Senior Program Manager

The mission of Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) is to radically improve how Washington residents secure health insurance through innovative and practical solutions, an easy-to-use customer experience, our values of integrity, respect, equity and transparency, and by providing undeniable value to the health care community.

The Exchange is a public-private partnership that operates Washington Healthplanfinder, the eligibility and enrollment portal used by one in four Washington residents to obtain health and dental coverage. Through this platform, and with support from a Customer Support Center and statewide network of in-person navigators and brokers, individuals and families can shop, compare and enroll in private, qualified health plans (as defined in the Affordable Care Act) or enroll in Washington Apple Health, the state Medicaid program.

The Exchange embraces the following equity statement adopted by our Board of Directors:

Equity is fundamental to the mission of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. The process of advancing toward equity and becoming anti-racist is disruptive and demands vigilance to dismantle deeply entrenched systems of privilege and oppression. While systemic racism is a root cause of many societal inequities, we must also use an intersectional approach to address all forms of bias and oppression, which interact with and often exacerbate racial inequities. To be successful, we must recognize the socioeconomic drivers of health and focus on people and places where needs are greatest. As we listen to community, we must hold ourselves accountable to responding to recommendations to remedy inequitable policies, systems, or practices within the Exchange’s area of influence. Our goal is that all Washingtonians have full and equal access to opportunities, power and resources to achieve their full potential.

SUMMARY

The Senior Program Manager is responsible for managing a Portfolio of related projects to achieve Strategic Objectives. This includes management of related project schedule, scope, issues, risks, change requests, comprehensive communications strategies and related organizational change management activities needed to ensure successful and on-time project delivery. The position may lead or contribute to process improvement initiatives related to improving program delivery.

The Senior Program Manager oversees program activities on a day-to-day basis. This includes facilitating diverse approaches and points of view to reach consensus and driving the program to produce deliverables within the specified constraints of time and cost and to achieve the potential benefits defined in the business case(s).

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Portfolio Management

• Manage a portfolio of complex initiatives that span one or multiple lines of business.

• Lead and define Roadmap and Forecasting capabilities related to WAHBE Strategic Objectives.

• Manage all aspects (including Change Management) of multiple related projects to ensure the overall portfolio is aligned to and directly supports the achievement of strategic objectives.

Leadership/Team Development

• Provide leadership for the program team by fostering a “One Team/Shared Solutions” approach.

• Set and continually manage program and portfolio expectations while delegating and managing deliverables with team members and stakeholders.

• Facilitate the resolution of conflicts that arise within the course of a program. Ideally, this includes assisting team members with different perspectives to embrace the agreed-upon solution and escalate as appropriate when consensus cannot be achieved.

• Develop trusted advisor relationships with program and portfolio stakeholders.

Program Specific Responsibilities

• Own the entire program’s life cycle to ensure Strategic Objective success.

• Maintain and apply extensive understanding of project management principles, methods, and techniques.

• Clarify interdependencies between business needs, technology, and operations.

• Communicate effectively with executive leadership.

• Work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment while demonstrating teamwork and innovation.

• Monitor, track, and control outcomes to resolve issues, conflicts, dependencies, and deliverables.

• Ensure that projects are proceeding according to scope, schedule, and budget standards.

• Manage project issues and risks.

• Develop and report on program success criteria results, metrics, implementation, and closing activities.

• Present status across various venues regarding program milestones, deliverables, dependencies, risks, and issues.

• Contribute and provide Consultative support for the Project Management Center of Excellence (Templates and Self-Service model)

Other

• Continue professional development to keep well-informed of emerging technologies, methods, and best practices.

• Research best practices within and outside the organization to establish benchmark data and use continuous process improvement disciplines to achieve results.

• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Project Management Professional Certification.

• Agile/Scrum Certification from a recognized Organization.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, IT or a related field. Note: Qualifying years of experience may substitute year for year of education.

• 5+ years of project management experience.

• 5+ years of experience working with business stakeholders within a cross-functional matrix environment.

• 2+ years of previous experience with gathering requirements.

• Proficiency in application of online collaborative tools used to support projects, including Smartsheet, MS Teams, Project, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerPoint; Atlassian toolset Jira and Confluence.

• Proven ability to work in an uncertain environment (ambiguity) and collaborate across multiple areas to achieve a common business objective.

• Interpersonal skills to influence and stimulate change; facilitate and enhance performance within a cross-functional environment and showcases and mentors “Disagree and Commit” philosophies.

Desired:

• Experience in SDLC, Scaled Agile (SAFe), and Waterfall, and Hybrid methodologies.

• Strong proponent of Continuous Learning/Improvement as a Change Catalyst.

• Strong leadership, diplomatic, and motivational skills including the ability to lead up, across, and down multiple business and technology departments.

• Demonstrated experience with defining and reporting metrics and KPIs to track Program and Project success.

• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment while demonstrating teamwork, innovation, and excellence.

• Self-motivated and decisive, with the ability to adapt.

• Proficiency facilitating in-person, remote, and hybrid meetings.

• Experience in successfully leading projects on-time, on-schedule, and within budget.

• Experience leading, motivating, and managing various project teams with both internal and external resources.

• Strong experience and demonstrated communication skills (both written and oral) presenting to executive sponsors, technical and non-technical staff, and all levels of management.

• Experience influencing and gaining buy-in from executive sponsors, team members, stakeholders, and peers.

• Experience working both independently and in a team environment.

• Adept at conducting research into project-related issues.

• Must be able to learn, understand, and apply new methodologies.

• Support diverse and inclusive work environment.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

This position will be open until we find a suitable number of candidates to review. If interested, please submit an application with a cover letter as soon as possible. The Exchange reserves the right to close the recruitment at any time.

SALARY INFORMATION

The hiring salary range is between minimum of $106,113 and the midpoint of $115,340 depending on candidate experience, internal equity, and the market. Our compensation policy reserves the salary range above the midpoint for meeting and exceeding expectations and growth and development, up to the maximum of $138,408.

BENEFITS

Take a peek at our benefits package.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Core business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are times where irregular hours will be required. The preferred duty station is our Olympia, Washington headquarters. The nature of this role relies heavily on remote and in-person collaboration. While a hybrid remote and on-site schedule may be considered, the position will require flexibility to allow for in-office availability as business needs dictate. Travel requirements will be limited, however there may be occasions where an employee is required to travel and work irregular hours to attend meetings or trainings. Duties of this position require the use of standard office furniture and equipment, including setup for remote work. The employee is responsible for providing and maintaining a safe, ergonomic, and secure workspace at their remote location.

The working conditions and physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

A criminal background screen will be conducted for candidates under final consideration, and if hired, every five years of employment where highly sensitive data is processed or maintained by the position. The result of this background screen must meet the Exchange’s eligibility standards.

OTHER INFORMATION

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and levels of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills of personnel so classified.

This is not an employment agreement or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

We participate in E-Verify. You can view the Department of Justice's Right to Work poster here.