Senior IT Project Manager (NIH, Onsite)

Position Overview

Are you passionate about leading teams to build applications that make work smarter and faster? This role involves leading a team that is dedicated to implementing workflows, models, and automations to improve business functionality and delivering insights that inform policy and decision-making within the national digital sector. Half of this leader's time will be spent supporting our client, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) on an IT services contract. You would oversee:

• Systems Analysis: Directs solution integration across platforms, defines enterprise-consistent patterns, governs compliance of requirements/design artifacts, and ensures systems harmonize with long-term technical strategy.
• Leadership & Oversight: Serves as the overall lead, manager, and administrator for the NLM and other contracts. Acts as the primary interface with government program authorities and representatives on all technical and programmatic issues. Provide strategic direction and day-to-day oversight of all contract activities.
• Program Execution & Coordination: Supervise program/project operations by developing procedures, planning and directing execution of technical, programming, maintenance, and administrative support, and monitoring and reporting progress. Ensure timely, accurate, and within-budget delivery of all contract deliverables. Ensures IT deliverables meet established quality standards and client expectations through adherence to QMS processes.
• Resource & Financial Management: Manages the acquisition and employment of program/project resources. Oversee financial and administrative aspects of the program in accordance with contract requirements. Provide monthly activity and financial status reports, including cost accounting by task and labor category, burn rate analysis, subcontractor and consultant costs, and staffing updates and recruiting status.
• Communication & Reporting: Leads client relationships by anticipating needs, aligning technical solutions with client goals, and contributing to business development through proposal input and strategic framing. Maintain a collaborative communication structure with the government and interested parties. Responds proactively to issues or deviations from planned timelines.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance: Ensures compliance with Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), HHS, NIH, and NLM security and operational policies, and Section 508 accessibility standards. Supports configuration management, security management, and quality assurance processes. Has high attention to detail and follows instructions.
• Supervision and Team Management: Reports to or holds a senior management position as an expert; provides guidance, troubleshoots difficult situations, and advises on optimal methods to achieve IT objectives. Supervises a diverse team, manages workload, sets deadlines, and solves problems. Handles HR and administrative tasks, including hiring, motivating, evaluating, and training team members.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• 9+ years of relevant experience, additional education substitutes for experience, including:
• 4+ years of project management experience
• 2+ years of supervisory experience
• 4+ years of experience with federal government
• Basic Requirements: Demonstrated experience supporting HHS, NIH, or other federal health agencies
• Proficiency in agile project management and Jira, with familiarity with other project management tools
• Familiar with federal IT compliance (508, FISMA)
• Experience with government consulting and contracting
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional IT projects from initiation through closeout, and serving as the primary point of contact for clients, including briefing senior stakeholders
• Demonstrated success managing multiple concurrent projects or task orders
• Experience managing the technical intake processes, including gathering, documenting, and validating business & systems requirements from stakeholders
• Ability to write clear, structured requirements documentation, including user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical specifications
• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to execute instructions
• Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office productivity software and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint
• Ability to travel and/or report on-site to Ripple HQ (Rockville, MD) or client locations (in the DMV-area) on an as-needed basis

Skills

• Relevant certifications, e.g., PMP, ITIL, etc.
• Experience with budgeting, resource allocation, and contract compliance
• Knowledge of AI/ML frameworks and tools (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, NLP libraries)
• Familiarity with cloud-native development and container orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
• Experience implementing documentation and knowledge management strategies
• Strong understanding of Section 508 compliance and accessibility standards
• Intermediate knowledge of AI tools, including their limitations and risks, and how they can be applied to support project management tasks.

About Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect is a woman-owned, 200-person company of communicators, scientists, researchers, and analysts. Established in 2003, and named as one of the "Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" in 2024 and 2025 by the NABR, Ripple Effect has earned acclaim for delivering unparalleled consulting services and top-tier talent across federal, private, and non-profit sectors.

Benefits

At Ripple Effect, we reward our employees for their contributions to our mission. Our comprehensive total rewards package includes competitive pay, exceptional benefits, and a range of programs that support your work/life balance and personalized preferences. Learn more about our benefits and culture here.