The PMO Project Manager is responsible for leading end-to-end delivery of large-scale, complex implementation projects within the state and local government business process services sector. This role serves as the single point of accountability for planning, execution, and monitoring across the full project lifecycle. This requires a hands-on project management professional who can navigate intricate outsourced service implementations while ensuring alignment with enterprise goals, organizational standards, client objectives, and operational excellence principles.
This role provides end-to-end project leadership from initiation through transition to operations, applying standardized methodologies, fostering accountability, and driving measurable outcomes. The Project Manager serves as a key contributor to the Strategic Implementations team's mission of delivering high-impact projects on time, within scope, and on budget.
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning & Execution
- Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of assigned implementation projects for state and local government clients
- Develop comprehensive project plans including scope, schedule, budget, resource allocation, risk management, and communication strategies
- Apply the appropriate methodology (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) based on project characteristics, contract type and client requirements
- Manage project work in Smartsheet (or applicable PPM tool), maintaining accurate scheduled, milestone tracking, and project health indicators
- Ensure all project deliverables meet quality standards, contractual requirements, and client expectations
- Monitor and control project performance against baselines, taking corrective action as needed to ensure successful delivery
- Facilitate project kickoffs, status meetings, working sessions, and steering committee presentations
Operational Excellence & Implementation Leadership
- Manage large-scale, intricate outsourced business process service implementations from planning through operational transition
- Ensure all project artifacts, decisions, deliverables, approvals, and supporting evidence are maintained in a state consistent with PMO standards and contractual requirements
- Ensure effective implementation governance, including change control, risk management, and issue resolution processes
- Coordinate activities across cross-functional teams including operations, technology, quality, training, and client stakeholders
- For complex, technology-forward implementations, serve as the single integrated PM owning system implementation, BPO operations, risk, dependencies, vendor coordination and executive escalation in one project plan
- Translate technical deliverable status and system integration risks into clear, business-oriented language for client stakeholders and executive sponsors
- Drive operational readiness activities and ensure smooth transition from implementation to steady-state operations
- Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities throughout the project lifecycle
- Document and implement lessons learned throughout the project lifecycle to support continuous improvement
Stakeholder Management & Communication
- Serve as the primary point of contact for project communications with client project managers, leadership, and key stakeholders
- Partner with internal business units, operational teams, and the Enterprise Technology PMO to ensure alignment and collaboration
- Communicate project status, risks, and outcomes clearly and proactively and with appropriate urgency to stakeholders at all levels
- Build and maintain strong client relationships based on trust, transparency, and consistent delivery
- Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate project risks and issues throughout the project lifecycle
- Maintain risk registers, issue logs, and action item trackers with clear ownership and resolution timelines
- Develop contingency plans and alternative approaches to address potential project obstacles
- Lead problem-solving efforts when challenges arise, collaborating across teams to develop effective solutions and escalating as appropriate
- Manage scope changes through formal change control, assessing impacts to schedule, budget, and resource allocation
- Ensure compliance with contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), and regulatory requirements
- Develop and maintain contract compliance matrices and deliverable tracking systems
- Monitor project budget and financial performance, identifying variances and recommending corrective actions
Documentation & Reporting
- Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation including charters, plans, schedules, status reports, and lessons learned
- Produce regular status reports and dashboards for internal leadership and external stakeholders
- Maintain project repositories and ensure all documentation meets organizational and contractual standards
- Document lessons learned and contribute to the PMO's knowledge management and continuous improvement initiatives
- Participate in quality gate reviews and readiness assessments at key project milestones
- Contribute to monthly PMO business review by providing KPIs to leadership and/or partner teams
Experience
- Minimum 5-7 years of project management experience with increasing levels of responsibility
- At least 3-5 years of experience managing complex implementations in government, healthcare, or business process outsourcing environments
- Ability to work effectively across multiple time zones is required, including coordinating schedules, facilitating meetings, managing dependencies, and maintaining timely communication with geographically dispersed client, operations, technology, and vendor teams.
- Hands-on experience managing implementation plans, dependencies, risks, issues, decisions, deliverables, schedules, and operational readiness activities from kickoff through transition to operations.
- Proven track record of delivering projects on time, within budget, and achieving defined contractual success criteria
- Demonstrated experience managing technology-enabled implementations, including projects involving system integrations, platform deployments, data migrations, or multi-vendor IT coordination
- Familiarity with outsourced service delivery models and operations transition activities
- Strong working knowledge of PMBOK principles
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level stakeholder presentations
- Preferred industry experience includes health and human services, government benefit administration, eligibility and enrollment, SNAP/EBT, Medicaid, TANF, child support, workforce services, state contact centers, managed services, BPO, or large-scale public sector operations.