Head of Project Management & Strategy

Zelis is modernizing the healthcare financial experience across payers, providers, and healthcare consumers. We serve more than 750 payers, including the top five national health plans, regional health plans, TPAs and millions of healthcare providers and consumers across our platform of solutions. Every associate is expected - and empowered - to partner with AI to challenge the status quo, accelerate innovation, and amplify their impact. This is a place for builders with a growth mindset who act with agility, embrace change, and use modern technology to shape smarter solutions, exceptional experiences, and the future of our industry for our clients, customers, and our culture.
Your career is a testament to your diverse experiences, community involvement, and the valuable lessons you've learned along the way. you are a reflection of your achievements, the knowledge you've gained, and the personal interests that shape who you are.
The Project Manager - Strategic Initiatives sits within Strategic Enablement in the Payments Business Unit, supports the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), and reports to the Manager, Project Management.

These initiatives involve ambiguity, cross-functional stakeholder management, executive visibility, operational transformation, and technical dependencies requiring disciplined execution, a strong bias towards action, and informed decision making. Project Managers on this team are accountable for shaping execution strategy, driving alignment, and guiding initiatives to successful outcomes at scale.

Strategic Initiatives projects are assigned to this team due to elevated organizational impact, delivery risk, stakeholder coordination requirements, or operational and technical transformation needs. Initiatives may be internally or externally facing and frequently involve close partnership with engineering, development, AI and automation, and technology teams. Manage high-priority strategicinitiatives withsignificantbusiness impact,executive visibility,and cross-functionalscope
Operate effectively in ambiguous, high-risk environments byproactivelyidentifyinggaps, risks, and dependencies early, and driving clear, aligned paths forward withappropriate escalation
Translate strategic goals into structured, scalable delivery approaches, framing problems, definingobjectives, KPIs, constraints, and tradeoffs, and providing clear recommendations to support leadership decisions
Establish and manage governance, communication, and reporting cadences, including stakeholder forums, executive updates, and portfoliolevel visibility
Own stakeholder communication and executive reporting, synthesizing complex information into concise, decision-ready insights and materials
Manage resource and capacity planning across initiatives, proactivelyidentifyingconstraints, balancing priorities, and escalating conflicts as needed
Lead endtoend project lifecycle activities, including intake,kickoff,scoping, discovery, planning,RAIDmanagement, and charter development with clear ownership and success criteria
Drive proactive risk, issue, and dependency management, including technical and integration considerations, with mitigation planning andtimelyescalation
Lead communication and change management efforts aligned to stakeholderand operationalimpacts, ensuring clear documentation of decisions, roles, and next steps
Maintain delivery health awareness, including tracking progress, capacity, and overall initiative performance
Facilitate phase-level closeouts and post-mortems to capture outcomes, lessons learned, and continuous improvement opportunities
Identifycross-initiative themes, systemic risks, and execution insights to inform leadership discussions and strategic direction
Bachelor's degree with2-3yearsof experience inproject management, consulting, operations, or a related field
Experience inHealthcare Technology,Payment Operations,or Financial Services is a plus
PMP or related certification is preferred
Familiarity with change management, governance processes, and project delivery lifecycle management
Develop executive-ready presentations that translate complex initiative updates, risks, and decisions into clear, concise, and actionable narratives for leadership audiences
Adept at building strong relationships, driving alignment across teams,and influencing without direct authority
Strong structured problem-solving, critical thinking, decision making,and sound judgment under pressure
Comfortable operating in technically complex environments and quickly building context around systems, workflows, integrations, and dependencies
Experience using Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Office Suite, or similar project management and collaboration
Proactivelyidentifiesrisks and helps guide complex decisions
Please note at this time we are unable to proceed with candidates who require visa sponsorship now or in the future.
Zelis is headquartered in the U.In-office work and activities vary based on work and team objectives in accordance with Company policies.
S. office are generally preferred to support collaboration when needed. Our hybrid approach is flexible, and in-office presence is guided by team and business needs rather than a fixed weekly schedule.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
We believe in the value of diverse perspectives and experiences and are committed to building an inclusive workplace for all. We are dedicated to ensuring our application process is accessible to all candidates. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require a reasonable accommodation with any part of the application and/or interview process, please email View email address on click.appcast.io.