Program Manager, Government

For People is improving government digital services for the disadvantaged population. We work directly with government agencies to modernize software, systems, and platforms so that they better serve people.

Every month, hundreds of thousands of people go looking for facts about Medicare and Medicaid. They are researchers, reporters, policy staff, and health care providers. When the data is hard to find, a file is too large to post, or a column quietly changes its name between releases, their work slows down or goes wrong.

This project supports the website where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes that data for the public. It hosts a large catalog of datasets, lookup tools, and dashboards from across the agency, available for download, as interactive tools, and via a public API. As Program Manager, you will lead the team that builds and runs it. This is a hands-on role. You’ll facilitate partner meetings, support the team when they are blocked, and get into project details as needed to report clearly on the team’s progress. You’ll work elbow-to-elbow with the project’s technical and product leadership. You will learn about the work enough to identify and help mitigate delivery risks and hold the team accountable for what we promise to government partners.

This position is a full-time position contingent on For People being awarded a federal contract. If awarded, this position’s expected start date is February 2027.

For People is a team of humans. We place a significant amount of emphasis on positive work-life balance, setting healthy expectations, and making sure our loved ones are taken care of first. That means picking a child up from school during the day or going for a mid-day walk is okay!

This position is 100% remote. Our entire team is remote across the United States, from the West Coast to the East Coast. There will never be a return-to-office, as we have none! Occasional travel to CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD (2-3 times per year) is required. These trips are infrequent and scheduled well in advance.

This full-time position's published base salary range is between $100,000 and $160,000 annually. This band ranges across both the Program Manager and Senior Program Manager pay band, which will be determined based on relevant experience. All positions include generous benefits (e.g., For People pays 100% of Gold-tier employee health insurance premiums) and annual company profit sharing.

On this project, you will be the delivery lead on a cross-functional team of about 15 people spanning engineering, design, user research, and support functions. The team may expand to up to 25 members in the future. As the Program Manager, you will:

• Build a collaborative and trusting team culture across all disciplines in the program
• Run agile practices including sprints, planning cycles, demos, and retrospectives, all of which include CMS stakeholders
• Coordinate with CMS offices that publish data on the public portal; share progress transparently and build positive working relationships with partner contracting teams
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks to project delivery
• Keep the program in line with contract, security, and accessibility requirements, including Section 508 and the site's Authority to Operate (ATO)
• Report status and outcomes to CMS and For People leadership, using live dashboards wherever possible and finding efficiency gains through automation
• Lead the handoff from the current contractor in your first few months so users see no disruption

• A humble and caring attitude aligning with For People’s values: passion, fun, curiosity, sustainability, humility, and respect
• 8+ years of relevant experience in program or project management, including managing government contracts
• Degree in management, public administration, information technology, or a related field
• Experience with open data projects
• Experience managing cross-functional teams, with the ability to lead teams of 15 to 25 people as the contract grows
• Deep knowledge of agile product management principles
• Familiarity with collaboration tools such as Jira, Confluence, Slack, and GitHub
• Ability to oversee all aspects of task order management including reporting, sprint planning, and project planning
• Experience facilitating stakeholder engagement across multiple government agency offices and data owners

• Experience working directly with CMS programs or data
• Experience with public websites built on Drupal
• Experience leading a contract transition from an incumbent team

You will be working on a United States government platform, and they have a few basic requirements for contractors like ourselves. All work must be physically performed within the United States at all times. In addition, you must be a United States citizen and be able to pass a government-performed public trust background check.

For People is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, and/or veteran status.

Originally posted on Himalayas