Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.
Job Category:
Academic Staff
Employment Type:
Regular
Job Profile:
Project Manager I
Job Summary:
This position is responsible for leading project management efforts for two UW–Madison initiatives: the Deliberation Dinners program (80%) and The Discussion Project (20%). The role focuses on program coordination, student engagement, event execution, communications, and operational management to support high-quality student deliberations and professional learning experiences for UW-Madison instructors.
Deliberation Dinners Responsibilities (80%)
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Deliberation Dinners, a program that will be in its fourth year, brings together ideologically diverse undergraduate students to engage in structured, high-quality discussions on contemporary political issues, building skills for respectful and meaningful dialogue and deliberations with people who have different views from their own.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead end-to-end project management, including annual planning, timelines, and milestone tracking
- Oversee program budget and manage purchasing processes (materials, catering, space reservations, incentives) in alignment with WCER systems
- Supervise and coordinate a team of undergraduate student employees and a graduate project assistant
- Plan and execute all Deliberation Dinner events, including logistics, materials, AV, communications, and on-site facilitation (evening events required)
- Design and implement a large-scale student recruitment strategy to engage ~375 ideologically diverse undergraduates, including survey development, outreach, and partnership with campus offices
- Serve as liaison with key campus partners (e.g., Registrar’s Office, Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research)
- Manage participant communications, including onboarding, expectations, incentives, permissions, and ongoing engagement (email, calendar, Canvas)
- Administer program operations, including payments, stipends, tracking participation, and documentation (e.g., completion and recognition letters)
- Partner with the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative to support program evaluation efforts and data sharing
- Develop and maintain program communications and outreach materials (website updates, flyers, presentations, media coordination)
- Collaborate with curriculum and facilitation teams to organize and update program content, including discussion materials and facilitator training
- Co-plan and co-facilitate facilitator training sessions
- Prepare annual reports and contribute to program scaling and administrative support as needed
- Represent the program through presentations to faculty, students, and university stakeholders
The Discussion Project Responsibilities (20%)
The Discussion Project is a professional course for UW–Madison and UW System instructors focused on improving classroom discussion practice that has been offered since 2017.
Key Responsibilities:
- Support course implementation, including materials preparation and organization
- Assist with administration of The Discussion Project Classroom Discussion Survey
- Coordinate participant recruitment and communications, including mass emails and outreach to campus partners
- Manage participant enrollment, tracking, and communications (welcome messages, scheduling, calendar invites)
- Process purchasing and travel arrangements for instructors
- Maintain and update program website and participant database
- Support presentations and outreach related to The Discussion Project
- Maintain office organization, supplies, and inventory
Anticipated Start Date: July 1st, 2026
Key Job Responsibilities:
- Facilitates the estimation of project costs, resources, and time required to complete the assigned phase of a project and monitors activities, negotiates for resources, and assigns tasks to ensure these targets are met. Follows established change control processes if targets can no longer be met
- Prepares regular reports to communicate the status of the project within and beyond the project team
- Creates a project plan, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, and identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues
- Sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones
- Manages the activities of outside contractors to ensure they are integrated into the project and that the organization receives satisfactory standards of service
Department:
School of Education / Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Compensation:
$75,000 ANNUAL (12 months)
Commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.
Required Qualifications:
- Demonstrated ability to plan, coordinate, and execute complex projects with multiple components, timelines, and stakeholders (e.g., large-scale events, programs, or initiatives)
- Ability to manage logistics for events or programs, including coordination of space, materials, communications, and participant experience
- Experience using spreadsheets (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) to organize, analyze, and present data, including basic data visualization and database management
- Experience with digital tools and platforms such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat, or similar systems
- Experience developing or supporting communication campaigns (e.g., email marketing tools such as Eloqua or similar platforms)
- Strong written communication skills, including the ability to draft clear, professional emails, reports, and program materials for diverse audiences
- Ability to organize and manage detailed information, including tracking data, timelines, and deliverables using spreadsheets or similar tools
- Experience collaborating with or coordinating teams to produce shared deliverables (e.g., documents, curriculum, communications, or program materials)
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with and present to students, faculty, and campus or community partners
- Demonstrated ability to learn and navigate organizational systems, policies, and procedures
Schedule Requirement: Working evening events (all Deliberation Dinners) at a designated campus location
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supporting or managing program budgets, including tracking expenses and processing purchases or payments
- Experience designing or supporting recruitment, outreach, or engagement efforts for programs or events
- Experience working within higher education or familiarity with Universities of Wisconsin systems, policies, or processes
- Experience supporting public-facing communications, outreach, or program promotion efforts
Education:
Bachelor’s Degree
How to Apply:
Please go to the “Apply Now” area and select your current UW Employment Status. There is one upload area in Workday, but you can upload multiple documents to your application. Incomplete application packages that do not include all the requested documentation will not be considered. The application screening will begin around May 10, 2026. Please expect to be notified by May 25, 2026.
Contact Information:
Lynn Glueck
Program Director, The Discussion Project
lrglueck@wisc.edu
Institutional Statement on Diversity:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.
To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.
Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.