Senior Strategic Project Manager

Please Note:This position has hybrid work arrangements employees are expected to report to the office at least 2 days a week.

These arrangements are subject to change.

Operations and Strategy (O&S) provides critical services and leadership to help the Department achieve its mission and strategic goals. This office brings together key administrative and strategic functions to make sure the agency operates efficiently effectively and with maximum impact. The Strategic Operations and Solutions (SOS) team leads efforts to build and maintain the departments performance management system with business units focused on organizational performance management and project management. The Senior Strategic Project Manager is a key member of the project management team supporting the Senior Executive Team (SET) in achieving their goals through well-organized and strategically aligned projects.

This position serves as the senior authority on cross-agency initiatives critical to the success of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing (HCPF) Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Governors Office health and human services programming across the state. A senior authority is a recognized expert whose judgment and decisions are routinely relied upon by agency leadership to guide strategic direction resolve complex challenges and influence policy or program outcomes across multiple divisions or agencies.

As the CDHS lead for CDHS HCPF OIT and the Governors Office the Senior Strategic Project Manager (S-SPM) leads cross-agency teams navigates political dynamics and builds alignment among internal and external decision-makers related to human services technology operations. The position is responsible for managing high-risk highly complex projects that require navigating ambiguity applying flexible methodologies (e.g. Agile hybrid) and understanding historical and cross-agency context. Agency executives regularly look to this position to guide strategy anticipate risks and ensure the timely delivery of outcomes. The S-SPM regularly reports on progress issues and decisions to senior leadership from CDHS and CDHS HCPF OIT and the Governors Office.

Summary of Strategic Project Management:

Independently managehighly complex high-risk and often ambiguous projects that impactCDHS HCPF OIT and the Governors Officethrough the full project lifecycle which may involve public policy legislative components or significant external stakeholder coordinationincluding but not limited to:

• Guiding department leadership and project sponsor decisions regarding scope timeline or budget to determine the most appropriate course of action to ensure quality.

• Defining project scope goals success criteria and performance metrics in alignment with Department priorities.

• Developing and managing project charters plans timelines and work breakdown structures (WBS).

• Identifying assessing and monitoring project risks; developing and executing mitigation strategies.

• Proactively building and sustaining trusting relationships with project sponsors leads and partners.

• Tracking documenting and ensuring follow-through on project deliverables action items and stakeholder requests.

• Facilitating effective meetings by preparing structured agendas confirming attendee readiness and ensuring post-meeting documentation and follow-up.

• Facilitating cross-functional collaboration and managing interdependencies across programs and agencies.

• Partner with financial subject matter experts and project sponsors to track spending against budgets and planned allocations.

• Managing and documenting change requests systematically to maintain control and transparency.

• Directing the transition of completed projects to program owners ensuring long-term sustainability.

• Tailoring communication cadence and content to meet the needs of different audiences.

• Collaborating with the SOS team members to align projects with the departments organizational performance management system.

Summary of Executive Reporting and Communication:

Effectively build relationships with cross-agency leadership in CDHS HCPF OIT and the Governors Office and communicate high-level project updates and information to support executive decision-making including but not limited to:

• Designing and maintaining executive-level dashboards progress summaries and portfolio overviews based on the needs of various stakeholders.

• Translating technical project details into clear decision-ready updates for EMT SET and external partners.

• Monitoring and reporting project milestones resource utilization and outcomes using customized formats.

• Preparing and presenting updates for high-level briefings governance reviews and legislative meetings.

• Aligning reporting with the departments organizational performance management system to show progress toward strategic goals and results.

• Identifying and escalating critical issues or risks requiring executive input or resolution with proposed solutions.

• Integrating stakeholder feedback into reporting cycles to ensure transparency and responsiveness.

• Supporting post-implementation outcomes and continuous improvement through data-driven reporting.

• Ensuring alignment between project status updates and budget compliance and policy reporting needs.

Summary of Organizational Change Management:

Develop and implement change management strategies that impactCDHS HCPF OIT and the Governors Office including but not limited to:

• Conducting stakeholder readiness assessments and change impact analyses to inform planning.

• Designing targeted communication and engagement plans to build buy-in across stakeholder groups.

• Supporting project sponsors and leads in executing their change roles including resistance management.

• Coordinating with the Operations and Strategy Office team and department leaders to align change efforts.

• Facilitating coaching sessions and knowledge transfer to support user adoption.

• Monitoring change progress and adjusting strategies based on stakeholder feedback and metrics.

• Ensuring change management activities are integrated into the broader project plan and critical path.

• Building change capacity across the organization by mentoring other staff on tools and techniques.

• Leading post-change sustainment planning efforts including feedback loops and performance monitoring.

Summary ofOther duties as assigned:

• Participate in professional development opportunities to build knowledge skills and abilities as determined by the individual performance plan.

• Maintain the required technical skills necessary to apply the appropriate technology to fulfill job duties listed above.

• Participate in workgroups within Strategic Operations and Solutions (SOS) that guide the program development.

• Carry out additional responsibilities aligned with the positions strategic scope and classification.

• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain trusting relationships with project sponsors teams and partners while effectively navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• Proven ability to operate with autonomy anticipate leadership needs and lead scope/strategy independently.

• Relevant years of State service should be considered as a preferred qualification to be used to determine the top candidates on the referral list. (Partnership agreement 10.1.)

• Standard Background ALL CDHS employees (non-direct contact): CBI name check ICON Colorado court database Medicare fraud database Reference checks Professional License verification (licensure requirements) and drug screen (commercial Drivers license).

• Travel - Occasional in-state and out-of-state travel is required.

• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must (1) disclose that information on the application (2) provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position (3) provide the employee number from the applicants prior State employment. Absent extraordinary circumstances prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination and failure to provide this information will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

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