IT Project Manager

Sonoran University of Health Sciences shapes a healthier future by supporting students as they train to excel as healthcare professionals, by enhancing the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities, and by discovering effective treatments for humanity grounded in the healing power of nature. Our vision is a world that embraces the healing power of nature. Located in Tempe, Arizona, the overall environment is vibrant and dynamic, with passionate students, staff, and faculty.

As a private institution, Sonoran University is dedicated to fostering a supportive, inclusive community for all. Sonoran community members embody and promote inclusive excellence (IE).* This includes a commitment to respecting diverse perspectives and continually advancing your understanding and practices around equity, belonging, and support for all students, employees, patients, and our greater community. You will contribute to a campus culture that embraces our core values.Position Summary

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The IT Project Manager turns institutional technology strategy into action by planning and coordinating the delivery of IT initiatives across the University's academic, clinical, and administrative environments. This role supports cross-functional execution—aligning stakeholders, coordinating vendors, managing timelines, facilitating testing, and preparing for go-lives—to ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and with strong user adoption.

In addition to delivery coordination, the IT Project Manager is expected to engage in hands-on implementation work as part of project execution. This includes assisting with system configuration, validating integrations, performing structured technical changes, supporting testing, and helping troubleshoot issues during cutovers or go-lives. While not an engineering role, it requires a practical, sleeves-rolled-up approach to keep projects moving.

As an operational partner to the Senior Director of IT, the IT Project Manager maintains a transparent project portfolio and supports the refinement of delivery processes and service improvements, enabling the Senior Director to focus on institutional strategy, governance, compliance, and architecture.

Key Responsibilities

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Project Ownership \& Execution

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• Serve as the primary champion for assigned IT initiatives and projects.
• Build and manage project artifacts, including charters, scopes, schedules, resource plans, communications, training plans, and cutover checklists.
• Facilitate requirements discovery and documentation, process mapping, solution validation, UAT, and post-implementation reviews.
• Track progress against milestones; anticipate blockers; implement mitigations; escalate when institutional impact, scope, or budget is at risk.
• Maintain clear project status reporting for leadership and stakeholders.
• Perform hands-on project tasks when appropriate, including assisting with configuration or setup of systems, executing structured technical changes, validating integrations and data flows, supporting testing and troubleshooting, and participating in cutover and go-live activities.

Stakeholder \& Customer Engagement

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• Act as a primary point of contact for departments during project intake, execution, and delivery.
• Run effective cadence meetings, publish status updates, and ensure clarity around decisions, timelines, and impacts.
• Coordinate change management activities (training, communications, documentation) to support adoption and reduce support burden.

Delivery Process Support \& Operational Maturity

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• Support the development and refinement of lightweight, University-appropriate delivery practices (PMI/Agile/Hybrid).
• Contribute to improvements in workflows across request intake, prioritization, handoffs, documentation, and post-go-live support.
• Assist with defining and tracking delivery KPIs such as on-time performance, scope variance, post-go-live success measures, and customer satisfaction.

Technical Coordination \& Readiness

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• Coordinate technical tasks across systems administration, networking, identity, security, and data teams to ensure project readiness.
• Directly contribute to technical readiness activities by performing bounded implementation tasks aligned with project needs.
• Align build/config decisions with approved architecture, security standards, and institutional policies, consulting the Senior Director when platform or strategy decisions arise.
• Plan and coordinate cutovers, maintenance windows, rollback plans, and adoption activities.
• Support tracking and completion of system and process documentation.

Cybersecurity \& Compliance (Delivery Support)

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• Coordinate with security and compliance SMEs to ensure project deliverables meet applicable requirements (FERPA, GLBA, HIPAA-adjacent workflows, PCI, ADA/504).
• Ensure required documentation is completed and maintained appropriately.
• Support audit evidence collection within project scope.

Vendor \& Procurement Coordination

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• Coordinate vendor activities, including SOWs, implementation plans, acceptance criteria, and knowledge transfer.
• Support procurement by facilitating detailed requirements, evaluating options, and informing cost/benefit/operational analyses.
• Assist with vendor contract renewals and payment cycles.

Decision Making Boundaries

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Independent Authority

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• Project plans, delivery approach (Agile/Hybrid), internal tasking, and day-to-day prioritization.
• Stakeholder communications, meeting cadence, and ongoing deliverables management.
• Hands-on work completion where needed/applicable.
• Go/no-go recommendations at phase gates based on readiness criteria.

Consult/Approve with Senior Director and Peers

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• Changes affecting budget, scope, resourcing, risk, or institutional commitments.
• Platform/architecture decisions, requirements definitions, and standards.
• Risk posture changes, compliance impacts, or cross-departmental prioritization adjustments.

