Project Manager (Gov't Tech)

Project Manager (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 iQIES Project Manager provides day-to-day project management and coordination support for the CMS Division of Quality Systems and Analytics Support (DQSAS) and Information Systems Group (ISG) across the iQIES program. This role is responsible for planning, tracking, and facilitating delivery across multiple concurrent iQIES workstreams — keeping milestones on track, stakeholders aligned, and risks surfaced before they become issues.Operating within the iQIES Agile Release Train (ART), this role actively participates in SAFe Agile ceremonies including PI Planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. A key responsibility is leading feature review and refinement sessions — working with the Product Owner and delivery teams to ensure features are clearly defined, properly scoped, and ready for development. This role also serves as backup Release Train Engineer (RTE) for the iQIES ART when needed.
This role reports to the iQIES Program Lead and works closely with the CMS Product Owner, contractor teams, and CMS program offices to ensure smooth execution across the full iQIES portfolio.

What will you do in this role?

Project Planning & Timeline Tracking

•  Lead day-to-day project coordination across iQIES workstreams, tracking tasks, milestones, and dependencies.
• Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, and work breakdown structures for assigned initiatives.
•  Maintain risk and issue logs in JIRA; track mitigation strategies and escalate blockers proactively.
•  Monitor project progress across concurrent workstreams and flag risks or schedule impacts early.
• Provide project status updates, executive summaries, and briefings to the iQIES Program Lead and CMS leadership.

SAFe Agile & Feature Refinement

• Participate actively in SAFe Agile ceremonies within the iQIES Agile Release Train (ART): PI Planning, sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Lead feature review and refinement sessions — working with the Product Owner and delivery teams to ensure features are clearly defined, properly scoped, acceptance criteria are testable, and stories are sprint-ready.
• Maintain and groom the program-level backlog in JIRA, ensuring epics, features, and stories are current and sequenced.
• Serve as backup Release Train Engineer (RTE) for the iQIES ART when needed — facilitating ART ceremonies, removing impediments, and ensuring teams stay aligned to PI objectives.
• Coordinate PI Planning logistics and preparation, including team readiness, input materials, and scheduling.

Facilitation & Meeting Support

• Plan, facilitate, and document iQIES program meetings — working sessions, stakeholder reviews, coordination calls, and governance forums.
• Prepare agendas, pre-read materials, and presentations; capture and distribute meeting minutes and action items.
• Track action items from meetings through to completion, following up with owners across all teams.

Agile & Portfolio Alignment

• Align DQI project activities with CMS's established Agile and Lean Portfolio practices.
• Develop, coordinate, and help manage Agile work products, including epics, features, backlog items, roadmaps, and other planning artifacts needed to advance the initiative.
• Support prioritization and sequencing of work based on dependencies, readiness, risks, and program priorities.
• Facilitate planning sessions, working groups, and other forums needed to coordinate activities and move implementation forward.
• Ensure project work and progress are visible through established CMS program and portfolio management processes.

Stakeholder & Contractor Coordination

• Serve as a coordination point across CMS program offices (CCSQ, QSOG/SOG, DQSAS/ISG) and contractor teams.
• Ensure clear and timely communication of priorities, decisions, and status across all stakeholder groups.
• Support preparation of executive-level materials, briefings, and presentations for CMS leadership.
• Facilitate alignment across teams on shared dependencies, timelines, and deliverables

Process Improvement & Documentation

• Identify process gaps across iQIES program operations and develop or refine procedures, SOPs, and templates.
• Maintain and improve shared program documentation in Confluence and SharePoint.
• Support continuous improvement of program management practices, tools, and governance structures.

Ad Hoc Project Support

• Provide support for emerging, time-sensitive, or high-visibility project needs
• Support special initiatives, leadership requests, and cross-program coordination efforts
• Ensure responsiveness to evolving CCSQ priorities while maintaining alignment with project objectives
  

What do you need to succeed in this role?

• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) required.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in project management or program coordination in federal IT or health IT environments.
• Required SAFe Agile experience — active participation in PI Planning, sprint ceremonies, backlog refinement, and ART-level coordination.
• Demonstrated experience leading feature review and refinement sessions with cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing backlogs, user stories, and project tracking in JIRA and Confluence.
• Experience facilitating and documenting meetings, working sessions, and governance forums.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to synthesize complex information for technical and executive audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and priorities in a fast-paced federal program environment.

Knowledge in the following areas preferred:

• SAFe certification or Agile certification
• Prior CMS, CCSQ, DQSAS/ISG experience strongly preferred.
• iQIES program knowledge strongly preferred — familiarity with iQIES system workflows, assessment instruments (MDS, OASIS, HOPE, IRF-PAI, LCDS), or the Survey & Certification (S&C) program.
• Experience developing dashboards, reporting tools, or executive-level briefings
• Familiarity with FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) awareness of FHIR-based data exchange concepts as they apply to federal health IT programs.
• Experience serving as or supporting a Release Train Engineer (RTE) in a SAFe ART environment.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

In compliance with this state’s pay transparency laws, the base compensation range (25%-50%-75%) for this role is $100,000- $105,000- $110,000. 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.