Director, Program Management Office (PMO)

About the role

Commence is a rapidly scaling healthcare data and technology company serving federal, state, and commercial health markets. The Director of PMO leads program management as a discipline, reports to the Chief Operating Officer, and stands up and leads the PMO as a matrixed shared service supporting Executive and Program Directors across a portfolio of federal and commercial programs.

Responsibilities

• PMO Leadership and Methodology
  • Establish and run the PMO as a shared service, providing standards, templates, artifacts, tooling, and cadences used by every program.
  • Maintain and continuously improve the delivery methodology, including the Program Director / Project Manager / Technical Delivery Manager operating model, stage gates, and delivery quality reviews.
  • Define assurance and improvement practices such as root‑cause analysis on delivery misses, corrective‑action tracking, and lessons learned that change behavior.
• Program Health and Reporting
  • Run the delivery review cadence and safeguard the integrity of PM‑sourced data (schedule, delivery risk, issue status) across the portfolio.
  • Supply timely, accurate program‑health inputs (milestone status, estimates at completion, forecast drivers) to Project Controls on a defined cadence and format.
  • Ensure accuracy and timeliness of inputs, which are non‑negotiable for enterprise program reporting.
• Project Management Team
  • Manage, develop, and deploy the shared project‑manager and project‑coordination bench across programs in a matrixed model.
  • Recruit and onboard PM talent ahead of portfolio growth, including surge needs on new contract awards.
  • Oversee PM craft, growth, staffing assignments, and performance; coordinate with Executive and Program Directors and the technical delivery organization.
• Operational Orchestration
  • Coordinate approvals routing and workflow triage across delivery, ensuring items reach the right person without bottlenecks.
  • Absorb defined administrative and coordination burdens from Executive and Program Directors so they can focus on account growth and client relationships.
  • Maintain the program‑health workspace and PM tooling (Jira or equivalent) to keep status and reporting up to date.
  • Work with Contracts and Finance to keep contract one‑sheets and invoicing on track, providing PMO inputs where needed.
• Transition
  • Execute a structured transition of PMO‑scope responsibilities over approximately six months, taking early responsibility and drawing on the outgoing lead for context rather than day‑to‑day direction.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of program and project management experience, with at least 3 years leading a PMO or PM team in government contracting or tech‑enabled services.
• Deep working knowledge of federal contract execution: FFP, T&M, and cost‑type vehicles; EAC discipline; deliverable and CDRL management; subcontractor coordination.
• Demonstrated experience standing up or significantly maturing PMO infrastructure in a growth‑stage, often PE‑backed, environment.
• Hands‑on fluency with modern work‑management platforms (Jira or equivalent).
• Proven ability to operate in a matrixed organization: influencing without direct authority, partnering with strong Program Directors and executives.
• PMP certification or equivalent demonstrated mastery.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Federal Public Trust.

Preferred Qualifications

• Federal health domain experience (CMS, VA, DHA/TRICARE, DoD health).
• Experience supporting proposal and capture efforts with delivery data and past‑performance inputs.
• Familiarity with Deltek Costpoint or comparable government‑contracting ERP environments.
• Experience handling CUI, PII, or PHI under NIST 800‑171, CMMC, and HIPAA regimes.

Scope Boundaries

The Director of PMO does not have accountability for program P&L; financial performance is owned by Program and Executive Directors. The role does not set pricing, conduct commercial contract review, produce the forecast, or generate enterprise program reporting—those responsibilities belong to the growth organization and Project Controls, respectively. The Director also does not direct Executive or Program Directors but coordinates with them and the technical delivery organization. Within the PMO, the Director defines how work is done—artifacts, methods, and tooling—and is expected to uphold those standards with strong‑willed stakeholders.

What Success Looks Like

• Within 90 days: PMO standards and the delivery review cadence are documented and operational; PM‑sourced program‑health inputs flow cleanly into Project Controls reporting on the standing cadence.
• Within 6 months: Transition is complete; PMs across the shared bench are staffed, managed, and developing under a consistent model; Project Controls receives clean, on‑time inputs every cycle.
• Within 12 months: Delivery misses surface early through the PMO rather than through escalation; the methodology has measurably reduced repeat issues; the function scales to new contract awards without executive intervention.

Work Environment / Physical Demands

This is a remote position. The employee will regularly work from a home office or other remote environment and must have reliable high‑speed internet access. Candidates must be able to sit, read, work on a computer, and view a screen for extended periods. Occasional travel may be required to support program reviews or client engagements.