Project Controls Lead, Operational Informatics Pipeline (OIP)

Job Summary:

Aptive seeks a Project Controls Lead (Project Controls Manager /Snr Budget Analyst) to serve as Project Controls Lead supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Clinical Informatics (OCI) on the Operational Informatics Pipeline (OIP) contract. You will lead cost, schedule, and funding controls for OCI’s informatics call orders, from level-of-effort estimates at each Planning Interval (PI) through obligations, burn, and variance against Government spend plans. You will apply Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) and Managing for Results (MFR) practices so funding decisions keep pace with the work OCI selects. The role supports OCI’s informatics portfolio across the Interoperability and Clinical Informatics Solutions specialty areas. You will work within Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Agile Release Trains alongside OCI leadership, program analysts, and VA Business Owners.

• Project Controls Leadership. Lead cost, schedule, and funding controls for OCI informatics call orders, and set the standards, templates, and cadence the controls team follows.
• Baselines and Forecasts. Establish cost and schedule baselines for each call order, and maintain estimates at completion and funding forecasts as scope changes.
• Level-of-Effort and Cost Estimation. Lead estimates of the level of effort and labor categories needed for Features selected in PI Planning, supporting the Government’s next call order.
• Execution and Variance Analysis. Track obligations, expenditures, and burn against Government spend plans by task and CLIN; analyze variances and recommend corrective actions.
• Appropriation Tracking. Record and track the Government’s appropriation decision for each Feature, consistent with VA funding requirements.
• PPBE and MFR Implementation. Implement and manage PPBE and MFR activities for the informatics portfolio, in line with applicable budget laws, regulations, policies, and precedents.
• Budget Formulation and Programming. Support multi-year programming studies and budget formulation, including spreadsheets, budget artifacts, and inputs to the Congressional Budget Justification.
• Health Care Forecasting. Forecast portfolio costs and funding needs tied to Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) deployments and VistA/CPRS sustainment.
• Controls Reporting and Briefs. Produce cost, schedule, and funding dashboards in Excel or Power BI, and draft briefs for VA management on cost drivers, funding risks, and tradeoffs.
• Agile Team Participation. Participate in PI Planning and backlog refinement to provide cost and capacity inputs, and align Lean portfolio budgets with prioritized Epics.
• Team Guidance. Lead and review the work of junior budget, cost, and program analysts.

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum of 6 years of professional experience in budget, financial, or cost analysis.
• Proven experience implementing and managing PPBE or MFR across a large integrated government organization.
• Experience with budgeting, planning, and forecasting in the health care industry.
• Knowledge of federal budget-related laws, regulations, policies, precedents, methods, and techniques.
• Experience developing budget artifacts and briefs for senior leadership.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a VA background investigation at the level assigned to the position; must reside and work in the United States with U.S. work authorization.

• Degree in accounting, finance, business, public administration, or a related field; master’s degree preferred.
• Experience supporting VA or VHA budget formulation or execution.
• Experience preparing inputs to the Congressional Budget Justification.
• Experience with federal financial management systems, such as FMS or iFAMS.
• Experience with Lean portfolio budgeting in SAFe environments.
• Experience building dashboards in Power BI.
• Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM) or Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM).