Project Manager – Strategic Planning & Portfolio Support (Gov't Tech)

Project Manager – Strategic Planning & Portfolio Support  (US- Remote)

What to expect when you join Sikich

Team members at Sikich have a lot in common while also being part of a rich and varied group of contributors, creating a distinct and thriving culture. Chief among our commonalities is a desire for growth and a shared unity of purpose in our professional lives. We believe that through diverse perspectives, challenging the status quo and rewarding action, we accelerate innovation and drive growth – for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities.

The professional services landscape continues to evolve. For Sikich, this means we have an opportunity to further cement our leadership position in this industry and continue to grow our organization in increasingly exciting ways. This growth is meaningful for every team member at our company because larger companies simply see more interesting client opportunities and can attract impressively talented individuals like you. Through a dedicated focus on key business priorities and intentionally creating rewarding employee experience, Sikich has developed into a highly regarded provider of professional services and a sought-after employer of choice.

Do you want to work with other skilled and agile practitioners who thrive on challenge and growth? We believe everyone has untapped potential. That’s why we lead with vision and act fast, pairing deep expertise with practical solutions. Our teams cut through complexity and deliver real impact. It's our hope that you find more than just a job. At Sikich, you'll find optimism, clear insights and genuine warmth, without egos.

Are you ready to grow with us?

Position summary

The Project Manager serves as a key member of the Lean Portfolio Management Office (LPMO) on the Security, Innovation, and Operations (SIO) program, supporting strategic planning, portfolio management, and special initiatives for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Working closely with leadership and stakeholders across the Information Systems Group (ISG) and Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ), this role helps translate organizational priorities into actionable plans, measurable outcomes, and coordinated activities.
The Project Manager supports strategic planning and performance management, portfolio oversight, and work intake processes to help ensure organizational priorities are effectively planned, coordinated, and executed. The role also provides project management support for strategic initiatives requiring cross-team collaboration, including opportunities for process improvement and innovation. Success requires strong strategic and critical thinking, project management, facilitation, and communication skills, along with the ability to engage leadership and drive progress across organizational boundaries.

What will you do in this role?

Strategic Planning & Performance Management

•    Support the development, annual refresh, and execution of organizational strategic plans, ensuring alignment with broader CMS and CCSQ priorities.
•    Facilitate development and refinement of multi-year strategies, annual objectives, and measurable key results or other performance measures.
•    Work with strategy and objective owners to establish meaningful outcomes, reporting expectations, and approaches for tracking progress.
•    Develop and maintain strategic planning materials, performance dashboards, and leadership-ready progress reports.
•    Facilitate strategic planning meetings, workshops, and leadership discussions to support prioritization, alignment, and decision-making

Portfolio Management & Work Intake

•    Support alignment of portfolio, program, and project activities with organizational strategic priorities.
•    Coordinate established work intake processes, including reviewing incoming requests, gathering information, tracking status, and facilitating appropriate follow-up.
•    Facilitate recurring intake reviews with leadership and stakeholders to support evaluation, scoping, prioritization, and assignment of new work.
•    Work with stakeholders to identify dependencies, resource considerations, and potential impacts associated with incoming requests and portfolio priorities.
•    Support development and maintenance of portfolio and program roadmaps that provide visibility into planned and ongoing initiatives.
•    Identify opportunities for process improvement and innovation across portfolio management, work intake, and related workflows, working with stakeholders to evaluate and implement improvements.

Strategic Initiative & Project Management Support

•    Provide project management and coordination support for strategic initiatives and special projects as priorities and organizational needs evolve.
•    Work with leadership and project stakeholders to define objectives, scope, deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities for assigned initiatives.
•    Facilitate working sessions, stakeholder discussions, and follow-up activities to advance initiatives and address barriers.
•    Support the evaluation, planning, and coordination of process improvement and innovation initiatives that advance organizational priorities and improve operational effectiveness.

Governance, Reporting & Performance Management

•    Develop and maintain dashboards, status reports, executive summaries, and other materials that provide visibility into strategic and portfolio performance.
•    Track key decisions, action items, dependencies, and follow-up activities resulting from leadership and portfolio discussions.
•    Support established governance processes by preparing meeting materials, coordinating leadership reviews, and documenting outcomes.
•    Leverage Jira, Confluence, and other established tools to maintain accurate, accessible information and support consistent reporting.

Stakeholder Engagement & Strategic Communications

•    Build effective working relationships with leadership, program representatives, contractors, and other stakeholders involved in strategic planning and portfolio activities.
•    Develop and coordinate communications related to strategic priorities, objectives, progress, and organizational initiatives.
•    Prepare leadership updates, presentations, and other communications tailored to different audiences.
•    Support planning and facilitation of strategic planning sessions, workshops, and stakeholder engagement forums.
•    Translate complex strategic and portfolio information into clear, concise, actionable communications

Risk, Dependency & Continuous Improvement

• Identify, track, and communicate risks, issues, and dependencies that may affect strategic objectives, portfolio priorities, or project execution.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to develop mitigation strategies, address barriers, and elevate matters requiring leadership decisions.
• Support improvements to existing tools, workflows, documentation, and reporting practices to increase transparency and efficiency.
• Capture lessons learned and stakeholder feedback to inform future planning cycles and continuous improvement efforts.

What do you need to succeed in this role?

•   Bachelor's degree required.
• 7+ years of professional experience in project management, program management, strategic planning, portfolio management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience supporting organizational strategic planning, including development, execution, and monitoring of strategic objectives and performance measures.
• Experience developing, managing, or supporting Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) or comparable goal-setting and performance management frameworks.
• Experience coordinating portfolio or program activities, including work intake, prioritization, roadmap development, and cross-team dependencies.
• Experience using Atlassian tools, particularly Jira and Confluence, for project tracking, work intake, documentation, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously, including projects involving diverse stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Strong facilitation skills, including experience planning and leading meetings, workshops, and discussions involving leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Experience developing executive-level presentations, dashboards, status reports, and decision-support materials.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills, with the ability to coordinate across organizational boundaries and influence without direct authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex information clearly and effectively to executive and non-technical audiences.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly PowerPoint and Word

Knowledge in the following areas preferred:
•    Experience supporting federal government agencies, particularly CMS/CCSQ, or comparable federal healthcare programs.
•    Familiarity with Lean Portfolio Management, Agile practices, and enterprise portfolio governance.
•    PMP, SAFe, or comparable project/program management certification.
•    Experience supporting organizational change management, stakeholder engagement, or enterprise transformation initiatives.

In compliance with this state’s pay transparency laws, the base compensation range (25%-50%-75%) for this role is $125,000- $130,000- $135,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on several factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location. Compensation ranges for roles in our Government Services pillar are determined by contract with the specific government agency Sikich is servicing.

In addition, specific skills/experience required are as follows:

• Servant Leader – You are hyper focused on engaging employees, fostering their development, and building a positive culture. 
• Solutions Focused – You see opportunities in every business problem and can develop, articulate, and implement solutions. 
• Collaboration – You are a relationship builder across all levels of the organization and across all business units. 
• Instills Trust - You do what you say, and you follow through on commitments, you act with integrity, you are consistent and are perceived as credible. 
• Impact & Influence Thinking – You gain support for ideas, proposals, and solutions, and get others to act, with or without formal authority, to advance initiatives/objectives. 

About Sikich

Sikich offers the public and private sectors a diverse platform of professional services across consulting, technology, and compliance. Highly specialized and hands-on teams deliver integrated solutions rooted in deep industry experience. Our approach is strategically and thoughtfully designed to help our clients, teams and communities accelerate success.

Sikich has approximately 2,000 team members and operates across North America, EMEA and APAC. 

Sikich Total Rewards

Our team members enjoy expansive benefits ranging from competitive compensation and insurance options to wellness programs and a flexible time off policy, to name only a few. Sikich also takes pride in prioritizing team members’ health, total wellbeing and time spent with family, friends and in the pursuit of personal goals, hobbies, and endeavors.

Some examples of our many benefits:

• Sikich maintains a Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy. We encourage every full-time employee, as your role permits, to utilize paid time off (personal time, mental/physical health care, vacation, sick leave, etc.). Waiting for time off to accrue is common at other companies. At Sikich, you do not have to wait for this benefit to kick in. FTO is activated on your first day with our organization.
• Sikich will also recognize paid holidays during the year and strives to permit employees to have time off the last week of the calendar year when client and project work permits.
• Sikich offers a comprehensive wellness program to engage, challenge and empower team members to take responsibility for their wellbeing. Activities can be tracked through our wellness provider to obtain gift cards and other rewards.

We also offer:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Health, dental, vision, life, and accident/death/disability insurance options
• HSA employer contribution
• Eleven (11) paid holidays annually.
• A robust paid Parental Bonding Leave program covering birth, adoption, and foster children.
• 401(k) with employer contributions
• Tuition reimbursement
• Generous employee referral bonus program
• Client referral bonus program
• Pet insurance
• FORCE –Sikich community volunteer program enabling each team member to use up to four hours of paid time annually to volunteer and make a difference in their local communities.

Want to learn more? Visit our Careers website or Glassdoor profile.

Sikich is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

Sikich practices in an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct and applicable law, regulations, and professional standards. Sikich CPA LLC is a licensed CPA firm that provides audit and attest services to its clients, and Sikich LLC and its subsidiaries provide tax and business advisory services to its clients. Sikich CPA LLC has a contractual arrangement with Sikich LLC under which Sikich LLC supports Sikich CPA LLC’s performance of its professional services. Sikich LLC and its subsidiaries are not licensed CPA firms. 

“Sikich” is the brand name under which Sikich CPA LLC and Sikich LLC provide professional services.  The entities under the Sikich brand are independently owned and are not liable for the services provided by any other entity providing services under the Sikich brand. The use of the terms “our company”, “we” and “us” and other similar terms denote the alternative practice structure of Sikich CPA LLC and Sikich LLC.