ITS Special Projects Manager

The LMU Information Technology Services team enables technologically-rich learning environments, provides effective teaching and scholarship resources and maintains reliable, accessible, and integrated information systems. This work is grounded in and supports the University’ mission:
The encouragement of learning The education of the whole person The service of faith and the promotion of justice

Under the direction of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the ITS Special Projects Manager is responsible for coordinating and advancing executive-priority initiatives that span the ITS organization.

This role operates as a strategic partner to the CIO, helping translate executive priorities into organized plans, actionable next steps, and measurable progress across the department.

This position supports cross-functional initiatives of strategic and operational significance; working across ITS leadership and campus partners to coordinate efforts, prepare briefings and decision materials, track follow-up actions, surface risks and dependencies, and help maintain momentum on high-priority work.

Success in this role is defined by achieving project objectives through an ability to bring structure to facilitate progress, initiatives, align stakeholders, manage sensitive information with discretion, and ensure executive priorities are communicated clearly and moved forward effectively.

Coordinate Executive-Priority Initiatives:
Manage and advance strategic projects sponsored by the CIO that have broad ITS impact and may span multiple functional areas. This ensures leadership priorities are translated into coordinated action and sustained progress across the department.

Support Strategic Planning and Special Initiatives:
Organize, track, and support major departmental initiatives such as ITS strategic planning, continuity of operations, governance, climate and culture. This provides continuity, visibility, and operational support for initiatives that do not fit cleanly within existing portfolios or departments.

Prepare Executive Briefings and Decision Materials:
Develop high-quality summaries, presentations, briefing documents, talking points, status updates, and other materials to support CIO communications, decision-making, and stakeholder engagement. This helps leadership communicate clearly, make informed decisions, and maintain alignment across ITS and campus partners.

Track Actions, Decisions, and Follow-Up:
Maintain structured tracking of initiative milestones, action items, dependencies, risks, decisions, and follow-up commitments. This improves accountability, reduces missed handoffs, and helps ensure initiatives continue moving forward between meetings and milestones.

Facilitate

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Work closely with ITS directors, managers, and campus stakeholders to coordinate activities, align priorities, and resolve barriers affecting shared initiatives. This strengthens collaboration, improves execution, and supports consistent progress on complex, cross-cutting work.

Support Emerging and Ambiguous Work:
Provide project and operational coordination for new or evolving executive priorities that may not yet have a defined owner, scope, or governance path. This gives the CIO flexible capacity to advance important work while helping clarify structure, ownership, and next steps.

Manage Sensitive and Confidential Information:
Handle executive materials, internal planning documents, and sensitive communications with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment. This protects trust, supports sound decision-making, and ensures appropriate stewardship of confidential information.

Create and Improve Coordination Tools and Processes:
Develop templates, trackers, dashboards, workflows, and lightweight governance tools to support visibility, reporting, and coordination of special projects. This improves consistency, transparency, and operational efficiency across executive-sponsored work.

Provide Strategic Research and Analysis:
Conduct research, gather relevant information, and synthesize findings to inform recommendations, planning discussions, and…