Program Manager, Government

For People•Arlington, VA

3d•$100,000 - $160,000•Remote

About The Position

For People is hiring a Program Manager to lead the team that builds and operates the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) public data website. The site provides a large catalog of datasets, lookup tools, and dashboards, with information available for download, through interactive tools, and via a public API. The role works closely with technical and product leadership and government partners to support delivery, identify and mitigate risks, and report clearly on progress. The position is contingent on For People being awarded a federal contract and is expected to start in February 2027. The Program Manager will be the delivery lead for a cross-functional team of about 15 people across engineering, design, user research, and support functions; the team may grow to as many as 25. The role is fully remote within the United States, with required occasional travel to CMS headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, two to three times per year. All work must be performed physically within the United States. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and able to pass a government-performed public trust background check.

Requirements

At least 8 years of relevant program or project management experience, including managing government contracts.
A 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.
A humble and caring attitude aligned with For People's values: passion, fun, curiosity, sustainability, humility, and respect.
Must be a U.S. citizen and able to pass a government-performed public trust background check.
Must perform all work physically within the United States.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Build a collaborative and trusting team culture across all disciplines in the program.
Run agile practices, including sprints, planning cycles, demos, and retrospectives with 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 the first few months so users experience no disruption.
Facilitate partner meetings, support the team when blocked, and get into project details as needed to report clearly on progress.
Oversee task order management, including reporting, sprint planning, and project planning.
Hold the team accountable for commitments to government partners.