Project Manager / Scrum Master -- NIH START Program

Job Description

Job Description

Location: On-site with NIH's Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Reporting (OEPR), Bethesda/Rockville, MD, approximately 80% of the time

Reports to: Plexus Director of START with day-to-day direction from the OEPR START Team Lead / COR

About the role

Plexus builds and operates START, the NIH Office of the Director's platform for program tracking, evaluation, and performance reporting, on behalf of OEPR. START is a portfolio, not a single project. It includes modernized GPRA reporting, new modules for NIH Offices, an HHS instance, a cloud migration, data integrations, security work, training content, and three newly awarded task orders bringing AI capabilities into the platform, with more expected.

We need a dedicated Project Manager / Scrum Master to own coordination across all aspects. You will work with the customer on-site most of the week, run the meetings and agendas, track every workstream and deliverable, and keep both OEPR and the Plexus team on time. You will be the most visible Plexus person in the customer's office and the one everyone turns to for "where does this stand?" This role requires someone who can jump in and be productive immediately.

What you'll do

• Run the customer cadence
• Own the standing START team meetings with OEPR (currently two one-hour blocks per week): agendas, pre-reads, facilitation, decisions, action items, and follow-through.
• Coordinate the other recurring touchpoints - infrastructure and security syncs and meetings with participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices and with HHS stakeholders.
• Produce the weekly progress report and the monthly contract status report to the COR.
• Own delivery across the portfolio
• Maintain an integrated view of every workstream and task order: milestones, dependencies, blockers, and contractual deliverables (kickoffs, mockups, test plans, phase completions, reports).
• Stand up the new task orders with OEPR, including kickoff and phase/CLIN-level tracking for Institutes that fund work independently.
• Run Agile ceremonies for the Plexus team in Jira - sprint planning, stand-ups, demos, retrospectives - and keep the backlog ordered against OEPR priorities.
• Coordinate mockup reviews, user acceptance testing, and Section 508 reviews with government stakeholders; track support tickets alongside project work.
• Manage scope against firm-fixed-price task orders and flag out-of-scope requests early.
• Plan around team availability and close coverage gaps before they become problems.
• Coordinate partners and onboarding
• Serve as the coordination point for Plexus teaming partners and subcontractors on the AI task orders: joint sessions, partner deliverables, alignment with OEPR expectations.
• Shepherd NIH onboarding logistics for Plexus staff and partners (accounts, PIV/GFE, VPN, SharePoint/GitHub access) to completion.
• Keep the documentation honest
• Own meeting notes, decision/action logs, the risk and issue register, and deliverable trackers in the customer's SharePoint and Plexus's Confluence/Jira.
• Contribute schedules and resource plans to Plexus leadership for follow-on quotes.

Requirements

• 8+ years of project management experience on software or IT services delivery, including 4+ years running Agile/Scrum teams.
• Experience embedded with a federal civilian customer, ideally HHS/NIH, in a client-facing role.
• Exceptional facilitation and follow-through - you leave meetings with a clean action list and make sure every item closes.
• Strong written communication: agendas, minutes, and status reports that senior stakeholders actually read.
• Proven ability to manage many concurrent workstreams (4-6 is normal here) with hard contractual dates.
• Working fluency with Jira/Confluence, Microsoft Teams/SharePoint, and a scheduling tool (MS Project, Smartsheet, or similar).
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency; ability to obtain and maintain an NIH Public Trust background investigation and PIV card.

Preferred

• PMP, CSM, PSM, or SAFe certification.
• Familiarity with web application delivery, cloud migration, data integration, or AI/LLM-based features.
• Awareness of FISMA and Section 508 requirements; exposure to NIH research administration or GPRA/performance reporting and strategic planning.
• Experience coordinating subcontractors or teaming partners on a prime contract.

The Salary Range for this role is $150,000 - $175,000.

Working at Plexus

Plexus is a small business with a long-standing, trusted relationship with OEPR. START is expanding into AI-enabled portfolio analysis, new Institutes are coming on board, and the platform is moving to the cloud. You would join at the point where the program needs a strong PM most, with direct access to Plexus leadership and real influence over how the next task orders are scoped and staffed.

Rewards and Benefits

Plexus offers a total rewards package designed with your health and wealth in mind. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance package options; FSA and HSA options; 401(k) participation with company match; life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance; flexible Paid Time Off; and Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) eligibility.

Career Development

Whatever path you choose as you build your career, Plexus is here to support you every step of the way. We support professional and technical development and encourage employees to continue educational training.

Plexus is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer including Disabled/Vets.