Project Manager - Hybrid

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.

At AZ Blue, we have a hybrid workforce strategy, called Workability, that offers flexibility with how and where employees work. Our positions are classified as hybrid, onsite or remote. While the majority of our employees are hybrid, the following classifications drive our current minimum onsite requirements:

• Hybrid People Leaders: must reside in AZ, required to be onsite at least twice per week
• Hybrid Individual Contributors: must reside in AZ, unless otherwise cited within this posting, required to be onsite at least once per week
• Hybrid 2 (Operational Roles such as but not limited to: Customer Service, Claims Processors, and Correspondence positions): must reside in AZ, unless otherwise cited within this posting, required to be onsite at least once per month
• Onsite: daily onsite requirement based on the essential functions of the job
• Remote: not held to onsite requirements, however, leadership can request presence onsite for business reasons including but not limited to staff meetings, one-on-ones, training, and team building

Please note that onsite requirements may change in the future, based on business need, and job responsibilities. Most employees should expect onsite requirements and at a minimum of once per week.

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

Purpose of the job

• Serves as the central orchestrator and manager of strategic initiatives, ensuring achievement of project goals, budget and successful project outcomes. Responsible for driving the creation of project plans, leading a multidisciplinary project team to successfully achieve the project goals, budget and outcomes. Project managers must be able to lead at the initiation of the project and/or as assigned to a project at any point of its delivery. Applies sound project management principles to define scope, schedule, and financials; facilitates stakeholder engagement; and ensures quality and risk mitigation throughout the project lifecycle. Primary point of contact for all project stakeholders, providing clear, timely communication and status updates. The Project Manager collaborates across business and IT teams to resolve blockers, manage dependencies, and maintain momentum toward project goals. Their work is critical to translating strategic intent into measurable results, supporting both operational efficiency and enterprise transformation
• Contributes to the improvement of the Project Management Office by participating in continuous improvement activities and leading through innovation.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Required Work Experience

• PM Level - 2 years experience in corporate environment performing project related activities in areas such as: Business Operations, Compliance, Planning, Execution and Delivery.
• Sr PM Level - 6 years in project management positions, combination of Project Manager and Sr Project Manager experience acceptable.

Required Education

• High-School Diploma or GED in general field of study

Required Licenses

• N/A

Required Certifications

• N/A

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preferred Work Experience

• 4-8 years of progressive experience in a Project Manager or Sr Project Manager Role, coordinating and managing complex enterprise-wide projects

Preferred Education

• PM Level - Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Information Systems, or a related field with focus on PM; OR an equivalent combination of education, a PMI certification (e.g., CAPM), and directly related project management experience in lieu of degree, as approved by PMO leadership
• Sr PM Level - Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or Information Systems with focus on PM strongly preferred

Preferred Licenses

• N/A

Preferred Certifications

• Agile Practitioner, Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Lean Enterprise / Continuous Improvement Certification
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt

ESSENTIAL job functions AND RESPONSIBILITIES

PM Level: Performs job with minimal supervision. Projects can be both limited or broad in scope and/or duration

• Plan, direct, and manage projects and associated activities to ensure goals and objectives are accomplished within prescribed time frames and funding parameters.
• Define and document project scope, objectives, detailed project schedules, budget needs, and status reports.
• Confer with stakeholders, product owners, and other parties as needed to outline schedules, dependencies, convergence, and assignments to ensure each project is being planned and communicated clearly.
• Take projects from initial conception to final implementation or in some instances take over a project mid-flight to ensure it stays on track and through successful implementation
• Produces and keeps updated project artifacts like project schedules and SharePoint sites in order to drive accurate and visible dashboarding.
• Contribute to the further development & maturity of PMO process, tools, and methodology through innovation and continuous improvement.
• Apply sound project management principles and demonstrate solid time management skills.
• Track and manage projects using Gantt charts, RAID logs, and other tracking / communication tools.
• Create and deliver presentations to multiple levels of leadership.
• Produce clear & accurate documentation, including status reporting, for any projects assigned.
• Work collaboratively with all stakeholders and communicate effectively across the organization.
• Maintain a professional and positive attitude throughout the project and as an integral member of a team of professionals that are key to driving strategic change and achievement of the corporate strategic plan.

