Project Development Manager
Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs · United States
full timehybridManager
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Sign in to applyAbout the role
Coordinates day-to-day advancement of assigned projects from concept through feasibility, partnership formation, funding readiness, and implementation planning.
Responsibilities
- Maintain integrated project plans, milestones, dependencies, budgets, risks, decisions, and document-control systems. - Coordinate internal staff, sponsors, consultants, agencies, technical experts, and community stakeholders. - Prepare meetings and decision gates with clear objectives, pre-reads, minutes, owners, and deadlines. - Monitor scope, schedule, quality, and cost and escalate emerging issues with practical options. - Ensure work products, approvals, and partner commitments are documented and consistent with CEFA authority. Reporting & working relationships Reports to a principal, director, or managing director. Coordinates the daily work of assigned project teams and maintains active relationships with sponsors, consultants, agencies, vendors, and internal support functions. Authority & limits May manage assigned workstreams, consultants, vendors, and routine expenditures within approved plans and delegated limits. May not bind CEFA, promise funding, execute agreements, or represent transaction approval without authorization.
Required qualifications
- Project-management experience in economic development, infrastructure, industry, consulting, government, engineering, or mission-driven programs. - Strong planning, facilitation, budget, risk, and stakeholder-management capabilities. - PMP or comparable training helpful; excellent organization and written follow-through required.
Preferred qualifications
What success looks like: - Current plans and records that allow leadership to understand project status and decisions quickly. - Milestones delivered with controlled scope, budget, quality, and risk. - Reliable coordination and accountability across internal and external contributors. - Prompt escalation of blocked decisions, conflicts, safety concerns, and authority limits.
Benefits
Employment classification: Paid professional staff position. Status: Full-time. Term: Ongoing employment, subject to applicable law and CEFA policies. Compensation: Salary and benefits commensurate with experience and CEFA's approved compensation framework. Performance cycle: Annual objectives with regular check-ins and a formal performance review. Work arrangement: Location, travel, schedule, and exempt/nonexempt status determined for the final role and jurisdiction.
Equal opportunity
CEFA is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to any legally protected characteristic.
About Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs
CEFA is a mission-driven nonprofit institution connecting research, policy, capital, and public- and private-sector partners to advance economic development and foreign-affairs priorities at national scale.