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Ascension is seeking an experienced Program Manager / Delivery Lead to serve as the principal delivery and management lead for a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program supporting the continued development, refinement, testing, implementation, and analysis of Federal Long-Term Care survey processes.

This is a hands-on Federal program management position for an individual who can turn complex requirements into an organized, executable delivery model. The successful candidate will lead project coordination, manage the integrated work plan, control schedules and deliverables, coordinate technical and subject matter experts, oversee staffing and performance, manage risks and issues, and maintain effective communication with the CMS Contracting Officer’s Representative and other Government stakeholders.

The role supports a mission focused on improving the accuracy, consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness of survey processes used to assess long-term care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. The work environment brings together healthcare policy, survey operations, business requirements, data analysis, system-related testing, stakeholder collaboration, communications, and Federal program management.

Ascension is therefore seeking more than an administrative project manager. The ideal candidate will understand how to manage a multidisciplinary professional-services engagement in which multiple workstreams move concurrently, Government priorities may evolve, deliverables have firm turnaround requirements, and successful execution depends on disciplined coordination across technical experts, analysts, survey-process specialists, contractors, and Federal stakeholders.

The successful candidate should be a highly organized and anticipatory leader who is comfortable operating with limited day-to-day supervision. This individual should be able to identify emerging delivery problems before they affect milestones, construct practical solutions, establish accountability, communicate difficult issues clearly, and manage multiple priorities without losing control of schedule, scope, quality, staffing, or customer commitments.

Position Summary

The Program Manager / Delivery Lead will provide overall program leadership, delivery management, and contract-level coordination for Ascension’s support of CMS’s Long-Term Care Survey Process Operational Support & Analysis requirement.

The position will serve as Task 1 Lead for Project Coordination, provide management leadership for Task 2 Survey Process Development and Modification, and maintain delivery oversight across the remaining program activities involving survey-process business requirements, presentations and materials, survey inquiry and review, and data surveillance and analysis.

The Program Manager will translate CMS requirements and Contracting Officer’s Representative direction into detailed work plans, staffing assignments, schedules, milestones, deliverable controls, risk-management actions, and clearly defined responsibilities. The position will maintain the integrated view of program performance so that technical specialists can concentrate on their areas of expertise while CMS receives coordinated, timely, high-quality results.

The role will also oversee the sequencing and coordination of survey-process development and modification activities, including planning associated with testing, validation, monitoring, system algorithm changes, business requirements, survey-related documentation, stakeholder engagement, and release-related activities.

Success requires disciplined Federal project management combined with strong judgment, communication, organization, and the ability to manage a technically diverse team supporting a highly visible Federal healthcare mission.

Position’s Day-to-Day Activities

The Program Manager / Delivery Lead will be expected to:

• Lead overall program execution and coordinate Ascension’s performance across the CMS Long-Term Care Survey Process Operational Support & Analysis effort.
• Develop and maintain the integrated Project Work Plan, including resource planning, task descriptions, milestones, assumptions, constraints, dependencies, completion criteria, and CMS-directed changes.
• Translate Statement of Work requirements and Contracting Officer’s Representative direction into actionable assignments, schedules, responsibilities, and measurable delivery expectations.
• Coordinate project initiation activities, including the project Kick-Off Meeting, agenda development, meeting preparation, action-item tracking, and completion of required meeting documentation.
• Schedule and facilitate recurring weekly and ad hoc meetings with the CMS Contracting Officer’s Representative and other authorized stakeholders.
• Prepare clear meeting agendas, status information, decision points, risks, issues, and supporting materials in advance of Government meetings.
• Document meeting decisions, action items, responsibilities, due dates, dependencies, and follow-up requirements and ensure actions remain tracked through closure.
• Maintain the Project Work Plan as a living management tool reflecting changing priorities, work progress, staffing requirements, new assignments, dependencies, and Government direction.
• Prepare monthly progress reports describing completed activities, planned activities, current program status, emerging risks, mitigation actions, and other information required by CMS.
• Manage multiple concurrent workstreams involving survey-process development, survey-process modifications, business requirements, testing, validation, monitoring support, presentations, inquiries, help-desk reviews, and data analysis.
• Coordinate Task 2 survey-process development and modification activities against applicable survey-process release schedules and Government milestones.
• Integrate the activities of Long-Term Care subject matter experts, analysts, survey-process specialists, business analysts, data specialists, presenters, and other personnel required to complete assigned work.
• Coordinate planning for remote and onsite survey-process testing, validation, and monitoring activities, including resource requirements, schedules, participants, testing objectives, dependencies, and deliverable deadlines.
• Monitor completion of testing summaries, validation summaries, monitoring reports, recommendations, business requirements, presentations, Q&A products, analytical products, and other contract deliverables.
• Track deliverable development, internal review, quality-control review, submission, CMS comments, revisions, acceptance, and closure using a controlled deliverable-management process.
• Establish and maintain risk, issue, action-item, decision, dependency, and change-management controls appropriate for the complexity of the program.
• Identify schedule, staffing, technical, stakeholder, data-access, quality, security, or performance risks early enough to implement corrective or preventive action.
• Escalate material risks, conflicting priorities, scope concerns, resource constraints, and unresolved decisions to Ascension leadership and the appropriate CMS stakeholders.
• Manage staffing levels and labor allocations to maintain an appropriate balance of management, technical expertise, subject matter expertise, and labor hours across program requirements.
• Monitor labor utilization against planned hours and task assignments to support effective performance under the Time and Materials task order.
• Coordinate the recruitment, onboarding, integration, replacement, and transition of contractor personnel when staffing changes are necessary.
• Direct subcontractor and consultant activities, when applicable, and maintain clear lines of authority, responsibility, communication, and accountability.
• Coordinate with CMS, State Survey Agencies, Government stakeholders, other contractors, CMS service organizations, and technical personnel when required to complete assigned activities.
• Maintain disciplined scope control and ensure contractor personnel perform activities within authorized contract requirements and Government direction.
• Review major deliverables for completeness, responsiveness, consistency, professional quality, and alignment with applicable CMS requirements before Government submission.
• Ensure applicable electronic deliverables, presentations, training or informational materials, and other products satisfy Section 508 accessibility requirements.
• Support compliance with CMS information-security, privacy, records-management, confidentiality, and data-handling requirements applicable to personnel and program operations.
• Protect Government information, Personally Identifiable Information, Controlled Unclassified Information, and other sensitive information in accordance with applicable CMS and HHS requirements.
• Ensure assigned personnel complete required CMS security, privacy, records-management, Rules of Behavior, nondisclosure, and other required onboarding or annual training.
• Maintain organized, traceable program records supporting deliverables, decisions, Government direction, staffing, risks, issues, approvals, and contract performance.
• Communicate program health, delivery status, significant risks, upcoming milestones, resource needs, and corrective actions to Ascension leadership.
• Recommend practical improvements to workflows, coordination mechanisms, reporting processes, project controls, quality-management practices, and delivery methods when opportunities for improvement are identified.
• Respond effectively to changing Government priorities, new survey-process initiatives, policy changes, release requirements, special projects, and time-sensitive requests without compromising control of ongoing work.