Lead Project Manager - Operational Improvement

Job Description

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has been named to the Honor Roll in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2025-2026" rankings. When you join our team, you'll gain access to our groundbreaking biomedical research facilities and sophisticated medical education programs. We offer learning programs, tuition reimbursement and performance-improvement projects so you can achieve certifications and degrees while gaining the knowledge and experience needed to advance your career.

We take pride in hiring the best, most hard-working employees. Our dedicated doctors, nurses and staff reflect the culturally and ethnically varied community we serve. They are proof of our dedication to creating a dynamic, inclusive environment that fuels innovation and the gold standard of patient care we strive for.

What will you be doing in this role?

The Lead Project Manager is responsible for overseeing complex, high-impact projects from initiation to delivery, including project definition, assignment of responsibilities, organizing project teams, setting deadlines, and monitoring expenses. This position manages all or most phases of the project and resources, utilizing industry standard project management tools and techniques to ensure project completion. Ensures that all phases of the project are completed per project timeline and budget. In collaboration with key stakeholders this role identifies and resolves obstacles to completing projects on time and within budget. The Lead Project Manager also leads and mentors project staff, including but not limited to Project Managers, Project Administrators, Administrative Residents, and Project Coordinators.

Note: a project has a defined scope, defined start and end, and typically impacts more than one department, function, or group.

Responsibilities

Principal Responsibilities:

• Leads and mentors project staff, including Project Managers, Project Administrators, Administrative Residents, and Project Coordinators, fostering a collaborative and high-performance environment. Develops team members through coaching and career development initiatives. Monitors recruitment, onboarding, and training of new project management staff. Distributes workload and resources effectively to optimize project outcomes.
• Evaluates incoming project requests within assigned portfolio to assess feasibility, alignment with organizational goals, and resource requirements. Collaborates with sponsors and stakeholders to clarify project scope, objectives, and expected outcomes. Facilitates the prioritization and approval process, and ensure that all project proposals are thoroughly vetted before initiation.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for handling escalations from project sponsors and the project management team, addressing concerns related to project overruns, delays, or critical issues. Assesses the impact of escalations and develop action plans to mitigate risks while maintaining project momentum. Approves and allocate emergency resources or funds as needed to resolve urgent project challenges. Provides next steps to stakeholders and department leadership to maintain transparency and trust.
• Works with all key stakeholders to manage the deployment and completion of all aspects and stages of the project assigned. Organizes project teams, assigns responsibilities, develops project schedules, and determines resource requirements. Ensures requirements are managed and delivered per project timeline, and identifies and mitigates potential risks for implementation. Partners with leadership to assess, track and resolve risks.
• Develops and documents plans that ensure all necessary preparation, execution tasks and dependencies are identified and included. Ensures that necessary resources and skills are allocated for project success. Assesses needs, evaluates solutions, makes recommendations, and escalates to senior leaders/key stakeholders, if needed.
• Tracks project performance using key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to assess progress and outcomes. Maintains accurate project documentation and records to support auditing and future reference. Conducts post-project evaluations to capture lessons learned and identify opportunities for improvement. Prioritizes projects within the portfolio to maximize organizational impact and efficient resource utilization.
• Manages functional project team, including partnering closely with subject matter experts to help gather, assess and track project deliverables. Hold project teams accountable for project deliverables, resolves issues and conflicts, and escalates resource or budget issues.
• Provides cross-functional solution direction and guidance, including aiding in resolving any conflicting project decisions. Discusses business case scenarios, presents to senior management and guides team(s) on implementing the best solution through consensus building.
• Operates as a full cross-functional lead for the project team by supporting project leadership and other team members with resolving obstacles, ensuring collaboration between teams, and providing project updates and communication.
• Creates and/or reviews project communications and updates with all stakeholders, in partnership with project leadership. Ensures an effective change management strategy is developed and implemented.
• Manages budget, costing, timing and other resources including vendor management, staffing and/or deliverables to ensure utilization within the project guidelines.
• Responsible for implementing later phase solutions, if applicable.

Department Specific Responsibilities:

• Serves as a preceptor for Administrative Residents, providing mentorship, guidance, and hands-on project experience to support professional development.
• Leads and participates in the Administrative Residency selection committee, contributing to recruitment efforts and candidate evaluations. Coordinates regular progress evaluations and feedback sessions to track resident performance and growth. Facilitates exposure to key organizational functions and leadership opportunities to enhance residents' understanding of healthcare administration and project management.

Teamwork/Customer Relations Responsibilities:

• Collaborates to problem solve and make decisions to achieve desired outcomes
• Cultivates and maintains strong customer relationships and rapport with stakeholders and/or client groups
• Establishes effective working relationships with cross-functional team(s)
• Leads daily departmental activities and works collaboratively with other clinical members to ensure team goals are met in a timely manner. Utilizes effective and respectful communication with all employees and patients.
• Responds timely, effectively and appropriately to deliverables
• Shares knowledge, time and expertise to assist other members of the team
• Identifies and responds appropriately to both internal and external customer needs utilizing available resources

Qualifications

Educational & Experience Requirements:
Education:

• High School Diploma/GED, (Minimum)
• Bachelor's Degree, Health care, Business Administration, or a related field (Preferred)

Work Experience:

• 8 years Program or Project Management, Project support and/or leadership experience (Minimum)
• 3 years direct project management experience preferred.
• Experience in a healthcare or academic medical center environment preferred.
• Experience with data analytics and mining preferred.
• Advanced Tableau and REDCap proficiency preferred.
• Knowledge of AI toolsets preferred.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) Upon Hire (Preferred)