Senior Project & Engagement Manager (Contract)

CommonHealth ACTION • Washington, DC

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

CommonHealth ACTION seeks to engage a highly organized, execution-driven Senior Project & Engagement Manager (Contract) to support our growing portfolio of complex healthcare and public health system engagements. This role will immediately support a multi-year organizational alignment initiative within a regional hospital system while maintaining flexibility to contribute across additional healthcare and public health client engagements as needed. This position is designed for a seasoned professional who excels at managing complex timelines, coordinating overlapping workstreams, and producing high-quality materials in fast-moving, politically nuanced environments. The individual will serve as an execution partner to CHA leadership team members, ensuring that multi-phase engagements remain on track, well-documented, and strategically aligned. This is anticipated to be a two-year independent contractor engagement aligned with current client commitments and organizational growth. ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION CommonHealth ACTION is a national public health organization that develops people and organizations to produce health through equitable policies, programs, and practices. Our vision is an America in which all people have equitable opportunities and neighborhood conditions to achieve their best possible health. Our work spans healthcare systems, public health agencies, foundations, higher education institutions, private sector and government partners. We specialize in leadership development, organizational alignment, qualitative assessment, governance design, training and education, planning and implementation support, and culture change in complex systems. Please visit www.commonhealthaction.org for more information about our work. POSITION DESCRIPTION The Senior Project & Engagement Manager (Contract) is responsible for ensuring disciplined execution across complex, multi-phase engagements. This includes rigorous timeline management, deliverable tracking, document development, stakeholder coordination, and internal alignment across CHA teams. The role prioritizes operational excellence and material development while also contributing light strategic input when appropriate. The individual will work closely with CHA leadership to translate direction into organized execution and polished client-facing products. IDEAL CANDIDATE: You are a highly disciplined professional who can hit the ground running and bring structure to complex, fast-moving work. You are comfortable moving between management, coordination, and execution roles, and you take pride in maintaining impeccable control over timelines, deliverables, and follow-through. You thrive in environments with layered stakeholders, competing priorities, and political nuance, and you understand that large organizational work is rarely linear. You are able to track moving parts, anticipate pressure points, and maintain clarity when others feel overwhelmed. You bring strong judgment, read situations in real time, and know when to escalate risks or offer thoughtful suggestions to strengthen execution. You are an exceptional writer who can translate direction, qualitative insights, and executive conversations into clear, polished, client-ready materials. You manage risk and sequencing with discipline, communicate proactively, and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. You are adaptable, unflappable, organized, and detail-oriented, with experience supporting senior leaders in healthcare, public health, government, non-profit, or similarly complex systems. You value high standards, appreciate constructive feedback, and are committed to strengthening organizational conditions that support safety, equity, accountability, and health for all people.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; PMP certification preferred.
• Candidates must have a minimum of ten to fourteen years of relevant professional experience working at this level of project management or higher, preferably within healthcare, public health, government, non-profit or similarly complex systems.
• Experience managing complex, multi-phase projects from initiation through execution and closeout
• Strong project planning, risk tracking, and dependency management skills
• Experience and comfort presenting to and facilitating discussions with senior level executives
• Ability to manage simultaneous workstreams with precision and discipline
• Exceptional written communication skills, including drafting executive-level materials and client-ready documents
• Experience operating within complex stakeholder environments involving layered authority and cross-cutting relationships
• Strong organizational judgment and the ability to escalate risks appropriately
• Commitment to equity, public health, and strengthening conditions that support safe, effective organizational environments
• Professional presence and political acumen when working with senior executives, clinicians, and cross-functional teams
• A collaborative, solutions-oriented, and high-accountability work style
• Candidates must be located in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) region.
• This role requires regular in-person engagement, including time spent at client sites, at CommonHealth ACTION’s headquarters in Dupont Circle, and/or other agreed-upon meeting locations.
• On-site presence is expected to average approximately 5–8 days per month , depending on project phase and client needs.
• Remote work is permitted when not required on-site, provided that deliverables and engagement standards are consistently met.
• All contractors will be required to execute appropriate confidentiality and intellectual property agreements as a condition of engagement.

Nice To Haves

• PMP certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Timeline & Deliverable Management Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans across multi-phase healthcare engagements Track milestones, deadlines, and task ownership across concurrent workstreams Manage interdependencies and sequencing across leadership groups and engagement phases Anticipate timeline pressure points and proactively escalate risks to CHA leadership Ensure deliverables are completed on time and prepared for internal review prior to client distribution Maintain centralized documentation of commitments, next steps, and action items Utilize structured project management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Excel, Microsoft 365 tools) to maintain execution visibility
• High-Quality Material Development Draft and refine client-facing materials including agendas, briefing documents, slide decks, executive summaries, and structured working tools Translate qualitative insights and leadership direction into clear, organized written products Support synthesis of interviews, focus groups, and assessment findings into executive-ready formats Ensure all materials reflect executive-level tone, clarity, and precision Prepare internal briefing documents to align leadership messaging and engagement posture
• Engagement Coordination & Stakeholder Management Coordinate logistics for interviews, focus groups, working sessions, and leadership meetings Partner with CHA leadership to prepare for client sessions and document outcomes Manage follow-up actions and track accountability across internal and client stakeholders Maintain structured stakeholder tracking systems to monitor influence, alignment, and engagement cadence Maintain a formal decision log documenting major sequencing, messaging, and engagement decisions Coordinate documentation of key stakeholder interactions to ensure continuity across leadership touchpoints
• Strategic Insight & Risk Monitoring Monitor emerging stakeholder dynamics and surface observations to CHA leadership Identify potential execution or alignment risks based on engagement patterns Offer informed observations regarding sequencing, pacing, and stakeholder readiness Conduct targeted environmental scans to inform engagement strategy when appropriate

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Mid Level