IT Health Program Manager - CEP

This position requires on-site work as needed and as required by business needs. 

The IT Health Program Manager provides strategic and operational program leadership for enterprise initiatives within UCSF Health's Clinical Enterprise Plan (CEP), with primary responsibility for the Next Generation Operating Platform (NGOP). The role connects enterprise strategy, governance, funding, prioritization, and Health IT delivery across a complex portfolio of interdependent initiatives. The Program Manager establishes the integrated program structure, roadmap, governance cadence, decision framework, financial oversight, and executive reporting needed to translate NGOP priorities into coordinated, measurable outcomes. Responsibilities include managing cross-functional dependencies, risks, resource constraints, and delivery commitments while ensuring NGOP-generated technology needs are routed through and aligned with established Health IT portfolio governance.

The Program Manager serves as the central integration point among the NGOP executive sponsor, operational co-chairs and leaders, Health IT leadership, portfolio leaders, Finance, clinical and business stakeholders, and project managers assigned to individual initiatives. The role facilitates executive decision-making, maintains clear accountability for outcomes, and ensures that individual projects remain coordinated to the broader NGOP roadmap, funding strategy, and enterprise objectives.

As the CEP / NGOP Program Manager, you will lead a highly visible enterprise program focused on transforming the operating platform that supports UCSF Health's strategic priorities. NGOP is one of the strategic pillars within CEP and is expected to generate and advance initiatives spanning areas such as revenue cycle, enterprise efficiency, workforce enablement, technology platforms, contracting, and other cross-enterprise opportunities. Individual initiatives may have dedicated project managers; this role operates at the program level to integrate those efforts, manage the overall roadmap, and maintain alignment across governance bodies.

This role reports directly to the Director of the Health IT Project Management Office and partners closely with the NGOP executive sponsor,  operational leadership, Health IT Executive Steering, enterprise portfolio leaders, Finance, and initiative owners. The Program Manager ensures that NGOP priorities and investments are translated into executable work while preserving the decision rights, prioritization processes, resource allocation practices, and delivery accountability of Health IT portfolio governance.

This role requires a deep understanding of institutional, medical center, and systemwide priorities and the ability to lead complex enterprise programs in areas where governance, funding, operating models, and delivery pathways may still be evolving. The incumbent will apply expert program management judgment to create structure in ambiguity, synthesize information across disciplines, surface enterprise trade-offs, and drive decisions through the appropriate governance channels.

CEP is emerging as the mechanism for setting enterprise priorities, funding investments, and driving transformational outcomes across UCSF Health. Health IT maintains established portfolio structures responsible for governance, prioritization, roadmap management, resource planning, and delivery accountability. The CEP / NGOP Program Manager will help create a clear line of sight from enterprise strategy and investment decisions through portfolio prioritization and initiative execution, reducing governance duplication and strengthening accountability for outcomes.

NGOP is expected to operate as a source of enterprise priorities and funded initiatives while working through established Health IT governance for technology delivery. The Program Manager will help define and operationalize how NGOP priorities, funding requests, portfolio capacity, and project execution interact, including the coordination of capital, CEP, and operating funding considerations. The role will maintain transparency regarding roadmap, spend, benefits, capacity constraints, dependencies, and decisions requiring escalation.

As a key member of the UCSF Health IT PMO, the Program Manager will apply disciplined program management practices while working across clinical, operational, financial, administrative, and technology domains. Success requires strong executive communication, facilitation, financial acumen, governance design, benefits orientation, and the ability to influence outcomes across a highly matrixed organization without direct authority.

Explicit Strategic Outcomes for this role include:

• An integrated NGOP roadmap that connects CEP priorities, approved investments, Health IT portfolio delivery, and measurable enterprise outcomes.

• Transparent governance and decision-making for priorities, funding, resource capacity, risks, dependencies, and escalations across NGOP initiatives.

• Disciplined tracking of financial and operational benefits, including revenue cycle improvement, cost savings, efficiency, and other outcomes established by NGOP executive leadership.

The Program Manager will establish a repeatable operating model for NGOP that supports executive governance while enabling individual initiative teams to execute effectively. This includes coordinating roadmap and spend reviews, maintaining integrated program reporting, clarifying decision rights, and ensuring that new technology requests move through the appropriate Health IT portfolio and enterprise governance pathways. The role will continuously identify opportunities to simplify governance, improve visibility, and strengthen the connection between enterprise strategy and delivery execution.

