Program Manager - United Concordia Dental
Highmark Health
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Job summary
United Concordia Dental is seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead a portfolio spanning business, technology, and regulatory domains. You will translate strategy into coordinated actions, governance, and measurable business value, partnering with executives and delivery leaders to optimize outcomes.
The role emphasizes executive communication, stakeholder management, and enabling cross-functional delivery in a matrixed environment. A robust PMO background is highly valued.
Qualifications
- Minimum High School Diploma / GED.
- Bachelor’s degree in business, technology, healthcare administration, operations, project management, or related field preferred.
- Seven to ten years of work experience in project management or delivering business solutions using information technology.
Responsibilities
- Translate enterprise and domain strategies into coherent portfolio roadmaps, priorities, intended outcomes, and measurable success criteria.
- Maintain an integrated view of portfolio health across strategy, scope, schedule, finances, capacity, risks, dependencies, and benefits.
- Evaluate initiatives based on strategic value, urgency, complexity, risk, sequencing, resources, and readiness.
- Identify systemic risks and trade-offs extending beyond individual projects; recommend prioritization actions.
- Establish and facilitate portfolio governance with clear decision rights, escalation paths, and operating rhythms.
- Partner with executives to frame outcomes, validate priorities, resolve trade-offs, and address constraints.
- Translate portfolio information into concise executive insights, options, and decisions.
- Ensure documentation of decisions, risks, commitments, and changes in plans, with early escalation when needed.
- Coordinate delivery across business, technology, operations, clinical, regulatory, finance, data, and vendors.
- Integrate cross-project dependencies, milestones, capacity, and decisions across domains.
- Guide delivery leads and PMs without micromanaging execution.
- Provide reliable information for governance and executive decision-making.
- Intervene to correct portfolio health or resource and sequencing issues.
Skills
Education
Job description
United Concordia Dental
****Due to Department of Defense (DOD) contract requirements, the incumbent who fills this position** must Due to Department of Defense (DOD) contract requirements, the incumbent who fills this position** must be a US citizen, and must also pass a background check
Lead a strategically related portfolio of work by connecting enterprise strategy, governance, cross-functional delivery, executive decisions, talent development, change leadership, and measurable business value.
The Program Manager serves as an enterprise portfolio leader responsible for translating strategy into coordinated action, measurable outcomes, and sustained business value. This role leads a strategically related portfolio of programs, projects, and initiatives that may span business, technology, clinical, regulatory, operational, and external-partner boundaries.
The Program Manager works closely with executive sponsors, domain leadership, Project Managers, Business Analysts, technology leaders, delivery leads, and subject-matter experts to align priorities, maintain portfolio visibility, manage cross-initiative dependencies, facilitate decisions, and advance intended benefits. The role provides leadership across a matrixed delivery environment and helps ensure that the right work is pursued, sequenced, governed, and supported in alignment with enterprise priorities.
The Program Manager owns portfolio orchestration and integrated portfolio insight. Routine project planning and execution may be led by Project Managers or other qualified delivery leads, depending on the complexity, risk, and support needs of the initiative.
Translate enterprise and domain strategies into coherent portfolio roadmaps, priorities, intended outcomes, and measurable success criteria.
Maintain an integrated view of portfolio health, including strategic alignment, scope, schedule, financial performance, capacity, risks, dependencies, decisions, and expected benefits.
Evaluate new and existing initiatives based on strategic value, urgency, complexity, risk, sequencing, resource requirements, and organizational readiness.
Identify systemic risks, bottlenecks, opportunities, and trade-offs that extend beyond individual project boundaries.
Recommend where work should be accelerated, deferred, reshaped, or escalated based on enterprise priorities and available capacity.
Establish and facilitate effective portfolio and program governance, including clear decision rights, escalation paths, accountability, and operating rhythms.
Partner with executive sponsors and domain leaders to frame desired outcomes, validate priorities, resolve trade-offs, and address constraints.
Translate complex portfolio information into concise executive insights, options, recommendations, and decision requests.
Ensure decisions, risks, commitments, and changes are documented, communicated, and reflected in portfolio and initiative plans.
Escalate material risks, dependencies, resource conflicts, or strategic misalignment early enough to enable leadership action.
Coordinate work across business, technology, operations, clinical, regulatory, finance, data, vendor, and other delivery partners.
Integrate cross-project and cross-domain dependencies, milestones, capacity requirements, and decisions.
Determine and clarify appropriate delivery ownership in partnership with PMO and business leadership.
Guide Project Managers and delivery leads without unnecessarily taking over routine project execution.
Ensure projects and initiatives provide reliable information needed for portfolio governance and executive decision-making.
Intervene when portfolio-level conditions require corrective action, additional support, reprioritization, or escalation.
Define and maintain portfolio and program outcomes, benefits, measures, assumptions, and value targets.
Monitor whether programs and initiatives remain positioned to achieve their intended business outcomes.
Partner with accountable business leaders to address barriers to adoption, operational readiness, and benefits realization.
Ensure leadership reporting communicates business impact and expected value, not merely delivery activity.
Support post-implementation evaluation and adjustment where intended outcomes are not being realized.
Build trusted, credible relationships with senior leaders, executive sponsors, and cross-functional partners.
