investing, policy work, and advocacy, to progress in our mission of building an inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone.

Our Values

We believe we can help build a future for everyone.

• We aim to be daring, but humble: We look for bold ideas — regardless of structure and stage — and help them scale by pairing engineers with subject matter experts to build tools that accelerate the pace of social progress.
• We want to learn fast, but build for the long-term: We want to iterate fast and help bring new solutions to the table, but we also realize that important breakthroughs often take decades, or even centuries.
• Stay close to the real problems: We engage directly in the communities we serve because no one understands our society’s challenges like those who live them every day.

Our success is dependent on building teams that include people from different backgrounds and experiences who can challenge each other's assumptions with fresh perspectives. To that end, we look for a diverse pool of applicants including those from historically marginalized groups — women, people with disabilities, people of color, formerly incarcerated people, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender nonconforming, first and second generation immigrants, veterans, and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Opportunity

CZI strives to be a learning organization that’s responsive to an evolving world, while also maintaining commitment to and focus on existing strategies. The recently established Project Management function manages organization-wide strategic internal operations and projects to ensure complex, multi-stakeholder efforts are resourced appropriately. The Project Management function oversees:

• Leadership Team Operations: Support CEO and leadership team to carry out the strategic objectives of the organization. Manage daily operations for the leadership team.
• Central coordination of org-wide goals process: Manage high-level internal goal setting process, in partnership with our operational leaders across the organization.
• Management of high priority org-wide internal operational projects: Manage complex cross-functional and cross-program internal operational projects that require centralized resources and coordination, strong project management and deep understanding of CZI strategy.
• Other special projects as assigned.

You will

You will help build our internal Project Management function, focusing on high-priority, organization-wide processes and structures. You’ll work in close partnership with program and initiative leaders across the organization.

• Process Development
• Scope new ideas to cut across organizational silos to encourage/increase collaboration and planning. For example, work with the MEL team to create mechanisms for integrating learning into the strategic review process.
• Help develop internal-facing processes for emerging needs/priorities, pulling in relevant external experts and internal stakeholders throughout the process. For example, work with the Chief of Staff and Operational Leads to scope a process for org-wide goal setting.
• Project Management
• Add capacity and relevant skills to functional teams (eg: Communications, Finance) as they scope and develop new projects, policies and strategies across a wide variety of content areas.
• Design, manage and/or implement time-bound high priority projects in service of initiative and functional teams. May manage day-to-day execution of projects.
• Develop and maintain project plans and other documentation; monitor and review project progress and timelines; adjust schedules and plans as needed; and identify and resolve issues to ensure project success.
• Design and lead cross-functional team meetings and executive level reviews to facilitate effective and lasting decision making.
• Ensure on time and on budget delivery of projects.

You have

• 8+ years of total relevant work experience; with 3+ years managing projects and teams
• Depth in complex project management -- autonomously identifying issues and opportunities for process improvements, project scoping (goals/outcomes of a project, timelines and work-plans, necessary resources), identifying partner roles and responsibilities, and driving implementation of the project to achieve determined outcomes
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously and determine priorities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – the ability to navigate strong and productive relationships quickly with a diverse group of people and communication styles
• Proven ability to work and build positive relationships across a variety of audiences and perspectives
• Natural curiosity and ability to ramp up quickly in new content areas, leveraging the expertise of others
• Strong analytical skills, particularly in breaking down complex and ambiguous problems
• Comfort working in an ambiguous, matrixed environment, where decisions happen fast and we learn by doing and adapt as needed
• Thrives in navigating through ambiguity and building new things