Director – Project Management

Awarded a Healthiest Employer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona aims to fulfill its mission to inspire health and make it easy. AZ Blue offers a variety of health insurance products and services to meet the diverse needs of individuals, families, and small and large businesses as well as providing information and tools to help individuals make better health decisions.

This position requires work and residency within the state of AZ.

Purpose of the job

• Create and implement a best-in-class project management department where the strategic portfolio projects achieve their set goals and are completed within the project and portfolio budget. Actively directs all project managers to fulfill project management activities and responsibilities including education, accolades or disciplinary support when needed. Streamlines the reporting templates and processes for ease of workload on the project managers. Works collaboratively across all areas of the organization and partners with other leaders to build trust for the successful project outcomes. Raises project issues in a timely manner to have such issues addressed promptly and not impede project progress. Embraces emerging technologies such as AI to automate workflow and reduce administrative burden.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Required Work Experience

• 5years of experience leading enterprise transformation or material change initiatives in technology and/or business organizations.
• 3 years of supervisory or management experience

Required Education

• Associates degree in Business, Project Management, Information Technology or related field.

Required Licenses

• N/A

Required Certifications

•  NA

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preferred Work Experience

• 5years of experience managing large-scale, complex projects
• 5 years of experience practicing Agile or Lean

Preferred Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Project Management, Information Technology or related field

Preferred Licenses

• N/A

Preferred Certifications

• Project Management Professional, Project Management Agile Certified Practitioner

ESSENTIAL job functions AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program/project management

• Lead and develop the Project Management Office that is engaged in the implementation of critical change within the organization.
• Establish partnership with business stakeholders to lead, shape and influence positive outcomes.  Help to establish and drive the corporate strategy through successful execution of projects.
• Plan, forecast, and staff the PMO to meet the business demands in a timely manner.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of common standards and methodologies for project management that can be leveraged within the team and throughout the organization.
• Deploy a tool set that supports Project Management best practices and provides the appropriate level of information capture, reporting, control, information sharing and management insight.
• Ensure best of class project management disciplines are being executed and that consistent, effective communication plans are in place to all key stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively with other Executives on status, forecasts, issues, and recommendations.
• Work in partnership with the Finance Department to manage project financials.
• Maintain current knowledge of developments in healthcare related industries, new technology in systems design and software, and project management techniques, methodology and software.
• Support the execution and delivery of the strategic projects within the BCBSAZ Strategic Plan ensuring delivery of scope, budget management and regular status reporting on progress through project closure.
• Provide timely and accurate reporting for individual projects and the project portfolio.
• Identify and assess project risks quickly and proactively, taking appropriate actions as required.
• Coordinate project definition, scope, requirements, design, and implementation activities in conjunction with technical and functional areas, and executive management.
• Responsible for setting up processes and practices that produce project outcomes consistent with on-time and on-budget objectives. 

Department management

• Provide the day-to-day leadership of the Project Management Office by developing leaders, coaching and motivating staff and making maximum use of experience and skills.
• Develop staff, including development and maintenance of training materials for new and existing staff, establishing performance goals, regular follow up with staff and year-end performance evaluations.
• Maintain effective working relationships with all business and technical functions
• Participate in strategic planning.
• Ensure that the most efficient processes are in place and determine tactical plans to improve processes and services that can be streamlined and/or enhanced.

OVERALL

• Participate in applicable programs (e.g. Risk Management, Quality, etc.)
• The position requires a full-time work schedule. Full-time is defined as working at least 40 hours per week, plus any additional hours as requested or as needed to meet business requirements.
• Perform all other duties as assigned

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

Required Job Skills

• Intermediate PC proficiency
• Intermediate proficiency in spreadsheet, database, project management, and word processing software
• Advanced knowledge of project management principles, methodologies, and implementation

Required Professional Competencies

• Verbal and written communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group, executives, managers, and subject matter experts.
• Strong analytical skills to support independent and effective decisions
• Maintain business acumen with respect to current BCBSAZ initiatives, priorites, goals etc
• Ability to prioritize tasks and work with multiple priorities, sometimes under time constraints.
• Perserverance in the face of resistance or setbacks.
• Creativity and innovative problem-solving abilities
• Effective interpersonal skills and ability to maintain positive working relationship with others.             
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy

Required Leadership Experience and Competencies

• Lead, retain and reward a diverse team in an ever changing environment.
• High standard of performance while pursuing aggressive goals.

• Principled leadership and sound business ethics.

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES

Preferred Job Skills

• Advanced PC proficiency (Excel, Power BI, DevOps, etc)
• Intermediate knowledge of BCBSAZ applications

Preferred Professional Competencies

• Impeccable project management skills
• Knowledge of BCBSAZ internal departments and operations
• Strong communication skills and a strong ability to translate technical concepts so that they are easily understood by all levels in the organization. 

Preferred Leadership Experience and Competencies

• Recognized success leading high-performing technical teams

Our Commitment

AZ Blue does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected group.

Thank you for your interest in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.  For more information on our company, see azblue.com.  If interested in this position, please apply.