Create integrated communication strategies for executives, governance bodies, delivery teams, and affected stakeholders.
Communicate risks, choices, recommendations, and business implications with clarity and appropriate context.
Influence and negotiate across organizational boundaries where direct authority may not exist.
Navigate sensitive organizational dynamics with diplomacy, transparency, active listening, and sound judgment.
Coach and mentor Project Managers and other delivery leads in disciplined execution, stakeholder leadership, problem-solving, and professional growth.
Reinforce consistent PMO standards, tools, governance practices, and communication expectations.
Identify delivery-capability gaps and recommend coaching, staffing, or resource responses.
Promote knowledge sharing, accountability, continuous improvement, and professional standards.
Help build project and program management capability beyond the immediate portfolio.
Lead and enable cross-functional change by keeping stakeholders aligned to strategic intent, intended outcomes, and adoption expectations.
Anticipate resistance, readiness concerns, change saturation, and competing organizational demands.
Coordinate sequencing across initiatives to reduce avoidable disruption and change fatigue.
Promote adoption of effective practices and help scale successful approaches across the organization.
Maintain focus on sustained transformation rather than one-time implementation.
Assess portfolio and program risks and establish mitigation, contingency, and escalation strategies.
Monitor financial health, investment assumptions, resource demand, and capacity constraints.
Partner with procurement, finance, legal, compliance, technology, and operational leaders as required.
Manage vendor performance against applicable contracts, statements of work, commitments, and expected outcomes.
Take or recommend corrective action when portfolio health, delivery viability, or expected value is at risk.
Perform other duties as assigned or requested.
Minimum
- High School Diploma / GED
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in business, technology, healthcare administration, operations, project management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Advanced degree in business, technology management, healthcare administration, or a related discipline.
Minimum
- ****Due to Department of Defense (DOD) contract requirements, the incumbent who fills this position** must Due to Department of Defense (DOD) contract requirements, the incumbent who fills this position** must be a US citizen, and must also pass a background check
- 7 -10 years of work experience in project management or
- 7-10 years of work experience delivering business solutions using information technology
Preferred
- Seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in program management, portfolio management, strategic execution, transformation, or complex cross-functional delivery.
- Demonstrated experience leading multiple interdependent initiatives across organizational or functional boundaries.
- Demonstrated experience working with senior leaders and executive sponsors to support prioritization, decisions, risk management, and outcome delivery.
- Experience leading through influence in a matrixed environment.· Experience developing executive-level communications, recommendations, roadmaps, and integrated program or portfolio reporting.
- Experience identifying and managing cross-project dependencies, resource constraints, and strategic risks.
- Experience in healthcare, insurance, regulated operations, technology-enabled transformation, or another complex regulated environment.
- Experience with benefits realization, portfolio governance, organizational change, and executive decision facilitation.
- Experience coaching or developing Project Managers and delivery leaders.
- Experience using portfolio-management and collaboration platforms to support transparent reporting and decision-making.
Required
- None
Preferred
- PMP, PgMP, PfMP, or comparable program, portfolio, change-management, or agile certification.
- Thinks at the enterprise level while remaining grounded in delivery realities.
- Brings leaders insights, implications, options, and recommendations, not simply status updates.
- Creates clarity where strategy, ownership, scope, or success measures are ambiguous.
- Distinguishes between the need to orchestrate, coach, elevate, or directly intervene.
- Builds trust through transparency, preparation, sound judgment, and follow-through.
- Maintains focus on outcomes, adoption, and realized value.
- Balances strategic leadership with sufficient delivery fluency to recognize when execution is at risk.
- Leads effectively through ambiguity, competing priorities, and matrixed accountability.
This is not a senior Project Manager position with a larger collection of projects. It is a portfolio leadership role that connects enterprise strategy, governance, cross-functional delivery, executive decision-making, talent development, change leadership, and measurable business value. s is not a senior Project Manager position with a larger collection of projects. It is a portfolio leadership role that connects enterprise strategy, governance, cross-functional delivery, executive decision-making, talent development, change leadership, and measurable business valu
Disclaimer: The job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this job title. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job.
Compliance Requirement: This position adheres to the ethical and legal standards and behavioral expectations as set forth in the code of business conduct and company policies
Note: Job duties and responsibilities support separation of duties across multiple users
As a component of job responsibilities, employees may have access to covered information, cardholder data, or other confidential customer information that must be protected at all times. In connection with this, all employees must comply with both the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policies and Procedures as well as all data security guidelines established within the Company’s Handbook of Privacy Policies and Practices and Information Security Policy. Furthermore, it is every employee’s responsibility to comply with the company’s Code of Business Conduct. This includes but is not limited to adherence to applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations as well as company policies and training requirements.
$94,200.00
$151,000.00
Base pay is determined by a variety of factors including a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and expected contributions, as well as internal peer equity, market, and business considerations. The displayed salary range does not reflect any geographic differential Highmark may apply for certain locations based upon comparative markets.
Highmark Health and its affiliates prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on any category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
California Consumer Privacy Act Employees, Contractors, and Applicants Notice (https://dokumfe7mps0i.cloudfront.net/oms/4391/document/2026/1/doclib_458575_QLVK9_1769448333304228022_1769448333396/1769448333396.pdf)
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