Associate Director, Technical Project Management

Associate Director, Technical Project Management, IT (Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, or Durham, NC)

The Associate Director of Technical Project Management will lead mid- and large-sized technical projects and facilitate stakeholder engagement and alignment, manage vendors, and provide process and UX analysis support. In close partnership with the Director, Project Management Office, the AD of Technical Project Management will play a key role in developing and refining best practices for project management and user centered design at Arabella. They will provide support for more junior staff on the IT Project Management Team, and coaching for others engaged in project management, analysis, and process improvement at the firm.

Essential Responsibilities:

Project Management (50%) – This position will lead mid- to large-sized technology projects across the firm from inception to close-out. Project Management responsibilities will include:

• coordinating the project team to identify clear roles and responsibilities, communicate project schedule, budget, and scope, and guide the project team through key decision points
• lead the definition of project scope, and lead project through inception, vendor selection, development, and closeout, partnering with product and implementation leads as appropriate
• managing vendor contracts and track expenses throughout project duration
• manage project risks and develop mitigation plans with the project team

Analysis (25%) – Analysis responsibilities will include:

• Leading requirements meetings with internal stakeholders and vendors, including from both a user experience and process efficiency perspective, depending on the effort
• Create process maps, mock-ups, and workflow documents to support analysis activities
• Managing vendors’ work on requirements, UAT, and testing activities and providing leadership in strategy for engaging Arabella stakeholders in these activities
• Supporting the intake of new project ideas to identify core business needs, ROI, value of project, and risks, and partner with product owners to develop tech project proposals
• Support with efforts to engage more Arabellans in analysis and testing work through efforts like a new tech rotation program for internal staff and more

Knowledge Management & Community of Practice (25%) – This position will play a lead role in contributing to Arabella’s community of practice for project management and analysis at the firm. This will include:

• developing resources such as standard operating procedures, templates, and guides
• proposing and implementing ideas for cross-team knowledge sharing, trainings, and workshops
• expanding Arabella’s use of Jira & Confluence
• creating templates and resources for system owners around product management, roadmap creation, and more

To Be Successful in This Role, You’ll Need:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent level of experience
• Minimum of 2 years of experience managing mid- to large-scale software development projects, ideally using both agile and waterfall methodologies
• Minimum of 2 years of experience of analysis, including requirement elicitation and documentation, process analysis, and/or testing
• Strong communication skills and experience in technical requirement writing as well as translating requirements to a non-technical audience
• Strong understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), user centered design principles, and process improvement methods

Our Core Competencies:

• The ability to provide excellent service, including being able to address complex service matters, implement and communicate service changes to everyone involved, and to coach teammates on how to apply the firm’s service standards
• The ability to manage large-scale and cross-firm projects, including delegating and managing all resources, identifying and implementing improved processes, monitoring consistency across project teams, and providing direction and support to teammates
• The ability to facilitate and negotiate among stakeholders with conflicting needs and to generate consensus among decision makers
• The ability to help effectively communicate difficult messages; to adapt style, tone, and content to meet various needs; and to coach teammates on crafting content.
• The ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others to achieve shared goals, including encouraging and facilitating effective compromise, drawing on the capabilities of all team members, and leading team-level knowledge sharing
• The ability to use available resources and feedback to continually develop mastery in your role and facilitate team and project-level learning, including coaching others
• The ability to solve complex challenges by identifying innovative solutions and facilitating coordination with others
• The ability to elevate the voices of marginalized colleagues and mitigate power dynamics with staff with less formal authority

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Advancing DEI within our firm and in our work with partners is critical to our mission. To be effective partners to philanthropists, nonprofits, and communities impacted by philanthropic dollars, we need to have a highly diverse staff, a workplace where individuals are encouraged to retain their uniqueness and can feel a sense of belonging, and a nuanced understanding of the racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, and other disparities that undergird the issues we engage in and the interactions we have with one another. For us, equity means that our staff members, our clients, and the people they serve can experience the same level of success, no matter their starting place. We expect all our employees to share this commitment, and always seek ways to improve how well we live these values. Click here to learn more about DEI at Arabella and read our official DEI statement.

Total Rewards (compensation and benefits)

This is a full-time position. We offer a competitive and holistic total rewards package that includes salary, bonus, and benefits. Our compensation ranges are based on salary ranges for similar sized organizations in the professional services sector and adjusted for local labor market rates and differentiated by geography.

Durham range $75,000-$93,000

Chicago range $80,000-$100,000

DC range $85,000-$105,000

All full-time staff are eligible for our generous benefits package on their first day of employment:

• Health insurance- On average Arabella pays 86% of the medical premium, 80% of the dental premium, and 100% of the vision premium
• Paid time off- 16 days’ vacation, 10 personal days, 11 company holidays (7 federal and 4 more from a list of inclusive cultural and religious holidays and your birthday), 20 hours’ volunteer leave, 8 weeks’ parental leave
• 401(k) retirement plan- We offer a 4% employer match on a dollar-per-dollar basis, and there is no waiting or vesting period; all funds contributed by you and Arabella are yours to keep on day 1
• Reimbursements for your personal cell phone plan and fitness
• Pre-tax withholding for transportation and parking
• Bonus incentive opportunities
• Access to professional development opportunities

Working with Us

While this position must be based in Chicago, IL, Durham, NC or Washington, DC. Please note that all Arabella Advisors’ offices have reopened, and we work in a hybrid environment.

We reopened our offices in Summer of 2022 and work with a hybrid workplace strategy to ensure continued flexibility for our staff, while deepening our strong culture rooted in collaboration and in-person interactions between colleagues. We expect that after their initial onboarding, all Arabellans will have the choice of two hybrid schedules. Our hybrid schedule options include Flex, with 1-2 days per week in the office, or Office-based, with 3+ days per week in the office (or more if preferred) and the remaining days working at home/remotely. We will make reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

To center the safety and well-being of its employees, Arabella Advisors requires that any employee who is required to conduct in-person activities for their job must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within four weeks of their start date. This position may require candidates to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Accommodations may be sought and approved in accordance with the law.

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers page to learn more.

How to Apply

Submit a resume and a one-page cover letter online. The cover letter should address why you’re excited to work at Arabella and why you’re qualified for this specific job.

Arabella Advisors is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to racial equity. If we can make the application process easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

We encourage you to read (or listen to) our DEI statement prior to applying. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color and members of marginalized groups to apply for open positions. Once you have applied, we welcome your feedback on how you have experienced our values around DEI in the recruitment process.

While Arabella is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we generally are unable to pay for relocation expenses, and all applicants must already be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of application to be considered for this position.

We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.