Qualifications

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Required

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• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field; or equivalent experience.
• 5\+ years in IT with demonstrated ownership of technology projects spanning multiple departments and constituents.
• Proven ability to run delivery best practices (planning, stand-ups, demos, retros), drive UAT, and support cutovers.
• Strong stakeholder communication skills, organization, and ability to translate technical work into clear outcomes and impacts.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 applications, identity/access management, networking fundamentals, and modern endpoint/infrastructure concepts.
• Familiarity with project management tools
• Experience with ITSM/ticketing and change control in a small or mid-size environment.
• Understanding of systems architectures, data flow, integrations, and security best practices.
• Exposure to database system frameworks, i.e., Microsoft SQL Server.
• Eagerness to take on some bounded work effort to support project completion.
• Hybrid work requirement with some effort based at the University campus in Tempe, AZ.

Preferred

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• Higher education or healthcare experience, including regulated environments (FERPA, GLBA, HIPAA-adjacent/PCI).
• Experience with SIS/LMS/EHR ecosystems and integrations – explicit preference toward Jenzabar One, Canvas LMS.

Competencies

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• Hands-On Delivery Mindset: Comfortable engaging directly in practical implementation tasks to keep projects moving.
• Delivery Excellence: Drives initiatives from concept to completion with measurable results.
• Stakeholder Leadership: Builds trust, facilitates decisions, and manages expectations.
• Operational Rigor: Applies disciplined planning, documentation, and change control.
• Problem Solving \& Risk Management: Anticipates issues; mitigates early; escalates appropriately.
• Customer Focus: Designs rollouts for adoption and minimal disruption.
• Adaptability: Thrives in a dynamic, resource-conscious environment with evolving priorities.
• Integrity \& Confidentiality: Handles sensitive academic and clinical data appropriately.

Background/Screening

All candidates offered a position at SONORAN UNIVERSITY undergo a background and drug screen prior to hire. All employees must show documentation of vaccinations or provide titer results for measles prior to first day of work (unless religious or medical exemption is on file). Employment is contingent upon satisfactory outcome of all screens required of this position.

SONORAN UNIVERSITY is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected status.

SONORAN UNIVERSITY is a smoke free campus.

• Inclusive Excellence is the standard set by an organization to intentionally integrate diversity, inclusion, and equity into its organizational pursuit of excellence.

About Sonoran University:

Sonoran University of Health Sciences is a non-profit and internationally recognized higher education institution dedicated to shaping a healthier future. Guided by our mission to support students as they train to excel as healthcare professionals, enhance the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities, and discover effective treatments grounded in the healing power of nature. We uphold our core values: We shape the future, we love, we achieve excellence, we are resilient, and we do the right thing.

The University’s College of Naturopathic Medicine, College of Nutrition, and School of Mental Health offer evidence-based programs designed to shape a healthier tomorrow by preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals.

To serve the University’s mission, the Sage Foundation for Health supports several Community Clinics focused on providing free naturopathic medical care to local underserved communities within the Phoenix Metro area. The College of Nutrition’s Virtual Center for Personalized Nutrition aims to eliminate traditional barriers to nutritional care by providing personalized and evidence-based care delivered at no cost via telehealth.

The Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research is a state-of-the-art molecular biology/phytochemistry laboratory seeks to improve therapies for global health concerns by exploring traditional medicine at the cellular, molecular, and cultural level to create novel botanical solutions that support people, plants, and planet.

The University’s Clinical Care branch operates two open-to-the-public clinics at the Tempe Campus. The Medical Center provides naturopathic healthcare for a wide range of patients including but not limited to; family medicine, nutrition and digestive health, mental health and well-being, dermatologic conditions, endocrine and auto-immune concerns, and acute symptoms. The Neil Riordan Center for Regenerative Medicine focuses on non-opioid solutions to pain and pain management utilizing treatments ranging from cupping and acupuncture to regenerative injection therapies. The Medicinary is the largest natural pharmacy in Arizona, offering an expansive collection of the highest quality, professional-grade supplements, herbs, and natural health products. Every purchase made at the Medicinary helps support the Sage Foundation and its mission to provide free healthcare to those in need.

Nurture your knowledge, visit sonoran.edu

Benefits:

At Sonoran University, we achieve excellence and shape the future by fostering a workplace where you can thrive and grow!

Our benefits go above and beyond to support your health, happiness, and lifestyle.

Qualifying employees enjoy comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, vacation time, 12 paid holidays, a 401(k) plan with a discretionary match, and employer-sponsored life, AD\&D, and long-term disability coverage.

Every team member benefits from paid sick time, and exclusive perks like free office visits at our Medical Center and Neil Riordan Center, plus discounts at the largest medicinary in the Southwest — with shipping available!

Enjoy a delicious meal our onsite café, or unwind in our fully equipped employee breakroom with a full kitchen, coffee, and new snacks every month.

Prioritize your wellness with free personalized nutritional care, a yoga studio, a fitness center, and covered parking.

Explore a wealth of knowledge in our library, rock your Sonoran pride on Casual Wednesdays, and be celebrated through our annual Employee Appreciation Day.

Want more? Access exclusive deals on attractions, shows, shopping, and more through Tickets At Work and LifeMart.

With a flexible hybrid work environment and an inspiring culture, Sonoran University is where passion and purpose meet to create a workplace like no other!