Position Function:
The Sr. Program Manager leads Mississippi State University's first AI Training and Adoption team. The team's mission is to move AI from concept to practice — first inside individual departments, then at scale — with training as the core strategy. The role implements that strategy and the programming for staff AI training and development. This is a working-leader position: the Manager supervises the AI Educator while personally carrying an internal consulting and training load.
The Manager is also the operational front door for the program. Departments engage the team through this role, and the Manager triages each request, scoping it as a workshop, a consult, a non-code automation, or a technical project routed to the AI Builder. The role partners closely with the Senior Advisor for AI and Data Governance on strategy, reporting, and stakeholder communication.
Salary Grade: 17
Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Develop and manage the departmental intake queue: receive requests, scope them, and assign work across the team based on complexity and capacity.
• Supervise the AI Educator and coordinate with partner efforts focused on faculty and student AI programming to maximize opportunities.
• Coordinate with the AI Builder on technical projects that require both education/change-management, coding and deployment work.
• Develop and manage goal setting, including performance indicators with outcome tracking and monthly activity reporting.
• Coordinate MSU student teams as part of an expanding initiative to engage students in solving real AI use cases for internal MSU clients and potentially external clients.
• Support related grant projects that may include design and management of AI-related projects.
• Contribute to MSU's external AI presence: in-state convenings, MAIN Hub coordination, and select national venues.
• Lead departmental consultations, including those that may involve leadership briefings or change-management planning.
• Deliver workshops and training sessions; mentor the AI Educator on facilitation and curriculum.
• Co-design AI adoption roadmaps with departments preparing for larger-scale deployments.
Minimum Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in a job-related field and 5+ years of relevant experience that combines program or project management with training, consulting, or organizational change work. Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated supervisory or team-lead experience.
• Hands-on proficiency with current generative AI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT) and their applied use in administrative or academic settings, with the ability to teach others.
• Excellent project management, prioritization, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to brief executive audiences.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience standing up a new program or service line.
• Familiarity with non-code automation platforms (Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot Studio, Claude Code, OpenAI Codex) and an understanding of where technical deployment work begins.
• Familiarity with AI governance, data classification, and responsible-use frameworks.
• Prior experience in higher education or another large, decentralized institution.
• Master's degree.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
The ideal candidate brings hands-on proficiency with current generative AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT, familiarity with no-code automation platforms like Microsoft Power Platform and Copilot Studio, and a working understanding of AI governance, data classification, and responsible-use frameworks. They must be skilled in program and project management, staff supervision, stakeholder communication, and departmental consulting — including the ability to scope incoming requests, manage a team intake queue, track performance indicators, and produce executive-level reporting. Beyond operational expertise, the role demands strong facilitation and curriculum skills, the ability to translate AI concepts for non-technical audiences, change-management experience, and the leadership capacity to stand up and scale a new program while coordinating across teams, engaging student contributors, and representing the university at regional and national AI convenings.
Working Conditions and Physical Effort
1. No unusual physical requirements.
2. Requires no heavy lifting, and nearly all work is performed in a comfortable indoor facility.
3. Job frequently requires walking, sitting, reaching, talking, hearing, handling objects with hands
4. Job requires standing, stooping/kneeling/crouching/crawling, and lifting up to 10 pounds
5. Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically
6. Hearing requirements: Heavy telephone contact requires ability to hear and respond to telephone conversations
Instructions for Applying:
Link to apply: http://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/
Apply online at msujobs.msstate.edu and submit a cover letter and resume.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination is prohibited in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status to the extent protected by applicable law. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, 231 Famous Maroon Band Street, P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (662) 325-5839.
What do I do if I need an accommodation?
In compliance with the ADA Amendments Act (ADA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with Mississippi State University, please contact the Department of Human Resources Management at tel: (662) 325-3713 or ada@hrm.msstate.edu.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, contact the Department of Human Resources Management at (662) 325-3713 or ada@hrm.msstate.edu. Upon request, sections of this job listing are available in large print, and readers are available to assist the visually impaired.
