Project Planner

EXISTING CNC CUPE Employees:
Employment Status Full Time Employment Type Leave Replacement Job Summary

The Project Planner develops and negotiates new initiatives and conducts research and analysis on behalf of other departments of the College, and for the College as a whole. This requires extensive discussion, orientation, explanation and negotiation internally as well as externally. The Project Planner is responsible for staying current with community needs, and for working closely with educational and service divisions to define project requirements and match them with community and industry partners. The Project Planner must also stay current with overall College strategies, directions and decisions in order to provide appropriate guidance and planning for initiatives such as Strategic Enrolment Management.

The Project Planner draws together groups of individuals/agencies, facilitating the process and working towards collaborative problem solving and decision making. The balancing of multiple projects, in a variety of different phases of development, is one of the most challenging aspects of the position. This requires constantly changing focus, concentration and quickly making decisions when doing the day to day duties of the position. It is also necessary on a regular basis to be very focused for extensive periods of time when drawing together all of the gathered information and developing a proposal for funding.

The Project Planner provides direction and support to the Project Coordinator -Policy Planning and Strategy on a daily basis.

Specific Duties

In cooperation with community and internal partners, this position is responsible for developing, planning, implementing, administering and evaluating a variety of initiatives at CNC. This is a position whose decisions and actions have significant impact on the operations of the Division and the College, as accountability is to external as well as internal partners. Duties may include:

- Identify and investigate program and service needs and opportunities; recommend which activities the College will pursue, and in what way;
- Write proposals, negotiate proposals with funding partners and College partners;
- Develop and negotiate project budgets;
- Handle a variety of special assignments independently, ensuring the financial viability of all projects, taking into account all direct and indirect costs;
- Assess industry and community training and education needs, research industry standards and requirements, research labor market data;
- Identify partners and program/project requirements;
- Initiate and facilitate collaborative group work in the community and the College, often with groups where no previous relationship exists;
- Track College accountabilities against commitments;
- Write briefing notes and make recommendations on research topics;
- Attend internal and external meetings, communicate with internal and external partners, advise internal and external partners on vision, direction and opportunities as well as internal and external policies and procedures affecting the work;
- Act as College representative with external partners;
- You will be part of a team actively engaged in contributing to and accomplishing the vision, mission, and goals of the College;
- You will promote a positive work atmosphere and communicating in a professional manner that demonstrates mutual respect at all times;
- Other duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (or higher) specializing in business administration, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of training and experience;
- Project Management Professional (PMP) designation an asset.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in project development, planning and coordination.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills; written skills must be demonstrated;
- Demonstrated understanding of adult education philosophy;
- Proven ability to facilitate complex collaborative group work with multiple stakeholders;
- Demonstrated ability to effectively manage all resources for project completion;
- Proven experience working with industry, business and community partners;
- Working knowledge of labor market research and research processes;
- Excellent skills in problem-solving, including the ability to resolve a variety of unusual conditions using both analytical skills and the development of new information on the problem situation;
- Proven ability to exercise organizational and routine supervisory skills;
- Ability to work with continuous interruptions and to coordinate activities within the work of the unit;
- Ability to work independently and meet extremely demanding work schedules and deadlines;
- Ability to motivate others to maintain quality services in a constantly changing environment;
- Proven ability to maintain positive working relationships (internally and externally) in an extremely demanding environment, to work with tact and diplomacy, and to be persuasive about the