IT Project Manager – Finance (CEMI)

Working Title: IT Project Manager – Finance (CEMI)  [Remote] [2 Year Term]

No Visa Sponsorship is available for this position.

This is a 2 year term appointment which may be ended or extended based on organizational needs, funding availability, and performance.

About the Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative

The Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative (CEMI) is a multi-year program designed to improve the experience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, patients, and partners by unifying and enhancing administrative systems and processes across all Cornell University locations. Its name CEMI is said as “See Me” because the focus is on you: the people who use Cornell’s systems and data to accomplish your goals.

What will you do:

The CEMI Finance Team Project Manager is responsible for leading the Finance functional team to delivering critical process design and ERP functionality that will support the financial administration of Cornell University and all of its colleges, business units, and departments.  This role will support a diverse group of stakeholders across central administration and university leadership.  It will be responsible to balance technology requirements with institutional functions, policies, governance structures, and campus‑wide priorities.

The CEMI Finance Team Project Manager oversees the full project lifecycle, including planning, requirements gathering, resource coordination, scheduling, risk management, communication, and implementation. They ensure project tasks are completed on time, within scope, and within budget while maintaining a strong focus on service excellence and end‑user experience. The Project Manager must be skilled in facilitating consensus, navigating complexity, and working with cross‑functional teams in a decentralized IT structures, shared services, and collaborative governance.

Key strengths for this role include the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and adapt to evolving institutional needs. The role requires a blend of technical understanding, project management expertise, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to support mission‑driven initiatives that advance teaching, learning, research, and operational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Planning & Initiation: Define project scope, objectives, requirements, deliverables, and success criteria; develop detailed project plans and schedules.
• Execution & Delivery: Coordinate cross‑functional technical and operational teams, monitor progress, and ensure timely delivery of project activities.
• Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for project stakeholders; facilitate communication, manage expectations, and support effective decision‑making.
• Scope, Schedule & Budget Control: Manage project scope, track milestones, maintain schedules, and monitor budgets; evaluate and document change requests.
• Risk & Issue Management: Identify risks early, develop mitigation strategies, resolve project issues, and escalate concerns as needed.
• Communication & Reporting: Prepare and deliver project updates, status reports, dashboards, and documentation for diverse technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Quality Assurance: Ensure project deliverables meet functional, technical, accessibility, security, and policy requirements.
• Vendor & Resource Coordination: Support vendor management, procurement activities, and internal resource allocation as appropriate.
• Project Closeout: Facilitate project wrap‑up activities, including documentation, lessons learned, and transition to operational support teams.
• Continuous Improvement of Project Management Practices: provide feedback on processes, identify opportunities for enhancement, and collaborate with peers to strengthen standard methodologies across the organization.

This is a 2 year term appointment which may be ended or extended based on organizational needs, funding availability, and performance.

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are