Project Manager: Innovation & Expansion

Wage/Hour Status: Exempt

Duty Days: 260

Dept./School / Brand: Home Office / Innovation and Expansion

Reports to: Lead Project Manager

Work Location: Administrative Office - 1301 Waters Ridge Lewisville, TX 75057

Travel: Yes

Supervises Others: No

ResponsiveEd is a public charter school operator driven by a mission to provide hope for students through diverse educational models that promote a free society and cultivate moral and academic excellence. Supported by a dedicated team of more than 3,500 professionals, our multi-state network operates more than 150 tuition-free campuses across Texas, Arkansas, and Ohio, serving over 25,000 students. We offer five distinct educational models, including classical academies, STEM and early college high schools, virtual schools, and personalized pathways for credit recovery and career and technical education (CTE), providing families with meaningful public education choices that align with their students' interests, goals, and learning styles. United by a shared commitment to academic excellence, character development, and operational excellence, we prepare students for purposeful, lifelong success.

The Innovation & Expansion Department leads the planning, development, and execution of new school openings, campus expansions, and strategic educational partnerships to support organizational growth. The department oversees projects from initial feasibility and site evaluation through budgeting, facility readiness, procurement, operational setup, and opening, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, regulatory requirements, and established timelines. Through cross-functional collaboration, process improvement, and strategic resource management, the department drives innovative growth initiatives and ensures campuses are equipped for successful, sustainable operations

The Innovation and Expansion Project Manager leads school expansion projects from initiation through opening and transition. This role owns project execution, schedule management, cross-functional coordination, risk management, communication, and quality control to ensure assigned schools open on time, within budget, fully enrolled, fully staffed, and prepared to deliver the school model. The Project Manager serves as the central point of coordination across functional leaders, Superintendents, Regional Directors, Campus Directors, and other stakeholders while managing multiple school openings and competing priorities simultaneously.

What You’ll Bring to the Role:

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited University

Project Management Certification (e.g., PMP, CAPM preferred)

2–4 years of progressive experience in project management, operations, school expansion, launch environments, or a related field.

Experience managing multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines and cross-functional dependencies.

Experience using project management tools and software for scheduling, task tracking, reporting, and project documentation.

Demonstrated experience leading projects and influencing people who may not report directly to the position.

Knowledge and Skills

Strong project planning, organization, prioritization, and execution skills.

Ability to manage multiple projects and school openings simultaneously while maintaining attention to critical details.

Ability to perform effectively under pressure, meet firm deadlines, and adapt quickly to changing priorities, timelines, and organizational needs.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including communication with senior leadership and geographically dispersed teams.

Commitment to excellent customer service, with a responsive, professional, and solutions-oriented approach when supporting campuses, school leaders, and internal partners.

Strong stakeholder-management skills and the ability to obtain cooperation and accountability from Department Function Leaders and other stakeholders.

Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills, including the ability to use data to monitor progress and inform decisions.

Ability to identify risks, anticipate downstream impacts, and develop practical mitigation and contingency plans.

Ability to facilitate meetings, drive action items to completion, and hold stakeholders accountable for commitments.

Ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities, timelines, and organizational needs.

Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively in a team environment.

Strong strategic, operational, technical, and organizational skills.

What You’ll Do:

The following statements of duties and responsibilities are intended to describe the general nature and level of work. These statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required.

Responsibilities/Essential Functions:

Manage each assigned project from start to finish to ensure Innovation and Expansion goals, deliverables, timelines, and quality expectations are met.

Develop and maintain detailed project plans and schedules, including start dates, end dates, task owners, dependencies, milestones, comments, and status in the approved project management system.

Coordinate cross-functional workstreams and proactively manage dependencies that could affect school-opening readiness.

Establish clear expectations, deliverables, decision points, and accountability with Department Function Leaders and other stakeholders.

Track project progress against approved timelines and identify schedule slippage, resource constraints, scope changes, and other risks before they become critical issues.

Notify Department Function Leaders and staff promptly when timelines or deliverables are at risk and recommend corrective actions.

Maintain a clear view of project health, including milestones, risks, issues, decisions, dependencies, and outstanding actions.

Track and report project milestones on the Master Project List and review progress regularly with the Lead Project Manager.

Conduct bi-weekly School Start-Up Meetings with assigned schools and project management teams, and drive action items through completion.

Facilitate and mediate among Department Function Leaders, Superintendents, Regional Directors, Campus Directors, and other project stakeholders.

Lead problem-solving efforts, remove barriers where possible, and escalate unresolved risks and decisions at the appropriate level.

Lead, coach, and motivate project team members through proactive communication, accountability, and follow-up.

Partner with the Lead Project Manager to conduct post-project evaluations and Lessons Learned Meetings and apply findings to future projects.

Develop, refine, and implement project management tools, templates, processes, and best practices for Innovation and Expansion.

Maintain complete and accurate project documentation in the approved project management system.

Travel to school and project sites as required, approximately 40%–60%.

What We Expect From You:

Participate in faculty meetings, professional development, and required training sessions

Continuous improvement of efficiency, adaptability, and confidence in the role

Consistent punctuality and attendance

Maintain positive and professional daily communication with colleagues and leadership

Equipment Used:

All equipment required to perform duties and tasks were previously described.

Physical / Environmental Factors:

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the employer may provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourage both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

Additional Requirements:

Successful completion of a criminal background check

Compliance with all organizational policies and applicable laws

At-Will Employment:

Nothing contained in this job description creates an employment contract or alters the at-will nature of employment. Employment with ResponsiveEd / Blue Learning is at will unless otherwise provided by applicable law or written agreement.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

ResponsiveEd Texas does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, military status, genetic information, or on any other basis prohibited by law and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups. Employment decisions will be made on the basis of each applicant’s job qualifications, experience, and abilities, as well as the school’s needs. Questions or concerns about discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, should contact Beckie Allen, the school’s Title IX Coordinator, at 972-316-3663, [email protected], or 1301 Waters Ridge Dr., Lewisville, TX 75057. Questions or concerns relating to discrimination for any other reason should be directed to Casey Morgan, Executive Director of Human Resources, at 972-316-3663, [email protected], or 1301 Waters Ridge Dr., Lewisville, TX 75057.