What are the responsibilities and job description for the Project Manager position at Palco?
Project Manager
We’re Palco. We provide the management, support, and systems behind self-directed programs—the services that help people hire, pay, and manage their own caregivers with confidence. With 25 years of experience as a national provider operating in over 17 states, we keep people at the center of everything we do. Through innovative technology and decades of expertise, we help states and partners run stronger, more compliant, and efficient programs. Our mission is to challenge the status quo and build smarter, more human-centered solutions that put power back in people’s hands. Want to learn more about joining our team? Visit www.palcofirst.com to explore opportunities.
You are the key owner of your project roadmap and ultimately the coordinator of the vision that fuels the development teams. Key responsibilities include tracking SaaS software development projects from the charter handoff to the Product group, through development steps, and finally back to the business with a business demo, client handoff, and client training. The Project Manager collaborates with Palco’s Director and IT Teams to ensure goals are met, and that project efforts are aligned with the Company’s overall strategy and goals.
Skills
- Lead a high volume of new client and program implementations through the Palco onboarding and implementation process, utilizing comprehensive planning, stakeholder engagement, and project execution activities to ensure successful and timely go-lives. Collaborate closely with sales, product, operations, engineering, customer support, and implementation teams to ensure alignment with client objectives and organizational goals.
- Build strong relationships with clients, state agencies, managed care organizations (MCOs), partners, and internal stakeholders. Serve as a trusted advisor by developing a deep understanding of client business processes, program requirements, and operational needs to support successful implementations and long-term client success.
- Establish project teams and execute project management best practices, methodologies, processes, and tools to deliver high-quality implementations while ensuring an exceptional client experience throughout the project lifecycle.
- Gather and analyze client business, operational, and system requirements to develop implementation plans and recommendations. Collaborate with product, business analysis, and technical teams to address complex requirements, define workflows, and support solution design activities.
- Facilitate project planning sessions, requirements workshops, implementation meetings, system configuration discussions, user acceptance testing activities, training sessions, and go-live readiness reviews. Serve as a subject matter expert on Palco's products, services, and implementation methodologies.
- Act as a liaison between clients and internal teams to communicate client needs, identify risks, manage expectations, and ensure timely resolution of issues impacting project success.
- Regularly communicate project status, client feedback, risks, and implementation challenges to leadership and key stakeholders. Escalate issues appropriately and facilitate resolution through established governance and escalation processes.
- Drive continuous improvement efforts by identifying opportunities to improve implementation processes, increase efficiency, enhance quality, and leverage automation where appropriate.
- Proactively identify and mitigate project risks while ensuring timely escalation of issues that could impact budget, timeline, scope, quality, client satisfaction, or operational readiness.
- Complete project administration responsibilities including project documentation, status reporting, meeting facilitation and minutes, project plan maintenance, action item tracking, resource coordination, and implementation artifact management.
- Maintain a strong understanding of Palco products, services, industry trends, regulatory requirements, and implementation practices through ongoing training, product updates, process documentation, and professional development opportunities.
Other Job Duties
- Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by leadership.
- Contribute to organizational initiatives focused on process improvement, operational excellence, client satisfaction, and implementation maturity.
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
- 5 years of project management experience, preferably leading software implementations, system deployments, operational transformation initiatives, or client-facing implementation projects.
- Experience in healthcare, human services, self-direction programs, financial management services (FMS), Medicaid, long-term services and supports (LTSS), or related industries preferred.
- Strong understanding of project management methodologies including Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid approaches, and PMBOK principles.
- Experience utilizing project management tools such as, Jira, Monday.com, or similar platforms.
- Excellent leadership skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive results in a matrixed environment.
- Proven track record of delivering projects on time, within scope, and aligned with client and organizational objectives.
- Ability to independently manage multiple concurrent projects while balancing competing priorities.
- Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work effectively with minimal supervision.
- Exceptional stakeholder management skills with the ability to build credibility and maintain productive working relationships with clients and internal teams.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
- Demonstrated ability to facilitate meetings, workshops, training sessions, and executive-level discussions.
- Highly collaborative approach with experience working across product, operations, technology, compliance, and customer-facing teams.
- Strong understanding of customer business needs and the ability to translate requirements into actionable implementation plans.
- Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with changing priorities and evolving business needs.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and related collaboration tools.
- PMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or other project management certifications preferred.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience implementing Medicaid, HCBS, self-direction, financial management services, EVV, payroll, or participant-directed service programs.
- Experience managing state, MCO, or government-sponsored program implementations.
- Experience leading cross-functional implementation teams that include Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Compliance, Billing, and Customer Support.
- Ability to manage enterprise-level implementations involving multiple stakeholders, regulatory requirements, integrations, data conversions, and operational readiness activities.
Join Us
- This position is remote/work-from-home role. Enjoy the convenience of working from home and maximize your time by unplugging at the end of your workday.
- Company benefits designed for you:
- Generous Paid time off.
- Annual bonus potential.
- Retirement Savings: We will support you as you save for your future.
- Career Growth Opportunities: We help you thrive, so together, we can grow. We provide opportunities to advance your career with a vast portfolio of businesses and a global footprint.
- Paid Training: Earn while you learn and continue to grow with access to internal and external learning opportunities.
- Great Work Environment: We are proud of our company culture of collaboration and the recognition we have received for our diversity efforts.
Benefits package:
- Employer shared Health Insurance cost
- Employer paid Disability Insurance
- Employer paid Life and AD&D Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Cancer Insurance
- Voluntary Life Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Remote work environment