Senior Project Manager - Healthcare Operations

About the role

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members serving communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. The Operations Project Manager IV is responsible for all aspects of development and implementation of assigned projects and initiatives, providing a single point of contact and subject matter expertise based on established project management techniques. This position focuses on planning, development, directing, coordinating, and implementation activities pertaining to Operations growth initiatives, efficiency projects, and enterprise-level projects impacting Operations functions.

Key Accountabilities

Project & Delivery Leadership

• Leads assigned cross-functional Operations projects and initiatives, ensuring alignment to objectives and successful delivery
• Coordinates project planning, sequencing, milestones, resources, risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints in partnership with stakeholders; escalates matters that may affect broader initiatives
• Provides project status, insights, risks, and recommendations to sponsors and stakeholders to support effective decision-making

Stakeholder & Team Leadership

• Provides project leadership and coordination across cross-functional teams, establishing clear roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and expectations while fostering accountability and collaboration
• Partners with Operations leaders and stakeholders on project feasibility, execution considerations, risks, and dependencies; provides data-driven analysis and recommendations to support project decisions
• Builds effective relationships and leads through influence, communicating project status, decisions, issues, and recommendations across appropriate organizational levels

PMO Practices & Continuous Improvement

• Applies established Operations PMO standards, methodologies, templates, and reporting practices to support consistent project execution
• Promotes disciplined project planning, RAID management, reporting, project closure, and maintenance of project documentation and status
• Identifies lessons learned and opportunities to improve Operations PMO processes, standards, and practices

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in related field
• 7 years of project management experience beyond degree

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years in health insurance industry (claims, call center, enrollment, billing, etc.)
• Project Management Professional certification
• Lean/Six Sigma certification

Skills And Abilities

• Develop or support development of strategic business case and/or project scope document
• Identify resources needed to deliver a project on time, in scope, and on budget; socialize and get buy-in from leadership
• Develop Readiness Project Plan with delivery and readiness resources; maintain decision log; provide status and socialize issues/risks with stakeholders & business owners
• Manage RAID log – driving resolution of questions / issues / risks
• Ensure appropriate use of time – scheduling meetings with the right people, produce agendas, ensure notes are captured and communicated timely, assign follow-ups and ensure follow-ups are closed
• Drive project closure, lessons learned, and refining Ops PMO standards and processes as a result
• Maintain master inventory of assigned projects with status, providing updates to stakeholders & business owners
• Escalate project risks / issues that may have impact beyond current project (i.e., impacts other projects or initiatives) and drive mitigation or acceptance of risks
• Follow Ops project management standards and use defined templates to achieve consistent experience for business owners and project team members
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Proven track record building and maintaining relationships and leading through influence
• Ability to work both independently and within group settings
• Ability to work with a level of ambiguity and in an environment that changes frequently
• Comfortable communicating with all levels within the organization, including C-suite

Work arrangement

This position is an Office role, which requires an employee to work onsite, on average, 3 days per week. Candidates should be located near one of the following office