Senior Program Manager

State of Ohio; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Ohio is seeking an experienced Program Manager to direct IT projects and programs from initiation through completion. The role requires strong leadership, cross-functional coordination, and vendor management to ensure deliverables meet scope, schedule, and quality requirements.

You will oversee planning, execution, monitoring, and closure, while coordinating stakeholders and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and business value.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Project/Program Management experience.
• 8+ years of experience managing full lifecycle implementation projects.
• Experience managing technical/IT projects and cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing vendors and vendor-driven projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Direct programs and projects from initiation through successful completion.
• Develop detailed project/program plans with scope, milestones, timelines, resources, and budgets.
• Manage and track project progress against approved plans and milestones.
• Ensure timely delivery of all project work and deliverables and manage risks.
• Coordinate and communicate project timelines, milestones, and status to sponsors and stakeholders.
• Build and maintain relationships with sponsors, stakeholders, vendors, and cross-functional teams.

Skills

Vendor management

IT project management

Full lifecycle PM

Stakeholder communication

Planning & reporting

PM software/tools

Education

4-year college degree

Job description

PROGRAM MANAGER – IT PROJECT / PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Required Experience

• 8+ years of Project/Program Management experience.
• 8+ years of experience managing full lifecycle implementation projects, from requirements definition through implementation and closure.
• Experience managing technical/IT projects and cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing vendors and vendor-driven projects.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to direct, control, and administer programs and projects from initiation through successful completion.

The Program Manager will have overall responsibility for project execution, team coordination, stakeholder communication, schedule management, risk mitigation, and ensuring that deliverables meet business, technical, quality, scope, and timeline requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the complete project lifecycle, including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.
• Develop detailed project/program plans, including scope, tasks, milestones, timelines, resources, and budget requirements.
• Manage and track project progress against approved plans and milestones.
• Ensure timely delivery of all project work and deliverables.
• Monitor project phases and milestones and take corrective action when schedules or deliverables are at risk.
• Manage project scope and ensure all scope changes follow established change-control procedures.
• Obtain appropriate approval for scope changes from project sponsors and affected stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with established agency and project management standards and procedures.
• Prepare and distribute project status reports, metrics, and management updates.
• Capture, analyze, and report project/program management metrics.Coordinate and manage multiple work efforts across cross-functional teams.
• Tailor and baseline project/program management templates as required.
• Communicate project timelines, milestones, phases, work requests, and target dates to team leads.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with project sponsors, stakeholders, vendors, team members, and external partners.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for project-related issues and coordinate resolution.
• Identify, document, and manage project risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Proactively anticipate project issues and implement corrective actions.
• Coordinate and present project proposals to agencies and stakeholders as required.
• Develop and monitor service commitments and performance metrics.
• Ensure project activities align with strategic objectives and provide business value.
• Facilitate stakeholder reviews and obtain required approvals and sign-offs.
• Conduct final project management evaluation and closure reviews with stakeholders.
• Balance project workload with team member capacity and resource availability.
• Plan and coordinate project-specific training and orientation activities.
• Manage vendor relationships, deliverables, timelines, and vendor-driven projects.

Mandatory Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of an organization, including frontline staff and C-level executives.
• Strong experience managing vendors and vendor-driven projects.
• Strong experience managing technical/IT projects.
• Proficiency with project management software and tools.
• Strong project planning, coordination, tracking, and reporting skills.

Preferred / Desired Skills

• Contract and vendor management.
• Cross-functional collaboration.
• Critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities.Priority setting and workload management.
• Stakeholder and executive communication.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Change management.
• Business analysis.
• Government and/or Public Sector project experience.
• Experience working in structured project management environments.

Education

• 4-year college degree or equivalent technical study.

Additional Information

• Open to: MBE/EDGE
• Laptop: Laptop will need to be picked up at the worksite.
• Qualifying Questions: N/A

Interested candidates with strong IT Project/Program Management, vendor management, and full lifecycle implementation experience are encouraged to apply.