Project Management Specialist

Job Summary

About NYRR

New York Road Runners was founded in 1958 when a small group of passionate runners vowed to bring running to the people and has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization.  NYRR’s mission is to empower everyone, of all ages and abilities—beginners and competitive athletes, the young and the elderly, adult professionals and underserved schoolchildren—to improve their health and well-being through the power of running and fitness.

 NYRR’s races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs give hundreds of thousands of people each year the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to start running and keep running for life. NYRR’s premier event, the famed TCS New York City Marathon, attracts the world’s top pro runners and committed amateurs alike while also raising millions of dollars annually for charity and driving economic impact for the city.  But NYRR is equally committed to the runners of tomorrow, passionately providing youth fitness programs that educate and inspire more than 100,000 kids in underserved communities in New York City, all 50 states, and around the world.

 Headquartered in New York City, NYRR implements a unique nonprofit model that teams contributed and earned income to make all its efforts possible.  To learn more, please visit www.nyrr.org.  

 New York Road Runners is an Equal Opportunity Employer

 About the Department

The Strategy, Analytics, and Operations Planning team works collaboratively with each department across the organization to support strategy formulation, growth plan execution, and project implementation. The team provides the organization with in-depth analytical support in evaluating existing operations and new business opportunities. Furthermore, they help lead and advise cross-functional project teams in executing the many action items/special projects that have been designed to help NYRR continue to reach its strategic objectives.

 About the Position

The Project Management Specialist will support project management of initiative implementation and execution across NYRR.  Reporting to the Director, Planning and Project Management, the Project Management Specialist will serve the following primary functions: (1) providing critical support of major initiative and event planning, (2) supporting cross-functional teams to execute on the many action items/special projects that have been designed to help NYRR continue to reach its strategic objectives, and (3) race launch planning and execution, including leading the cross-functional task force.

 Job Responsibilities (primary and secondary duties):

 Core responsibilities:

• Race Launch Project Management - develop race registration launch calendar, lead Task Force on all launch related activities and manage day of execution and communications. Lead PM for all marquee event Drawings, collaborating with Operations Planning and IT teams to ensure proper set up and testing is executed.
• Lead cross-functional teams to plan and execute Heritage Series and Five Borough Series events
• Project manage new races/initiatives-including the planning and execution of new races introduced in 2022 and beyond, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to develop the execution plan.
• Lead cross-functional team for planning and execution of annual org-wide initiatives/special projects  

Supporting responsibilities: 

• Partner with Director, Planning and Project Management to instill PM best practices (traditional, agile & hybrid) at NYRR by: 
  • Supporting the build out of NYRR's PMO (further development of project templates, documentation, contingency planning, and training materials) 
  • Building upon current cross-functional collaboration practices with the goal of fostering increased communications and teamwork across the organization 
  • Partner with lead PM to identify process improvements and develop recommendations for improvement; foster embrace of organization-wide change management and role model associated best practices

• Support Director, Planning and Project Management on project management of the Marquee events - including post-event metrics, race week reporting templates and communications to the Task Force and (Marathon) bootcamp trainings. Partner with Senior Analyst to create Race Week dashboards. 
• Ideate and assist with the execution of yearly strategy sessions and recaps

 Job Requirements:

 Experience:

• 2-5 years strategy and/or project management experience
• Record of change management and process improvement projects

 Education & Certifications:

• College Degree preferred
• PMP certification a plus

 Skills and Attributes:

• High initiative, able to drive timely delivery of workplan and effectively problem-solve with sound judgment
• Strong attention to detail and focus on task completion
• Demonstrated ability to motivate, support and understand different project teams
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications
• Strong presentation skills and comfort speaking in front of large cross-functional teams

 Other Requirements:

• Heart, humor, and a passion for sports (especially running) a plus!