Department Overview 

The IT Health Project Management Office (PMO) provides centralized leadership and delivery support for a diverse portfolio of technology initiatives across UCSF. The PMO partners with clinical, operational, and administrative stakeholders to plan and execute projects that advance patient care, research, and academic excellence. Through standardized methodologies, tools, and best practices, the PMO promotes consistent, high-quality project delivery aligned with organizational priorities.

The PMO manages projects of varying size, scope, and complexity, including large-scale, cross-functional initiatives with significant organizational impact. The team emphasizes strong stakeholder engagement, disciplined execution, and proactive risk management while maintaining flexibility to meet the evolving needs of a complex academic health environment. By fostering collaboration, transparency, and accountability, the PMO plays a critical role in enabling strategic outcomes and improving operational efficiency across the enterprise.

The IT Program Manager must be able to adhere and emulate the Health IT culture and core values as stated below: 

“People First: Patients are healthier and families happier with clinical systems to support them. Our solutions enable providers and staff to pioneer care, train the next generation of clinical leaders, and secure UCSF’s future. We use talent, creativity, and diverse skillsets to tackle tough problems.  We strive to be proactive, and make time to innovate, appreciate and connect. When something big is needed, we deliver. 

Health IT Core Values include: 

Judgment: Makes wise decisions, identifies root causes, thinks strategically, and prioritizes what to do now and what can be improved later.

Communication: Listens well, is concise and articulate in speech and writing, treats people with respect independent of their status, and maintains calm poise in stressful situations.

Impact: Accomplishes amazing amounts of important work, colleagues can rely upon you, focuses on results, 

exhibits bias-to-action, and avoids analysis-paralysis

Innovation: Finds practical solutions to hard problems, suggests better approaches and new ideas that prove useful, and stays nimble by minimizing complexity and finding time to simplify.

Collaboration: Understands that work cannot be accomplished solely as an individual contributor; works through others to develop holistic solutions that meet our customer needs and the goals of the organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Finance, Operations, or a related field and/or equivalent experience/training.
• 8+ years of progressively responsible program or project management experience, including significant experience leading large, complex, cross-functional healthcare or enterprise technology initiatives.
• Requires advanced knowledge of program and project management principles, theories, concepts, and enterprise governance practices.
• Experience with portfolio management, demand intake, capacity planning, and prioritization processes.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and leading enterprise program governance, integrated roadmaps, executive reporting, and decision-making processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex program financials, forecasts, investment tracking, and/or benefits realization across multiple funding sources or initiatives.
• Demonstrated capacity to create structure in ambiguity, anticipate obstacles, plan contingencies, and drive resolution of complex cross-functional issues.
• Demonstrated effective executive-level written and verbal communication skills, including development of concise decision materials, dashboards, and presentations.
• Proven leadership, facilitation, negotiation, and problem-solving skills with the ability to put forth persuasive arguments and drive decisions.
• Expert skill at tracking program progress, dependencies, resources, risks, decisions, financial performance, and outcome measures across multiple workstreams.
• Experience leading or coordinating project managers and matrixed teams without direct authority.
• Ability to influence senior clinical, operational, financial, administrative, and technology stakeholders across organizational boundaries.
• Thorough understanding of how enterprise programs relate to organizational strategy, operating models, governance, portfolio management, and investment prioritization.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with executive-level management and governance bodies on a regular basis.
• Experience analyzing highly complex programs with broad institutional impact and developing strategic recommendations where precedent may not exist.
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative manner to achieve outcomes significant in scope and organizational impact.
• Strong vendor, contracting, and third-party management skills.

• Strong business and financial acumen, including experience with cost savings, revenue improvement, efficiency, or other measurable benefit programs.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in business, healthcare administration, information systems, or a related field.
• Working knowledge of healthcare technology delivery, enterprise applications, data/AI, infrastructure, and operational technology dependencies.
• Experience working in an academic health system or similarly complex healthcare environment.
• Certifications
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) or PgMP (Program Management Professional) certification
  • Lean Six Sigma or Change Management certification (Prosci, ACMP)
  • Portfolio management, Agile, or product/program management certification

Budgeted Job Salary Range: 160,000 - 230,000