Nakupuna Federal, as part of the NFB Management Consultants (Joint Venture), is seeking a Senior Project Manager with technical expertise in healthcare systems and data integration to lead execution of a Defense Health Agency (DHA) enterprise data governance and healthcare IT modernization program. This role combines program management leadership with hands-on technical and analytical expertise to ensure delivery of a secure, interoperable, and user-driven enterprise data catalog and governance framework.

The Senior Project Manager will not only oversee schedules, deliverables, and team performance but will also contribute directly to technical analysis, system integration design, and stakeholder engagement. This includes aligning DHA data modernization initiatives with healthcare delivery needs, clinical workflows, and enterprise interoperability standards. The role is central to advancing DHA’s mission to safeguard military healthcare data, improve patient outcomes, and enhance operational readiness across the Military Health System (MHS).

As part of the NFB JV team, the Senior Project Manager will directly support the achievement of ten program objectives:

1. Comprehensive Data Inventory – Establish baseline inventory of priority DHA domains.
2. Metadata Management – Design schemas, configure repositories, and enforce lineage and enrichment standards.
3. Federated Governance – Implement governance workflows, decision rights, and stewardship roles.
4. Metadata Harvesting – Build connectors, automate tagging, and validate classification.
5. Lifecycle Governance – Define lifecycle stages, machine-readable contracts, and SLA monitoring.
6. Self-Service & User Experience – Enable discoverability, permissions-aware access, and persona-driven UAT.
7. Infrastructure Testing – Conduct workload scenarios, stress tests, and technical performance evaluations.
8. Reusable Mesh Components – Develop standardized data mesh templates and reusable components.
9. AI/ML Integration – Validate DHA data readiness for AI/ML pipelines in alignment with DoD Responsible AI.
10. Transition Planning & Handoffs – Ensure sustainability through training, playbooks, and knowledge transfer.

The Senior Project Manager will ensure delivery of key program artifacts such as the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), enterprise architecture blueprints, metadata schemas, lifecycle playbooks, connector configuration guides, compliance reports, and user evaluation results. This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and understands both the technical and functional challenges of modernizing healthcare IT in the DoD context.

The following reflects management’s definition of essential functions for this job but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. Management may assign additional duties and responsibilities to this job at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

• Lead overall program execution, ensuring alignment with DHA mission priorities and delivery of all ten program objectives.
• Develop and manage the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), ensuring tasks, dependencies, and deliverables are tracked and completed.
• Oversee development and delivery of required CDRLs, technical reports, and governance playbooks.
• Provide technical oversight across data mesh, governance, lifecycle, healthcare IT integration, and security workstreams.
• Conduct technical analysis of DHA healthcare systems, applications, and data flows to identify integration requirements and dependencies.
• Support system interoperability and data integration planning across DHA portfolios, including EHR platforms, data warehouses, and enterprise applications.
• Act as a technical liaison between DHA clinicians, portfolio managers, and IT teams to align project objectives with mission and healthcare delivery needs.
• Provide hands-on support in designing and validating metadata schemas, data lineage, and integration workflows that tie into healthcare use cases.
• Evaluate COTS/GOTS healthcare IT and data management solutions for scalability, compliance, and integration with MHS systems.
• Contribute directly to system testing, data validation, and pilot deployments, ensuring operational readiness and alignment with DHA compliance standards.
• Serve as primary point of contact for DHA stakeholders, prioritizing requirements, managing communications, and resolving issues.
• Direct and mentor cross-functional staff, including data engineers, analysts, and QA specialists.
• Lead production of monthly status reports, technical briefings, and progress reviews for DHA and JV leadership.
• Ensure program activities comply with HIPAA, PHI/PII/CUI protections, and DoD/Federal data security standards.
• Manage budgets, forecasts, and corrective actions to meet financial objectives.
• Oversee risk management, quality assurance, and change management processes.
• Promote collaboration within the NFB JV team and support knowledge transfer across DHA.

Additional Internal Corporate Duties:

• Overseeing and reporting to the Facilities and Infrastructure Support Services Managing Director on project performance and financial outcomes, including metrics such as profit margin, utilization, and cost execution.
• Ensuring invoices are accurate and approved in a timely fashion.
• Collaborating with Nakupuna Shared Services to ensure projects are properly supported.
• Ensuring innovative best practices are shared across projects. Drive performance improvements and process/cost efficiencies.
• Leading and growing people, identify key performers and ensure Nakupuna facilitates their professional growth.
• Rewarding and acknowledging excellent performance across projects.
• Executing end-to-end performance management across projects. As appropriate, set performance goals, assess performance, provide coaching/mentoring, address performance and/or conduct issues as they arise (recommend disciplinary actions), and make/advocate compensation decisions.
• Actively engaging in hiring processes, ensuring project(s) is appropriately staffed to meet client expectations.
• Supporting Nakupuna Companies with multi-year pipeline management and development/execution of growth strategies; play key role in BD efforts, including RFI responses, proposal, bid-board preparation, and proposal responses.

Excellent leadership qualities and leadership experience, strong interpersonal skills, adept with strategic planning and management, self-starter, exceptional written and oral communication, strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, proficient at multi-tasking, and effective organizational skills. Adept at operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and often multi-directional work environments.

Skills/Qualifications: Excellent leadership qualities and leadership experience, strong interpersonal skills, adept with strategic planning and management, self-starter, exceptional written and oral communication, strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, proficient at multi-tasking, and effective organizational skills. Adept at operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and often multi-directional work environments.

Education and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10–12+ years of professional experience, with at least 5 years managing large-scale DoD IT or data modernization programs. Proven track record leading cross-functional teams, managing IMS/CDRLs, and applying Agile frameworks.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience supporting the Military Health System or DHA data initiatives.
• Prior work with DoD enterprise data platforms such as ADVANA, VAULTIS, VANTAGE, or MAVEN.
• Experience analyzing and integrating healthcare IT systems within DHA or the Military Health System.
• Background in clinical systems, healthcare data interoperability (HL7, FHIR, ICD, SNOMED), or EHR integration (e.g., MHS GENESIS).
• Ability to evaluate and recommend COTS data catalog and healthcare IT solutions, balancing scalability, security, interoperability, and cost.
• Demonstrated ability to bridge program management and technical analyst roles, translating requirements into actionable integration and execution plans.
• Familiarity with DoD Responsible AI principles and experience supporting AI/ML testbeds.
• Demonstrated leadership in federal data governance, metadata management, and Zero Trust compliance.
• Experience collaborating in joint venture or multi-partner environments.

Certifications (Required): PMP or PgMP.

Certifications (Preferred): ITIL v4 Foundation or higher; Agile/Scrum Master.

Clearance Requirements:

• Must have the ability to obtain a Secret clearance.
• Demonstrated understanding of HIPAA, PHI/PII/CUI protections, and compliance with NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252.204-7012. 

Travel Requirements: Ability to travel up to 10% of the time to DHA HQ, stakeholder sites, or partner facilities across CONUS.

Work Location: Hybrid work environment at Nakupuna Federal offices (Arlington, VA), DHA HQ (Falls Church, VA), and remote work as approved. Core work hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed.

Physical Requirements: The ideal candidate must at a minimum be able to meet the following physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation:

• Ability to perform repetitive motions with the hands, wrists, and fingers.
• Ability to engage in and follow audible communications in emergency situations.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods at a desk and working on a computer.