Sr. PM Level: Performs job with general management oversight, serves as a lead/mentor to PMs

• Provide tactical and strategic input on overall planning and systems-related projects. May manage the efforts of sub-contractors and their workforce.
• Lead complex enterprise-wide projects and/or programs
• Assist management in project resource planning.
• Evaluate high-level project information and assess project components to identify software delivery, business and vendor teams that may be impacted.
• Provide peer-level review and mentoring to PMs
• Lead, instruct, direct and check the work of other team members.
• Provide input and participate in team member performance reviews, as needed.
• Lead identification, design and implementation of improvements for the efficient and effective performance of the department.
• Assist Manager in the day-to-day operations of the department, as needed.
• Develop staff, including the development and maintenance of training materials for new and existing staff, establishing performance goals and regular follow-up with staff.
• Develop, improve and maintain an effective onboarding strategy for new project managers.
• Be an example for the project managers and organization of a resource that is committed to the betterment of the organization where achievement of the corporate strategic plan is dependent on the success of the project management office driving the needed change.

ALL LEVELS

• Each progressive level includes the ability to perform the essential functions of any lower levels and mentor employees in those levels.
• Participate in corporate quality and data governance programs
• 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 (Applies to Both Levels)

• Experience with Microsoft Tools & Applications including: Teams, SharePoint, OneNote,
• Experience with Project Management Applications such as: MS Project, Planview, Confluence, ADO, and Jira.
• Strong understanding of project management principles, methodologies, and implementation
• Strong understanding of Agile, Lean and quality improvement principles.
• Ability to easily learn new systems, applications and programs.

Required Professional Competencies (Applies to Both Levels)

• Track record of delivering work/ projects on time and within budget,
• Experience leading cross-functional project teams and managing stakeholders across departments without direct reporting authority over team members.
• Professional written and verbal communication, collaboration and problem solving skills to engage with multiple levels of management such as: Subject Matter Experts, IT, Business Owners, and Sr Leaders.
• Effective risk, issue management and change management skills
• Effective interpersonal skills and ability to maintain positive working relationship with others.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and work with multiple priorities, sometimes under limited time constraints.
• Perserverance in the face of resistance or setbacks.
• Creativity and innovative problem-solving abilities
• Strong analytical skills to support independent and effective decisions
• Research and analysis. Ability to assess and document business related activities such as: current state, future state, business requirements, meeting content, business decisions, and other project related activities.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy in professional setting.

Required Leadership Experience and Competencies (Applies to Both Levels)

• Demonstrated ability to lead, influence, and collaborate across cross-functional teams in a complex and evolving business environment.
• Exercise sound judgment, critical thinking, and decision-making skills to address challenges, remove barriers, and drive progress.

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES

Preferred Job Skills (Applies to Both Levels)

• Knowledge of AI Models to support Project Management activities including: Claude & CoPilot.
• Experience in health care or health insurance industry
• Exposure and understanding of CMS impact to health insurance operations
• Experience managing project budgets, including forecast-to-actual tracking and variance reporting.
• Experience applying a formal project management methodology (Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid) to manage scope, schedule, cost, and risk on assigned projects.
• Ability to understand, create and manage project budgets (Forecasts, Actuals, CapEx & OpEx) using sound financial management skills
• Ability to translate complex business, operational, and regulatory requirements into actionable project plans and deliverables.
• Intermediate knowledge of BCBSAZ applications

Preferred Professional Competencies (Applies to Both Levels)

• Experience communicating and presenting to Executive Leadership
• Experience working with and managing third parties
• Impeccable project management skills
• Knowledge of healthcare payer operations, regulatory requirements, and compliance considerations.
• Strong technical comprehention skills and ability to translate technical concepts to be easily understood by laymen.

Preferred Leadership Experience and Competencies (Sr. PM Level)

• Mentor team members and peers
• Experience leading projects involving multiple business areas, including Operations, IT, Clinical, Compliance, Finance, and Vendor partners.
• Ability to build coaching plans and deliver coaching to team members

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.