The Engagement Manager leads client engagements in Higher Education, oversees project delivery, manages teams, and ensures alignment with institutional goals through transformation initiatives.
Job Description:
The Groove is seeking an Engagement Manager (EM) with deep Higher Education experience to lead client engagements and ensure successful delivery of transformation initiatives across Student, HR, and Finance domains. This role is responsible for managing client relationships, overseeing delivery teams, and ensuring outcomes align to institutional goals. The ideal candidate brings strong program leadership, Higher Ed domain expertise, and experience delivering enterprise solutions in complex environments.
Your Responsibilities
Client Leadership
- Serve as the primary point of contact for client leadership, including IT, functional leaders, and executive sponsors
- Build trusted relationships and act as a strategic advisor throughout the engagement
- Align project objectives to institutional priorities, balancing stakeholder needs across academic and administrative functions
Delivery Oversight
- Lead end-to-end delivery of projects, ensuring quality, timeliness, and client satisfaction
- Manage scope, budget, timeline, and risks across engagements
- Partner with technical and functional leads to ensure cohesive, high-quality delivery
Program & Team Management
- Lead cross-functional teams, including consultants, engineers, and analysts
- Drive accountability across the team for deliverables and outcomes
- Coach and develop team members while fostering a collaborative, high-performance culture
Higher Ed Expertise
- Guide clients through transformation across Student, HCM, and Finance systems
- Navigate the complexities of Higher Ed environments (shared governance, decentralized decision-making, compliance requirements)
- Bring best practices and insights specific to colleges, universities, and system offices
Change & Adoption
- Ensure alignment between technology, process, and people
- Support change management efforts including stakeholder engagement, communications, and adoption strategies
- Identify risks to adoption and develop mitigation strategies
Your Qualifications
Experience
- 5–8+ years of experience in consulting, program management, or enterprise system delivery
- Proven experience leading client-facing engagements
- Significant experience working with Higher Education institutions
Domain Expertise
- Strong understanding of Higher Ed operations, including student lifecycle, academic structures, and administrative functions
- Experience with enterprise platforms such as Workday, Student Information Systems (SIS), or ERPs
Leadership Skills
- Ability to lead and influence across diverse stakeholder groups
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex topics into clear, actionable insights
- Experience managing multiple workstreams and competing priorities
What Sets You Apart
- Experience with Workday implementations (Student, HCM, or Financials)
- Background in large-scale Higher Ed transformation programs
- Ability to operate effectively in complex, matrixed environments
- Passion for improving outcomes for students, faculty, and administration
Why The Groove
- Work on meaningful transformation initiatives across leading Higher Education institutions
- Be part of a collaborative, values-driven consulting team
- Opportunity to shape delivery practices and client impact in a high-growth environment
EEO Policy:
The Groove is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ancestry, genetics, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran or marital status.
Ready to embark on an exhilarating journey of innovation and collaboration? Apply now and be part of our exciting team at The Groove!
Similar Jobs
Big Data • Food • Hardware • Machine Learning • Retail • Automation • Manufacturing
Lead end-to-end recruitment for enabling functions: partner with hiring managers, source active and passive candidates, manage candidate experience, assess and close hires, build talent pools, and drive continuous improvement and SLA performance alongside TA leads and coordinators.
Big Data • Food • Hardware • Machine Learning • Retail • Automation • Manufacturing
Lead end-to-end recruitment for enabling functions: partner with hiring managers, source active and passive talent, manage candidate experience, support offers and internal moves, build talent pools, coach managers, and drive continuous improvement and SLA/quality metrics in collaboration with BU TA and People Experience leads.
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Computer Vision • Hardware • Internet of Things • Software
Handle escalated multi-channel customer inquiries (billing, renewals, cancellations, RMAs), mentor peers, manage high-volume cases, improve processes, and provide actionable insights to improve customer experience and retention.
Top Skills:
macOSSalesforceServicecloudZendesk
What you need to know about the NYC Tech Scene
As the undisputed financial capital of the world, New York City is an epicenter of startup funding activity. The city has a thriving fintech scene and is a major player in verticals ranging from AI to biotech, cybersecurity and digital media. It also has universities like NYU, Columbia and Cornell Tech attracting students and researchers from across the globe, providing the ecosystem with a constant influx of world-class talent. And its East Coast location and three international airports make it a perfect spot for European companies establishing a foothold in the United States.
Key Facts About NYC Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 549,200; 6% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Capgemini, Bloomberg, IBM, Spotify
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, Fintech
- Funding Landscape: $25.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Greycroft, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tribeca Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Two Sigma Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, CUNY, AI Now Institute, Flatiron Institute, C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory
