A Day in the Life of a Project Director at PATH Ventures
A Project Director at PATH Ventures acts as "the conductor of an orchestra," overseeing numerous complex tasks across various teams—from coordinating with architects on utility requirements and civil engineers on site preparation to collaborating with social services on staffing needs and the community engagement team on outreach strategies. The role demands meticulous tracking of timelines, funding, and expenditures to successfully transform "an empty piece of land into a beautiful building."
Project Management, Communication, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, Leadership
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Michael Busse
Project Director
PATH Ventures
Loyola Marymount University, 2016
UCLA Master's of Urban and Regional Planning
Entrepreneurship
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Real Estate
Real Estate
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. A Project Director's day involves coordinating numerous tasks and teams, similar to conducting an orchestra or producing a movie, ensuring all aspects of a project are aligned.
2. The role requires close monitoring of timelines, budgets, and team performance across various specialized areas such as architecture, engineering, and social services.
3. Collaboration with diverse teams is crucial, including architects, engineers, social services personnel, and community engagement teams, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the work.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a project director look like?
As a project director, I am responsible for keeping track of many moving pieces. It's like being the conductor of an orchestra or the producer of a movie. Everybody answers to me, and I answer to my funders and my supervisors.
My work involves keeping track of timelines, funding requirements, and expenditures. It's a lot of checking in with people to ensure they are doing their jobs. It takes many specialized roles to transform an empty piece of land into a beautiful building full of people. I need to make sure everyone is playing their part so we can get everything taken care of.
For example, here are a couple of things I need to do today. I have a call with my architect on one site to ensure they are tracking utility requirements, such as the size of the transformer and the necessary clearance space. This is so that their plans account for this.
I am also working with a civil engineer to determine the volume of dirt to be removed from a site, as this impacts our permitting. I need to figure that out. Additionally, I'm collaborating with another architect on a different building to decide on the exterior colors and materials.
I am working with our social services team to determine our staffing needs. We offer services at all our sites to help people adjust to living in permanent housing. I'll be working with them to figure out how many staff they need on-site and to help them budget accordingly.
Finally, I will be working with our internal community engagement team to develop a strategy for a new site we just acquired. This strategy will ensure we are careful about who we reach out to, what we say, and how we involve neighbors.
I am working with many people on various tasks. My role is to keep the bigger picture in mind, allowing everyone else to focus on their specific jobs.
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