Senior Manager, Project Management & Learning Operations

Noodle is higher education’s leading strategy, services, and technology partner. We develop infrastructure, provide life-changing learning experiences, and grow the awareness of and the enrollment in some of the best academic institutions in the world. Our vision is “to empower universities to change the world.” We achieve this vision by offering our university partners various products and services that help them be more resilient, responsive, efficient, and interconnected.

The Senior Manager, Project Management and Learning Operations is part of a larger team tasked with creating exceptional learning experiences. The Senior Manager will manage a group of Project Managers and oversee their assigned portfolio of projects within the Learning Department as well as manage their own contract assignments. The person in this role will lead the Learning Project Managers as part of the Project Management Office and work with the entire Learning department to improve processes and operations, resource allocations and utilisation. The ideal candidate is an experienced and well rounded strategic leader with attention to detail, ability to juggle competing priorities, superior project management knowledge, and ability to work with multiple stakeholders.

• Provide an exceptional experience for our clients when building courses and online learning programs. Ensuring that all the instructional design partners (for example, the instructional designer and the creative media team) and the university partner are aligned on the vision and timeline for the course and program and are working toward common goals.
• Effectively build and manage relationships with internal Noodle team members and University Partners.
• Create Statements of Work to define project scope with Account Managers.
• Work with the Traffic Manager to review project schedules that ensure the courses are built on time and optimise resource allocation and utilisation.
• Lead and mentor Project Managers from project initiation to closure of assigned deals.
• Monitor the milestone completion for assigned project managers to ensure each project is within scope and timeframe.
• Monitor program invoicing, billing, and budget so that courses do not exceed the budgeted amount allocated for development, including analyzing for patterns, anticipating patterns and problems and collaborating to create solutions.
• Monitor weekly status reports across assigned projects and communicate project status, risks and issues to the VP, PMO.
• Identify any areas for improvement across projects and within the Learning team ensuring we work well together and are delivering the best quality service and courses.
• Lead the building and improvement of our new project management system to work well for the Learning department.
• Problem solve project escalations alongside the VP, PMO and Senior Manager, Learning Design.

• Define project scope, goals and deliverables that support business goals in collaboration with the team – update and adapt to changes as needed.
• Continually manage and communicate project expectations with Project Managers.
• Prioritize requests and escalate as required to Learning Operations Leadership and the VP, PMO.
• Identify and troubleshoot problem areas.
• Conduct project post mortems and create recommendation reports.

• Think critically and strategically about current processes, systems and relationships and identify possible issues before they become issues.
• Manage and create workflows, processes and documentation to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency and cohesion.
• Think creatively and drive initiatives from inception to implementation to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency.

• Perform data analysis and compilation for tracking and reporting purposes.
• Compile various reports, decks and other materials for reporting portfolio information to the VP, PMO and/or Finance.
• Manage oversight of budgets and ensure spending within targets, identifying sources of variance and potential remedies or opportunities
• Communicate project status, risks, and issues to VP of PMO
• Provide financial oversight in the development and tracking of portfolio budgets, including but not limited to reconciliation, utilisation, and understanding of variances.

• Two to five direct reports, full-time and part-time.
• Lead and mentor the Learning Project Managers.
• Provide training and identify any gaps they may require assistance with.

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree (required) and/or PMP certification.
• Relevant Masters Degree (preferred).
• 7+ years of Project Management experience.
• 3+ years of successful vendor, provider, and/or client success management.
• 3+ years of experience in budgeting and scope of work development.
• 2+ years of curricular instruction or development.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong problem solving skills and analytical ability.
• Demonstrated attention to detail e.g. quality assurance.
• Flexibility, versatility and proven ability to lead change.
• Strong facilitation skills.
• Strong project management and planning skills in order to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong resource and risk management skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in managing cross-functional projects.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• The position will be located in South Africa and travel is expected periodically for company/team events.
• This is a full-time position.
• Remote working (within South Africa).
• Yearly education allowance for lifelong learning.
• Internet Allowance.
• Contribution to either Medical Aid or Retirement Annuity.

At Noodle, we hire people who will help us change the future of online education. Even if you don't think you check off every bullet point on this list, we still encourage you to apply! We value both current experience and future potential.

Noodle is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone. We value and celebrate our differences because those differences are what make our team shine. We hire great people from different backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger as a whole. Women, people of color, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Noodle is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against candidates on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or veteran status.