Ascension, LLC is seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager / Quality Assurance (QA) Lead to provide strategic project leadership, contractor and vendor oversight, and quality assurance for multidisciplinary consulting and support services supporting the State of Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH).

The ideal candidate brings demonstrated experience managing complex public-sector projects, preferably within public health, healthcare administration, health and human services, or state government consulting environments. This professional understands how to translate contractual requirements into actionable workplans, coordinate multidisciplinary consulting teams, monitor project performance, and ensure deliverables satisfy defined quality standards and client expectations.

We seek a proactive, results-driven leader who can anticipate delivery risks, establish clear accountability, resolve competing priorities, and maintain effective relationships with government stakeholders and technical specialists.

The successful candidate must be comfortable managing multiple workstreams with limited supervision while providing accountable leadership within a part-time engagement of approximately 10 hours per week.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Senior Project Manager / QA Lead serves as Ascension’s designated project management and quality assurance lead for assigned consulting and support services engagements under the Delaware DPH contract.

The position provides cross-cutting oversight of consulting activities that may include public health program design and implementation, policy and governance support, business process improvement, financial and grants management support, compliance and program integrity, stakeholder engagement, and related operational support.

The Project Manager / QA Lead establishes and maintains the project management framework, coordinates contractor and subcontractor activities, monitors schedule and deliverable performance, and implements quality assurance processes to ensure services remain aligned with approved Statements of Work, project objectives, performance measures, and applicable contractual requirements.

The role requires a professional capable of managing ambiguity, addressing delivery challenges before they escalate, and providing concise, decision-ready information to government leadership.

This is a leadership and oversight position rather than a full-time operational delivery role. The successful candidate must effectively delegate technical execution to assigned specialists while retaining accountability for integrated project performance, quality control, risk management, and client coordination.

Key Responsibilities and Anticipated Activities

Project Initiation, Planning, and Governance

• Develop project charters, management plans, integrated schedules, and work breakdown structures aligned with approved project Statements of Work.
• Establish project objectives, milestones, performance indicators, deliverable acceptance criteria, and reporting procedures.
• Define project governance processes, roles, responsibilities, escalation procedures, and decision-making protocols.
• Coordinate project kickoff meetings and communicate expectations to internal staff, subcontractors, and government stakeholders.
• Align project activities, resources, and schedules with DPH priorities and contractual requirements.

Project Execution and Contractor Oversight

• Direct assigned consulting teams and coordinate activities across multiple service categories and functional disciplines.
• Monitor contractor and subcontractor performance against agreed schedules, deliverables, and quality expectations.
• Facilitate recurring project coordination meetings to review progress, dependencies, upcoming milestones, and corrective actions.
• Manage competing priorities, resource constraints, and interdependent project activities.
• Resolve performance concerns and escalate significant issues to Ascension leadership and designated government representatives.
• Coordinate the review and resolution of project changes affecting scope, schedule, cost, or deliverable requirements.

Quality Assurance and Deliverable Management

• Develop and implement a project-specific Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Plan.
• Establish quality review checklists, document control procedures, and deliverable acceptance criteria.
• Review project deliverables for accuracy, completeness, consistency, contractual alignment, and professional presentation.
• Verify that work products address approved requirements, applicable standards, and agreed performance measures.
• Coordinate technical reviews with subject matter experts and ensure identified deficiencies are corrected before submission.
• Maintain quality review records, corrective action logs, and deliverable approval documentation.
• Track client feedback, acceptance decisions, and outstanding deliverable revisions.
• Recommend process improvements to reduce rework, improve delivery consistency, and strengthen client satisfaction.

Risk, Issue, and Change Management

• Identify operational, schedule, staffing, compliance, and quality risks that may affect project performance.
• Maintain project risk registers, issue logs, decision logs, and corrective action trackers.
• Assess the probability and impact of identified risks and recommend practical mitigation strategies.
• Coordinate timely resolution of project issues with responsible team members.
• Evaluate proposed changes and document their implications for project scope, resources, schedule, and deliverables.
• Escalate unresolved risks and issues requiring management or government direction.

Client Coordination and Performance Reporting

• Serve as Ascension’s primary project management point of contact for assigned DPH engagements.
• Prepare concise project status reports, milestone summaries, performance dashboards, and executive briefings.
• Communicate project accomplishments, upcoming activities, resource concerns, and corrective actions.
• Facilitate stakeholder reviews, progress meetings, and deliverable acceptance discussions.
• Monitor project performance indicators and recommend adjustments to improve results.
• Document meeting decisions, assigned actions, deadlines, and follow-up responsibilities.

Contract Compliance and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor project execution for alignment with approved Statements of Work, contract requirements, and applicable DPH procedures.
• Coordinate with technical specialists to confirm that sensitive information is handled according to applicable privacy, security, and confidentiality requirements.
• Support project documentation, records retention, audit readiness, and management reviews.
• Implement continuous improvement practices and lessons-learned processes.
• Validate completion of project milestones and coordinate final deliverable acceptance and closeout activities.