Principal IT Project Manager, External Services (Local / Hybrid)

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization:

HealthIT External Services

Job Summary:

The Principal IT Program Manager for External Partnerships & Services is a strategic role responsible for developing and managing high-value relationships with external technology partners, service providers, and key business stakeholders to advance organizational objectives. This role leads complex, enterprise-wide programs to accelerate innovation, enhance service delivery, and support digital transformation initiatives. The role fosters strong executive-level relationships with technology vendors and industry partners to drive collaboration, innovation, and long-term organizational benefit. It also oversees the successful execution of large-scale, cross-functional initiatives while navigating complex stakeholder environments and resolving barriers that impact program success. Initiatives include the Tennessee Titans IT Partnership, Community Connect programs, and strategic collaborations with organizations such as Philips, Siemens, and Butterfly IQ.

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Key Responsibilities

Strategic Program Leadership

• Lead large-scale, high-visibility IT programs and projects supporting External Services initiatives.

• Develop and maintain multi-year roadmaps aligned with organizational strategy and customer objectives.

• Manage interdependencies across multiple projects, operational teams, vendors, and customer organizations.

• Identify opportunities to improve service delivery, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

• Partner with senior leadership to establish priorities, milestones, and success measures.

External Customer Engagement

• Serve as a primary relationship manager for external healthcare organizations and strategic partners.

• Facilitate executive-level discussions regarding project scope, timelines, risks, and outcomes.

• Build trusted relationships with customer executives, operational leaders, and clinical stakeholders.

• Ensure customer expectations are understood and proactively managed.

• Promote a customer-centric culture focused on service excellence.

Program and Portfolio Management

• Establish governance structures supporting project oversight and decision-making.

• Manage multiple project portfolios

• Drive standardization of project management methodologies, tools, and reporting.

• Implement best practices related to project management, customer onboarding, service delivery, and governance.

Organizational Change Management

• Lead change management efforts associated with technology implementations and operational transformations.

• Develop communication and stakeholder engagement plans.

• Facilitate adoption strategies to improve organizational readiness and sustain outcomes.

• Support leadership teams through transition planning and execution.

Risk and Issue Management

• Identify, escalate, and mitigate project risks and barriers.

• Lead cross-functional resolution of complex issues affecting project success.

• Facilitate lessons learned reviews and post-implementation assessments.

• Develop contingency plans to minimize operational disruption.

Financial and Resource Management

• Manage project financials, forecasts, and budget performance.

• Support contract management and vendor oversight activities.

• Optimize allocation of resources across competing priorities.

• Provide executive reporting regarding project health, financial status, and resource utilization.

Operational Excellence

• Drive continuous improvement efforts within External Services.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Lead process improvement initiatives that enhance scalability and efficiency.

Leadership Expectations

The Principal IT Project Manager is expected to:

• Influence executives and leaders without direct authority.

• Foster collaboration across technical, operational, and clinical teams.

• Demonstrate high emotional intelligence and executive presence.

• Build strong partnerships internally and externally.

• Mentor project managers and emerging leaders.

• Promote accountability, transparency, and customer-focused decision-making.

• Balance strategic thinking with operational execution.

Experience:

• Healthcare IT experience supporting hospitals, health systems, physician organizations, or community healthcare partners.

• Can work independently and with a team

• Experience with:

  • Epic Community Connect

  • Infrastructure and cybersecurity programs

  • AI and Digital transformation initiatives

  • IT service management (ITSM)

  • Vendor and contract management

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
• Project Oversight (Advanced): Interacts with senior management to keep them informed and facilitates project completion through effective communication. Has in-depth project management experience with challenging projects. Sensitive to the needs of the participants while keeping the objectives of the organization in focus and maintaining project momentum. Recognizes incipient problems early and recommends appropriate solutions. Knows when to get involved and when to let a project evolve on its own.
• Project Quality Assurance (Advanced): Successfully applies quality management techniques in challenging and complex projects. Uses techniques across multiple departments where business processes cross organizational lines. Demonstrates the ability to lead a group through quality management tasks resulting in measurable system, product and service improvements. Often takes a lead role in highly pressurized situations when there is a need to achieve superior results. Consistently delivers results in a creative and imaginative manner while setting a standard for others.
• IT Portfolio Management (Advanced): Demonstrates the uppermost levels of expertise in applying IT Portfolio Management in challenging and complex situations. Responsible for planning major portfolio additions and determining the retirement of systems. Contributes to the development of IT Portfolio Management best practices for the organization.
• Project Planning (Advanced): Demonstrates ability to forecast resource needs, identify and break work down into discrete and measurable tasks, set priorities, define dependencies, schedule activities, prepare acceptance criteria and organize work for large, complex projects requiring diverse functions and/or operations. Continuously monitors and follows up on buyins and commitments. Competently handles multiple projects simultaneously, balancing and scheduling tasks requiring dependencies and those which can be accomplished independently. Accurately estimates and plans complex projects and assignments. Maintains perspective between the overall picture and the details. Is proficient in the advanced features of project management tools.

About the Department:

Health IT

HealthIT provides the best health information technology tools that support Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission of:

• Delivering distinctively personalized care

• Improving the health care of individuals and communities regionally, nationally and internationally

• Providing transformative learning programs

• Supporting compelling discoveries

Our tools, which form the digital arteries of VUMC, are either developed in-house by our innovative product teams or selected from the most cutting-edge solutions available in today’s ever-changing marketplace. Our 500 colleagues provide ongoing support over each product’s entire lifespan, ensuring that the tools are meeting the evolving needs of the Medical Center’s 24,000 colleagues.

Our solutions are driven by the incredible work and research of our colleagues throughout Vanderbilt and supported through a close partnership with VUMC Information Technology (VUMC IT). The strong collaboration among our teams means that VUMC can respond to clinical and operational issues with agility and innovation. Together, we ensure VUMC remains a leader in its pioneering use of healthcare information technology.

Underscoring our entire department are our core values of accountability, transparency and execution, delivered with a strong Partner Promise.

Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Delivers projects/assignments that have a direct impact on goals/objectives of the unit/department that the job is in. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Conducts extensive analysis of situations or data to resolve numerous, complex issues; may involve the input/work of others. Breadth of Knowledge: Has in-depth level of knowledge within a professional area and working knowledge of other areas. Team Interaction: May lead mid-sized projects; coaches and guides team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Service: - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

5 years

Education:

Bachelor's

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.