Project Manager, AI & Automation

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Be You.

The Provost area AI & Automation team is looking for a Project Manager to plan, organize, and coordinate a portfolio of AI and automation initiatives across HR/payroll, finance, and business processes. In this role, you will keep multiple projects and stakeholders aligned—maintaining the project pipeline, driving scoping and requirements gathering, and ensuring that active projects are delivered on time, within scope, and with clear communication to partners. You’ll thrive in a small, entrepreneurial team that balances project-management discipline with flexibility and curiosity about new technologies, including AI and automation tools.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, public administration, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience.
• Four or more years of progressively responsible experience managing projects or complex initiatives in a professional setting.
• Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining project plans and timelines; coordinating work across multiple stakeholder groups; leading meetings, documenting decisions, and following up on action items.
• Experience working on projects related to operations, IT systems, data, or process improvement.
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Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a higher education or similarly complex, decentralized organization.
• Exposure to AI, automation, analytics, or workflow tools (e.g., RPA, chatbots, low-code/no-code platforms, or enterprise AI tools).
• Experience mapping workflows and supporting end-to-end IT or process transformation projects.
• Project management certification (e.g., PMP, CAPM, Scrum Master) or formal training (preferred but not required).

Be Bold.

• Maintain a central portfolio of candidate and active AI/automation projects, including status, priority, owners, and key dates; prepare portfolio summaries and status updates for leadership.
• Design and run lightweight intake and prioritization processes for new project requests from HR, finance, and other business units; track 5+ concurrent projects across discovery, design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Develop and maintain formal project plans with timelines, milestones, testing phases, and implementation steps; coordinate kick-offs, define scope and objectives, and clarify success criteria.
• Monitor progress against plan; identify and escalate risks, issues, and scope changes; propose adjustments to keep projects on track; support end-to-end execution from proof-of-concept through deployment and post-implementation review.
• Plan and facilitate requirements-gathering sessions with HR/payroll, finance, and administrative units; document process maps, user stories, and functional requirements; translate between technical and non-technical audiences and surface tradeoffs.
• Schedule, prepare, and facilitate project meetings and working groups (agendas, notes, action items); maintain clear, consistent communication so stakeholders always know status, decisions, and next steps.
• Contribute to shared templates, tools, and project-management standards (intake forms, requirements templates, dashboards); capture lessons learned and help build a repeatable playbook; stay informed about emerging AI/automation capabilities relevant to higher-education operations.

Choose Duke.

Join a collaborative, human-centered team advancing AI and automation to improve administrative services across the Provost-area. You will partner closely with HR, Finance, IT, and academic units to deliver solutions that save staff time, reduce manual work, and enhance service quality. You’ll have opportunities to experiment with emerging tools, contribute to shared practices, and influence how Duke scales responsible automation in support of its mission.

Job Code: 00002423 ANALYST, IT

Job Level: C

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions:

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.