Project Manager, Marketing, Communications, Events & Conferences

About Roger Williams University: At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers 50 majors and robust offerings of graduate and professional programs across eight schools of study including Rhode Island's only law school, with campuses on the coast of Bristol and in the heart of Providence, R.I. With small classrooms and a focus on undergraduate and graduate research and community engagement, a Roger Williams education blends the strength of liberal arts and professional studies, providing all students with the depth and breadth of interdisciplinary thinking and well-rounded knowledge necessary to succeed in our interconnected, global world. RWU is committed to strengthening society through engaged scholarship so that students graduate with the ability to think critically and apply the practical skills that today's employers demand. Roger Williams University seeks to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. We value all races, genders, identities, and abilities. RWU is committed to creating a thriving community that encourages lifelong learning, professional development, and academic innovation. To learn more about Roger Williams University's commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please visit here.

Job Description:

The Project Manager for Marketing, Communications, Events & Conferences provides division-wide project management, operational coordination, and executive support for Roger Williams University's integrated Division of Marketing, Communications, Events & Conferences. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Project Manager serves as the central point of coordination for work that crosses marketing, communications, creative services, digital strategy, university events, conferences, and major institutional initiatives. The position drives priorities across the full division, ensuring approved initiatives move from strategy through execution with clear scope, ownership, timelines, accountability, and measurable outcomes.

The Project Manager moves work from request through completion, establishing scope, timelines, responsibilities, dependencies, approvals, and deliverables while ensuring teams have the information and resources needed to execute successfully. The position maintains visibility across the division's full portfolio of work and provides the CMO with timely information and data on unit priorities, capacity, performance, deadlines, risks, and barriers to execution. The Project Manager also supports the CMO in coordinating divisional priorities, preparing executive-level materials and reports, tracking follow-up from leadership meetings, and developing dashboards that demonstrate the performance and impact of divisional campaigns and initiatives. This position is based on Roger Williams University's Bristol campus and works regularly with colleagues across the University's Bristol and Providence operations. The role is expected to be on campus and requires flexibility to support major university initiatives and events, which occasionally will require evening or weekend work.

Project Management

Manage and drive the division-wide key project portfolio across marketing, communications, creative, digital, events, conferences, and major institutional initiatives, translating approved priorities into clear project plans with scope, deliverables, responsibilities, milestones, approvals, dependencies, and deadlines. Lead project intake, scoping, prioritization, and scheduling, working with the CMO, functional leaders, and campus partners to clarify objectives, audiences, budgets, timelines, resource needs, and measures of success before work begins. Coordinate cross-functional execution across the full division, ensuring effective handoffs, accountability, and alignment among marketing, communications, creative, digital, media relations, events, and conference operations. Provide executive project and operational support to the CMO.

Organization and Reporting

Develop and maintain performance dashboards for divisional campaigns and initiatives, bringing together appropriate marketing, communications, digital, web, media, event, conference, summer programs, and engagement metrics to demonstrate progress, outcomes, and institutional impact. Develop and manage integrated workplans and assessments for major university initiatives, including signature events such as Commencement, Convocation, Homecoming, presidential events, major announcements, conferences, summer programs, ribbon cuttings, and milestone celebrations, coordinating division deliverables with functional leaders. Maintain the division's centralized project management system, master calendar, production schedules, and portfolio reporting, providing visibility into active and upcoming work, deadlines, workload, capacity, dependencies, campaign performance, and potential conflicts.

Division Support and Planning

Support divisional planning and performance reporting, including annual goals, campaign results, project volume, turnaround times, event outcomes, conference activity, and other key indicators that help leadership assess priorities and resource allocation. Drive continuous process improvement across the division by identifying workflow gaps and developing standardized project briefs, dashboards, templates, and operating procedures, while strengthening systems that improve efficiency, transparency, service, and accountability. Coordinate external resources and maintain strong campus partnerships by managing vendor timelines, project budgets, documentation, and deliverables, while serving as a responsive point of contact for schools, colleges, departments, and administrative partners throughout the project lifecycle. Contribute positively to the success of the division by collaborating across teams, supporting shared priorities and major University initiatives, adapting to evolving needs, and performing other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in management, marketing, communications, business, event management, or a related field.
• Professional certification in project management, such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Agile/Scrum certification, or comparable recognized project management credential.
• A minimum of 3 to 5 years of demonstrated experience managing multiple complex projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of project management principles, workflows, dependencies, resource planning, and project accountability.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and managing initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and functional areas.
• Experience developing reports, dashboards, or performance summaries using data from multiple sources.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear executive-level materials and presentations.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to establish priorities, meet deadlines, anticipate challenges, and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Experience using project management, reporting, and collaboration platforms.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, diplomacy, confidentiality, and professionalism when working with senior leadership and sensitive institutional matters.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including some evening or weekend work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within Monday.com or a comparable project management system.
• Working within a higher education creative team or another complex organization.
• Experience providing project, operational, or executive support to senior leadership.
• Experience supporting an integrated marketing, communications, creative, events, or agency environment.
• Experience managing large institutional initiatives, campaigns, or events.
• Familiarity with website production, digital marketing, creative production, communications, media relations, events, and conference operations.
• Experience coordinating external agencies, freelancers, vendors, and production partners.

At the University's discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be accepted where the candidate can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the University, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.

Additional Information:

Roger Williams University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workforce. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other basis protected by applicable state and federal law. For information on our Non-discrimination policy, visit here. RWU prohibits all forms of discrimination on the basis of sex in its education programs and activities and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing regulations not to discriminate in such a manner. Complaints of Title IX sexual harassment should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator at the contact information listed below. Details regarding the formal complaint process can be found here: Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and responded to promptly.

TITLE IX COORDINATOR:

Dr. Jen Stanley, 1 Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809 / Phone Number: (401) 254-3123 /Email Address: jstanley@rwu.edu

Application Instructions:

Please attach a resume, cover letter, and list of three (3) professional references.