Learning Technologies Project Manager

The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has set ambitious goals to ensure that every childin every school and every neighborhoodhas access to a world-class learning experience from birth, ensuring our students will graduate from high school college- and career-ready. The Learning Technologies Project Manager is responsible for the oversight and growth of the district's employee learning management system (LMS) and implementation/management of other academic, technology-related initiatives.

The Learning Technologies Project Manager will report to CPS' Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Digital Media and will directly support the implementation of the Universal Curriculum System (UCS).

The UCS is a formal structure designed to support the effective and efficient identification, implementation, evaluation, and coordination of the district's curricular options. The implementation effort for the UCS has been organized as a portfolio of projects, organized across four primary categories:

1. Curriculum
2. Assessment
3. Instruction
4. Infrastructure

Critical Responsibilities:

• Develop and support implementation of a roadmap for the district's future-focused technology ecosystem, the interoperating set of learning technologies that will support excellence in teaching and learning.
• Serve as Product Owner for the employee learning management system (LMS), PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management.
• Collaborate with managers of like/integrated applications to ensure coherence, support interoperability (IMS Global) and maintain a consistently positive user experience.
• W ork closely with CPS' Office of Information and Technology Services (ITS), strategic source partners, unions and other stakeholders to ensure the LMS - and other T&L solutions - directly support advancements in teaching and learning.
• Develop and implement a customer support model that allows for efficient resolution of customer requests and service incidents.
• Design and coordinate end-user training aligned to T&L's priorities and available via multiple modalities.
• Solicit feedback from school, network and central office teams to understand the motivations and barriers of end users and improve future strategies.
• Manage priorities among a very diverse and demanding group of internal stakeholders.

The Learning Technologies Project Manager will also be responsible for the following:

• Lead ongoing LMS optimization efforts.
• Drive system engagement/utilization, manage user permissions and privileges, perform scheduled activities and write/maintain/support a variety of reports.
• Own LMS query/reporting and ensure meaningful metrics are available to leadership on demand.
• Evaluate business requirements, research and evaluate options, estimate units of work, recommend alternative solutions with impact analysis and prioritize deliverables.
• Translate business requirements into system requirements and create/execute test and implementation plans.
• Serve as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the LMS and advise other technology administrators on learning and development processes/workflows.
• Develop, organize and distribute all documentation and playbooks related to the LMS and/or other learning technologies.
• Track, manage and report on goals, objectives, budgets, KPIs and outcomes as appropriate
• Coordinate with managers of like/integrated applications to ensure coherence and support a consistently positive user experience.
• Identify new technology trends/methodologies that align to and support the Universal Curriculum System (UCS) implementation and other academic projects/priorities.
• Secure buy-in and drive adoption of the district's suite of learning technologies.
• Support the integration of technology into teaching and learning processes at the school, network and central office levels.
• Consistently focus on creating systems and resources that best serve the needs of end-users. understand the motivations and barriers of stakeholders to support prioritization/planning.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Learning Technologies Project Manager must possess the following qualifications:

Type of Education Required:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's Degree in Technology, or a related field of study. Master's Degree preferred.
• Project Management Certification strongly preferred.
• Oracle PeopleSoft Certification Training preferred - or an equivalent combination of training and experience navigating/translating systems architecture/workflows.

Type of Experience and Number of Years:

• Five or more years of experience working with enterprise learning management systems for employee populations >10,000.
• Five or more years of experience managing mid- to large-scale projects for large, complex organizations.
• Five or more years of experience in designing, creating and executing complex queries and reports.
• Experience with educational technology or digital media strongly preferred.
• Experience working with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, preferably Oracle-PeopleSoft. Strong preference given to candidates with direct experience in PeopleSoft ELM.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of SQL, Crystal or other BI application.
• Ability to lead and effectively communicate with teams to focus resources (both human and financial) toward achievement of expected results.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to develop and deliver effective presentations.
• Ability to facilitate group processes in consensus building, conflict resolution, planning and decision-making.
• Self-starter with ability to conduct multiple projects concurrently, both independently and as a member of a collaborative team.
• Ability to identify and define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Able and willing to think outside the box, create a bold vision, and generate new ideas.
• Able to lead projects from planning to execution. Incredible attention to detail and project follow-through.
• Able to structure problems, analyze and synthesize significant amounts of data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps.

Additional Notes :

• CPS employees are required to be actual residence of the City of Chicago within six months of beginning employment, and are required to maintain Chicago residency throughout employment.
• Chicago Public Schools is not currently hiring individuals for this position who now or in the future require sponsorship for employment based non-immigrant and immigrant visas.
• Chicago Public Schools is an EEO/AA Employer. All qualified individuals, including minorities, females, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.