Cohort Lead (Two Positions)

Cohort Lead (Two Positions)

Salary

$125,000.00 - $150,000.00 Annually

Location

Thurston County - Olympia, WA

Job Type

Exempt

Remote Employment

Flexible/Hybrid

Job Number

2026-08333

Department

Office of Financial Management

Division

One Washington

Opening Date

10/15/2026

Closing Date

10/29/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

Description

Please note: The starting salary offer will be determined based on the successful candidate's qualifications within the budgeted salary range of $125,000 - $150,00 annually. However, there is the potential for longevity, growth, and salary progression for the individual once employed.

Hybrid: Our physical office is in Olympia, WA. We offer flexible work schedules and locations. This is a hybrid position where most of the work allows for telework. However, you will need to travel to in-person activities, meetings, and events according to business needs.

Why work for OFM

The Office of Financial Management (OFM)serves as the backbone of Washington state government. Our mission is to make our state a better place by connecting people, budgets, policies, data, and systems for state agencies and the Legislature. Our team includes budget advisors, researchers, and other experts, all dedicated public servants working towards an equitable future for every Washingtonian.

If you want to play a key role in enhancing how state government serves its citizens, you've found the right place. Join us in making a meaningful difference for every Washingtonian!

The job opportunity

We are hiring Cohort Leads to help guide state agencies through One Washington's enterprise transformation and Workday implementation. In this role, you'll bring people together across business, technical, data, and organizational change teams to support agency readiness, navigate competing priorities, solve problems, and advance implementation efforts. Your leadership will help agencies adapt to new ways of working and achieve shared goals.

We welcome candidates with experience in ERP implementations, business process improvement, organizational change, project management, or cross-agency collaboration. Experience with Workday or comparable systems and tools such as Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is valued; relevant change management or project management certifications are a plus. We value diverse experiences, transferable skills, and different perspectives. If you're a collaborative leader who enjoys solving complex challenges, learning with others, and helping people navigate change, this job is for you!

One Washington (OneWA), led by the Office of Financial Management, is an enterprise-wide transformation project focused on replacing 1960s-era technology with a cloud-based Workday solution for finance, procurement, budgeting, HR, and payroll. The project's core business hours are Monday through Friday, and all project positions are full-time. We offer some flexibility in schedules, subject to core business hours and prior supervisory approval. However, it is very common to work beyond the typical 40-hour workweek to meet the rigorous operational needs and business deliverables required for the go-live timelines.

What you'll work on

• Lead and manage a cross-functional, multidisciplinary cohort team, establishing clear expectations, priorities, assignments, and accountability to support assigned agencies through Workday implementation in alignment with the One Washington program roadmap.
• Lead cohort operations within established One Washington enterprise standards, priorities, methodologies, and workstream direction. Operate effectively in a matrixed environment by integrating specialized resources and expertise that support multiple cohorts while maintaining clear roles, priorities, coordination, and execution within the cohort.
• Provide day-to-day leadership and performance management for cohort staff, including setting expectations, providing meaningful feedback, addressing performance concerns, supporting staff development, and fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and accountable team environment.
• Participate in recruitment planning and hiring processes for cohort positions and provide recommendations consistent with established recruitment and selection processes.
• Oversee agency business process reengineering and readiness activities, ensuring redesigned processes align with Workday functionality, enterprise standards, and future-state operating models. Facilitate effective translation between agency business requirements and applicable Workday capabilities.
• