Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension LLC is seeking a Project Manager / Business Analyst to support a mission-critical Maryland Department of Labor initiative focused on implementing and maintaining an IT and customer support solution for the Federal Worker Loan Program. This role is designed for a highly organized, detail-oriented professional who can bridge project management, business analysis, implementation support, stakeholder coordination, testing, reporting, and operational oversight.

The ideal candidate will help ensure the successful execution of a secure, user-friendly software solution that supports application intake, eligibility review, document upload, identity verification, customer support, repayment tracking, reporting, and program closeout. The role is especially important because the Federal Worker Loan Program must be able to process high volumes of loan applications quickly, accurately, securely, and with strong customer service during time-sensitive federal shutdown or worker displacement events. The RFP requires the solution to support application submission and review, AI-enabled eligibility assistance, fraud prevention, customer support, payment tracking, dashboards, project management, UAT, training, implementation, and closeout activities.

This position is best suited for someone who understands how to manage ambiguity, translate program needs into clear requirements, coordinate across technical and non-technical stakeholders, manage risks and milestones, and support a public-sector customer through implementation and steady-state operations.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Project Manager / Business Analyst will support Ascension’s delivery team by managing project execution, documenting requirements, coordinating implementation activities, supporting user acceptance testing, tracking risks and milestones, facilitating communications, and helping ensure that deliverables meet Maryland Department of Labor expectations. The role combines project management discipline with hands-on business analysis support to ensure that the solution aligns with program goals, user needs, security expectations, reporting requirements, customer support workflows, and operational timelines.

The contractor will help the client define scope, objectives, success criteria, timelines, dependencies, deliverables, communications protocols, escalation procedures, risk mitigation actions, training needs, and post-launch monitoring activities. The RFP specifically requires project management support for timeline and schedule management, communication management, risk management, test management, change management, documentation and training, post-launch monitoring, data analytics coordination, user acceptance testing, issue tracking, sign-off, closeout, and transition.

The ideal candidate should be self-driven, highly responsive, structured in their approach, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment where application volume, customer support demand, reporting needs, and implementation priorities may shift quickly. The candidate should bring the ability to anticipate problems, document decisions, support solution adoption, manage multiple workstreams, and help the customer maintain control over schedule, quality, risk, and accountability.

Position’s Day-to-Day Activities

The Project Manager / Business Analyst will be expected to:

• Develop and maintain project plans, integrated schedules, milestone trackers, action item logs, decision logs, and deliverable status reports.
• Coordinate with MD Labor stakeholders, technical teams, customer support teams, application reviewers, payment/reconciliation stakeholders, and subcontractor resources.
• Document business, functional, reporting, file transfer, customer support, training, and operational requirements.
• Translate program requirements into clear user stories, process flows, acceptance criteria, standard operating procedures, and implementation tasks.
• Track project scope, schedule, risks, issues, dependencies, assumptions, changes, and approvals.
• Facilitate recurring project meetings, stakeholder working sessions, implementation reviews, UAT planning sessions, and closeout meetings.
• Prepare meeting agendas, minutes, action items, executive summaries, briefing materials, status reports, and issue escalation summaries.
• Support configuration, implementation, and validation of applicant portal, application review, customer support, reporting, repayment, and file transfer processes.
• Coordinate user acceptance testing by developing test cases, tracking defects, documenting retesting results, and supporting final acceptance.
• Analyze process gaps, operational risks, stakeholder feedback, and implementation blockers.
• Support change control by documenting requested changes, assessing impacts, routing approvals, and updating project documentation.
• Assist with dashboard and reporting requirements to help MD Labor track application activity, applicant characteristics, outcomes, customer support trends, payment status, repayment status, and exceptions.
• Coordinate training materials, user guides, reviewer instructions, job aids, and knowledge-based resources.
• Monitor post-launch performance, user adoption, customer support trends, issue resolution, and reporting outputs.
• Support project closeout, including lessons learned, transition planning, stakeholder sign-off, data export coordination, and final presentation materials.