Senior Project Manager

This position is being re-advertised. If you have previously applied, you do not need to reapply for consideration.

About the Department

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) was named a 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winner for strengths development, recognizing organizations that build cultures helping people do their best work. This honor reflects our department-wide investment in a strengths-based workplace that supports growth, leadership, and a stronger employee experience. CalHR is the pillar of human resources management for all state employees, with over 400 team members serving as trusted advisors to strategic partners and the public.

CalHR employees are excluded from bargaining and are eligible for enhanced benefits, such as CoBen benefit allowance, employer-paid life insurance, additional vacation/annual leave, and are not subject to State Disability Insurance payroll withholding.

About the Role

This position is part of the Benefits Division, where you will contribute to establishing a respectful and engaged workplace by taking a holistic approach to product, programs, and service delivery to support employee well-being. As the Senior Project Manager, you will manage all aspects of the Division's projects, enhance project management tactics, drive service innovations, and ensure successful outcomes. Your work will support the Benefits Division’s commitment to improving the health of state worksites through quality benefit programs and services for California’s workforce.

Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of the Benefits Division’s projects, serving as the focal point for project management.
• Enhance project management tactics and drive service innovations to achieve desired outcomes.
• Support the Division’s commitment to improving employee well-being through quality benefit programs.

Requirements

Applicants must meet the Minimum Requirements outlined in the Class Specification for Analyst IV.

Qualifications

All interested applicants are required to submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) addressing the following:

• Describe your experience managing multiple projects, including how you track project deliverables to ensure outcomes are met as expected. Include years of experience.
• Describe your experience in gathering, analyzing, and reporting data, including methodologies used.
• Provide an example of a time you were part of a team that recommended and implemented a process change, including how you gained buy-in through change management.

Limit your SOQ to a maximum of two (2) pages, single-spaced, in twelve-point Arial font. Applicants who do not follow these instructions may be disqualified.

Desirable Skills

• Interpersonal skills: Conflict resolution, effective team behavior, adaptability, resilience, and helping behaviors. Ability to work independently and collaboratively, manage projects flexibly, and master specific competencies.
• Communication skills: Clear and concise verbal and written communication, presentation skills, meeting facilitation, and customer engagement.
• Dependability: Meeting deadlines, following established procedures, managing time effectively, and demonstrating initiative and responsibility.
• General business acumen: Honesty, ethics, tact, systemic thinking, decisiveness, and conscientiousness.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and dental insurance.
• Long-term disability insurance.
• 11 paid holidays per year.
• Paid time off (vacation/annual leave).
• Defined benefit retirement program.
• Commute program and employee wellness programs.
• Employee assistance programs and medical/dependent care reimbursement accounts.
• Two Professional Development Days per fiscal year.
• Telework opportunities (currently 2 days per week in-person; increasing to 4 days per week in-person beginning July 1, 2026).

Pay

$7,276.00 - $9,107.00 per month. New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Employees may receive a 5% Merit Salary Adjustment (MSA) every 7–12 months based on performance, until reaching the maximum salary of the position.

Effective July 1, 2025, state employees are subject to temporary salary reductions ranging from 2% to 4.62% in exchange for Personal Leave Program (PLP) hours. More information here.

Schedule

• Permanent, full-time position.
• Hybrid work schedule: Currently requires in-person work at least 2 days per week; increasing to 4 days per week in-person beginning July 1, 2026.
• Work-life balance supported through telework and adjustable schedules.

Working Conditions

• Location: Centrally located near the Ice Blocks in downtown Sacramento, with dining and shopping options nearby.
• Career Development: Continuous learning and training opportunities to support personal and professional growth.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity: A work culture emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and collaboration, with tangible rewards for varied perspectives.

Department Information

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) oversees employee salaries, benefits, job classifications, civil rights, training, exams, recruitment, and retention for state employees. Many of these matters are determined through collective bargaining managed by CalHR.

Mission: To serve as the trusted advisor to strategic partners and the public, providing exceptional human resource services and guidance in developing a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Vision: Shaping California’s future of public service excellence with fair and equitable employment opportunities and a diverse, engaged workforce.

Core Values: People Centric, Leadership, Accountability, DEIA, Integrity, and Transparency.

Department website: https://www.calhr.ca.gov