Program Manager, Atlanta, GA,

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) is undertaking the UI Inspire modernization program, a large‑scale initiative to transform the State’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) systems for Benefits, Tax, and Appeals operations. The modernization effort is intended to improve citizen service delivery, operational efficiency, system security, and program integrity while enabling scalable, cloud‑enabled digital services for claimants, employers, and agency staff.

GDOL seeks a Senior level Program Manager to lead day‑to‑day program coordination and delivery oversight for the UI Inspire initiative. The Program Manager will work closely with GDOL leadership, the Georgia Technology Authority (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.

This role will also ensure a successful transition of the platform to maintenance and operations in the following months.

This role will coordinate technical and operational readiness activities across multiple work streams, including system development, testing, data migration, federal certification readiness, business scenario validation, and organizational change management. The Program Manager will also support executive decision‑making by monitoring project risks, managing dependencies, and ensuring adherence to governance processes established for the modernization program.

• Lead planning, execution, and monitoring of the UI Inspire modernization project, ensuring alignment with GDOL strategic modernization goals. Solve complex problems and drive action across the organization.
• Coordinate activities across Benefits, Tax, and Appeals modernization work streams and associated vendor delivery teams.
• Develop and maintain integrated program schedules, milestone tracking, and risk mitigation strategies aligned with the planned September 2026 go‑live timeline.
• Track delivery of critical implementation milestones including system testing, user acceptance testing, data migration validation, security testing, and production readiness.
• Manage dependencies between vendor deliverables, agency readiness activities, and federal certification requirements.
• Track and report on project budget.

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

• Coordinate GDOL readiness activities required under federal unemployment insurance modernization guidance, including UIPL 11‑18 Change 2 readiness expectations.
• Ensure completion of key readiness artifacts including:
• End‑to‑end validation of critical UI business scenarios
• Data reconciliation accuracy validation
• External partner interface certification
• Load and performance testing results
• Operational readiness documentation and staff training validation.
• Support preparation of readiness documentation required for federal certification prior to go‑live.

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

• Coordinate planning for implementation readiness activities including:
• Data migration verification and validation
• User acceptance testing…