Allie Hebert

Client: Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) Official Job Title: UI Inspire Program Manager  Reporting To: Jake Star/Lindsey Simpson (PMO Director) Location: downtown Atlanta, GA (Local Metro Atlanta candidates only) Work Environment: onsite Pay Rate: $110.00/hour Bill Rate: $143.00/hour Qualified With: Jake Star, Senior Advisor to GDOL Certifications Required: PMP, PMI-ACP, or equivalent (ACTIVE); PgMP preferred (must upload copies of certifications when submitting in Vector). Req name and number for R2R: GDOL - UI Inspire Program Manager (805167) **last day to send subs in Vector: Fri, 6/19. Also sending directly to Jake** Position Overview The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) is undertaking a large-scale initiative to transform the State's Unemployment Insurance (UI) systems and seeks an experienced Program Manager to lead day-to-day program coordination and delivery oversight. This role supports the UI Inspire modernization program, covering Benefits, Tax, and Appeals operations. The PM will work closely with GDOL leadership, GTA, vendor teams, and business stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of modernization milestones, federal readiness compliance, and successful go-live of the new UI platform targeted for September 2026. A key function of this role is driving and holding accountable the system implementation vendor on progress and deliverables. Key Responsibilities Program and Project Management

• Lead planning, execution, and monitoring of the UI Inspire modernization project, ensuring alignment with GDOL strategic goals
• Coordinate activities across Benefits, Tax, and Appeals workstreams and associated vendor delivery teams
• Develop and maintain integrated program schedules, milestone tracking, and risk mitigation strategies aligned with the September 2026 go-live
• Track delivery of critical implementation milestones including system testing, UAT, data migration, security testing, and production readiness
• Manage dependencies between vendor deliverables, agency readiness activities, and federal certification requirements
• Track and report on project budget

Vendor Oversight and Delivery Coordination

• Serve as the primary coordination point between GDOL leadership, GTA, and the system implementation vendor
• Monitor and drive vendor progress against project milestones; ensure timely resolution of development issues, defects, and delivery risks
• Support implementation of accelerated delivery approaches including AI-assisted development and testing initiatives
• Facilitate issue escalation, decision support, and cross-team coordination to maintain project momentum

Federal Readiness and Compliance

• Coordinate GDOL readiness activities required under federal UI modernization guidance, including UIPL 11-18 Change 2
• Ensure completion of key readiness artifacts: end-to-end business scenario validation, data reconciliation, external partner interface certification, load/performance testing, and operational readiness documentation
• Support preparation of readiness documentation required for federal certification prior to go-live

Governance and Stakeholder Engagement

• Present project status and issues to agency leadership, Steering Committee, and executive oversight groups
• Facilitate regular status meetings, steering committee updates, and executive briefings
• Track action items and decisions related to scope, functionality prioritization, and release readiness
• Maintain transparent reporting on project progress, risks, and mitigation strategies

Implementation Readiness and Deployment Planning

• Coordinate data migration verification, UAT cycles, security/accessibility/performance testing, and production environment readiness
• Support development of Go/No-Go decision criteria, cutover planning, and post-go-live stabilization activities

Organizational Change and Operational Readiness

• Coordinate with GDOL business units to ensure operational readiness of agency staff
• Support training coordination including train-the-trainer programs and end-user training deployment
• Ensure call center, adjudication, and operational workflows align with the new system design

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in information systems, public administration, business administration, computer science, or related field
• 10+ years of experience managing large-scale IT modernization or enterprise system implementation projects
• Demonstrated experience managing government technology modernization, preferably in unemployment insurance, workforce systems, or human services
• Experience in multi-vendor delivery environments and state technology governance frameworks
• Strong knowledge of Agile, hybrid, or iterative software delivery methodologies
• Experience coordinating development, system testing, data migration, and implementation readiness activities
• PMP, PMI-ACP, or similar project management certification (ACTIVE REQUIRED)

Preferred:

• Experience supporting state unemployment insurance system modernization programs
• Familiarity with federal certification processes and readiness expectations for UI systems
• Experience managing cloud-based or enterprise platform implementations
• PgMP certification

Key Skills

• Large-scale IT modernization program management
• System implementation vendor management and accountability
• Risk and issue management
• Executive communication and reporting
• Implementation planning and operational readiness
• Cross-functional team leadership

Submission Requirements

• Local Metro Atlanta candidates only
• All required certifications must be ACTIVE
• Resume must reflect ALL required skills within documented job experience