Graduate Program Manager Jobs in Niles, MI (NOW HIRING)

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The Program Manager is an integral member of the Program Management Team within the Mendoza College of Business. This role partners with Centers, Institutes, and Programs as well as College leadership to deliver meaningful student, partner, and benefactor experiences across Mendoza's undergraduate and graduate business degree programs.

The Program Manager serves as a strategic and operational partner to program leadership with key responsibilities that include:

• Overseeing program operations, budgets, faculty and staff needs, and student experience requirements
• Serving as the primary liaison for College resources including facilities, events, travel, and student services, as well as external stakeholders such as Notre Dame Global
• Driving delivery of annual goals, measuring success metrics, and communicating progress and opportunities
• Managing benefactor engagement, reporting, and fiduciary compliance
• Supporting Faculty and Program Directors on priorities, strategies, and student experiences

Key strengths for this role include managing multiple priorities, building strong relationships, influencing across teams, and maintaining attention to detail. Successful Program Managers are proactive, resourceful, and comfortable constructively challenging outdated processes.

Program Managers serve as the central resource for all aspects of program tracking and reporting. Each program manager is a primary point of contact for a Program, Center, or Institute and may also assist the broader Program Management team on college level initiatives and/or other Programs, Center's, and Institutes as necessary.

Strategy and Leadership

• Recommend and implement strategies that align with College and program goals
• Drive operational efficiency and collaboration across College units
• Develop plans, processes, and reporting tools that track program success
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders and benchmark peer institutions to identify new opportunities

Operations

• Partner with Faculty Directors to manage annual operations, budgets, timelines, and communications
• Lead execution of events, travel, marketing, and student or classroom support
• Oversee program budgets, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and timely reporting
• Establish and analyze key performance metrics for continuous improvement
• Collaborate across teams to identify efficiencies and strengthen partnerships
• Support benefactor and partner relationships that advance the program's mission

Team Collaboration and Student Experience

• Participate in Program Management Team activities and shared initiatives
• Contribute to process improvements and documentation that strengthen College operations
• Advocate for consistent use of systems and tools across the team
• Support other Program Managers and the broader Student Experience team when needed

Required:

• Bachelor's degree 
• Candidates should have 5+ year experience in program design or project management, including: 
  • Experience in managing relationships/partnerships with nonprofit organizations and/or corporations 
  • Ability to establish objectives and develop strategies for achieving objectives 
  • Exceptional organizational skills, and an ability to manage a complex portfolio of activities happening concurrently 
  • Ability to develop and maintain diverse stakeholder relationships 
  • Collaborative and team-oriented working style 
  • Strong organizational capacities
• Comfortable working in ambiguity and taking initiative to solve problems
• Familiarity with annual budgets/ P+L planning and management 
• Familiarity with project management tools and developing processes in a cross-functional setting

Preferred:

• Led/mentored junior staff members 
• Experience working in an inter-cultural environment 
• Experience developing and leading cross-functional program with a varied set of key stakeholders 
• Ability to drive outcomes through influence, negotiation, and relationship building
• Comfortable with outcome reporting, specifically KPIs and OKRs
• Exposure to innovative pedagogies such as Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Negotiation 
• Background in project/program design and/or evaluation are preferred 
• Experience in collaborative environments like Google Suite and Trello 

Compensation: Starting at $62,000, commensurate with experience.

This position will be accepting applications until July 24, 2026.

This position requires a cover letter to be considered.

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.