Project Management Lead

About Us

Coleridge is building the nation’s data infrastructure, analytical tools, and public-sector capacity so governments can harness administrative data to make more informed decisions and accelerate impact.

Position Summary

The Project Management Lead supports effective project delivery across Coleridge by maintaining portfolio-level visibility into project milestones, dependencies, resource capacity, budgets, and risks, while promoting consistent project management practices. The role identifies emerging challenges, recommends priorities and solutions to leadership, and provides guidance and coaching to other project managers without formal supervisory authority.

Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the Project Management Lead also manages assigned projects, including complex and cross-functional engagements, ensuring delivery within established scope, timelines, and budgets. The position works closely with Project Leads, Program Delivery teams (Training, Research, State), and operational partners (Finance, Contracts, Technology, Data Enclave Operations (DEO), HR) to support successful project execution.

Essential Job Functions

Portfolio Oversight and Reporting

• Maintain centralized project tracking and reporting systems to provide visibility into project scope, milestones, deliverables, budgets, and risks.
• Maintain a consolidated portfolio view of project progress, dependencies, capacity pressures, and emerging delivery challenges.
• Coordinate regular project reviews with division leads, project managers, and project teams.
• Support consistent preparation and updating of estimates-to-complete (ETCs) across projects.
• Maintain project portfolio dashboards and reports to support leadership decision-making.
• Identify cross-project risks and competing priorities, recommending adjustments or tradeoffs to leadership.

Project Management

• Manage assigned projects, including complex and cross-functional engagements, from initiation through completion, ensuring alignment with contractual requirements, scope, timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, tasks, dependencies, and status updates.
• Coordinate project activities across internal teams, including Training, Research, State, DEO, Technology, and other functional areas.
• Work closely with designated Project Leads and Account Leads to clarify responsibilities, priorities, and project requirements.
• Monitor project deliverables and follow up to ensure commitments and deadlines are met.
• Proactively identify and address project risks, issues, and dependencies, recommending solutions and escalating significant concerns to project leadership as appropriate.
• Support effective communication with clients and external partners, including coordinating meetings, documenting decisions, and ensuring timely follow-through on commitments.

Labor and Budget Planning

• Consolidate labor forecasts and capacity information across projects to identify resource pressures, gaps, and competing priorities.
• Partner with Finance and Project Leads to monitor project spending, labor utilization, and estimates-to-complete.
• Use time-tracking and forecasting tools to identify potential resource constraints and recommend adjustments to leadership.

Project Management Practices and Continuous Improvement

• Maintain and promote consistent project management processes, tools, templates, and reporting practices across Coleridge.
• Work across divisions and operational teams to clarify project responsibilities and improve coordination and handoffs.
• Provide guidance and coaching to project managers and project contributors without formal supervisory authority.
• Support onboarding of new project managers and project leads on established project management practices.
• Gather feedback and recommend improvements to project management systems and delivery processes.

Qualifications

• 4- 6 years of experience in project management or program delivery within a matrixed or cross-functional environment.
• Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Communications, Social Sciences, or related technical field
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with varying scopes and funding sources (including federal grants and contracts).
• Proactive problem solver, able to anticipate needs of different stakeholders and provide solutions or processes to identify solutions.
• Experience using project management, time-tracking, and resource-planning tools to monitor project progress, budgets, and staff utilization
• Strong interpersonal and written communication skills; able to influence without formal authority and ability to work across departments.
• Experience with the public sector, federal contracts, or grant-funded programs including non profit.
• Familiarity with data governance, research delivery, or technical platforms like Coleridge's Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF).
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) or other relevant project management certification.

Coleridge is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory, diverse work environment.

The Coleridge team operates under the core values of Trust, Connectedness, Quality, and Adaptability via our work, collaboration, and decision-making. These values guide how we engage with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders and are an important component of performance and professional growth.

Salary Range: $100,000 – $115,000 USD annually. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and internal equity. Benefits include health insurance, employer retirement contributions, paid time off, paid holidays, and professional development support.

Work environment & physical demands

This is a remote-based position. Work may be programmed for weekdays, weekends, and evenings. Some travel is required. The physical demands described here represent those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Duties require the employee to regularly talk and hear; sit or stand for extended periods of time at a desk or computer workstation; occasionally walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms.; occasionally climb or balance and stoop, kneel or crouch; occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.