Job Summary:

Synergy Enterprises, Inc., a woman-owned small business, is seeking a Project Director (PD). The selected candidate will contribute to the overall technical direction and growth of the Department of Education National Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Technical Assistance (TA) Center contract. A qualified PD will be required to provide thought leadership to and work in close collaboration with the CLSD program staff. The PD is charged with providing day to day technical direction on this project and guide a team of multi-disciplinary staff.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide thought leadership, ideation, and strategies to engage CLSD Grantees and non-Grantee State Education Administrators to improve literacy outcomes for students.
• Provide monitoring, TA, evaluation, report writing and overall contract management services.
• Manage all aspects of the CLSD Blanket Purchase Award contract and simultaneous Task Orders (TO) issued under the contract.
• Adeptly assign, deploy, train, and supervise team members assigned to the active TOs to ensure optimal use of resources that ensure high quality delivery of products and services within allocated timelines and budgets.
• Respond to TO requests (write technical proposals and develop budgets), Ad-Hoc reports, White Papers, and provide ideation, timelines, budgets for all major deliverables.
• Manage a multi-disciplinary team of highly qualified TA Providers, Program Monitors, Information Technology (IT)staff, pool of writers, editors, graphic designers, and subcontractor staff, vendors, and pool of independent Subject Matter Expert (SME) consultants.
• Oversee the Deputy Project Director and ensures that tasks and set deadlines for team members (IT, etc.) are reasonable and understood to meet project and client needs.
• Maintain and coordinate liaison relationships with the CLSD client, project staff, subcontractors, consultants, grantees, CLSD stakeholders, and vendors, to assure understanding and appreciation of mutual objectives and problems.
• Pro-actively mitigate issues and provide solutions for client’s consideration and efficiently de-escalates issues to ensure effective resolution.
• Develop Standard Operating Processes (SOP) for the contract (administrative and technical), captures lessons learned and incorporate the same into the SOPs to ensure continuous improvement on the project.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in related field.
• 10+ years of direct experience providing TA services, evaluation, survey design and monitoring expertise for similar types of Federal contracts.
• Demonstrated expertise providing (1) Technical Assistance to State Education Agencies, (2) Grant Monitoring Services, and (3) Multi-tiered Systems of Support to Federal Grantees.
• Verifiable understanding of Annual Performance Measures and Government Performance Results Act data collection and reporting by Federal Grantees.
• Verifiable understanding of preparation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) packets related to survey design, conducting focus groups, etc.
• Must have excellent leadership, management, coordination, interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• Must have verifiable (at least 8+ years) and direct staff supervisory experience including but not limited to hiring, training, deploying, and overseeing staff to adeptly manage client deliverables and client’s shifting priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to independently conceptualize, develop, write, and substantively edit reports, concept papers, management plans, and monthly reports.
• Demonstrated experience in collaborating with team members, vendors, subcontracts, SME consultants to function as a “working” PD to design and deliver TA, monitoring, evaluation products, tools, reports, and services.
• Must have a keen ability to interpret client directives to ensure that all deliverables are of the highest quality.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and willingness and ability to be flexible to accommodate quick turnaround deadlines.
• Excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills.
• Ability to function in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office applications required.
• Proficiency in use of Program Management Tools such as SharePoint and Monday.com

Other job requirements:

• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as contracts or deadlines demand.
• Some travel may be required to meet contract or project specifications.

Physical demands and work environment:

• Physical demands:  While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle objects and documents; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision. Employee may use office equipment such as telephone, computer, computer software, calculator, printer, copier, and facsimile.
• Work environment: Employees are not exposed to adverse environmental conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.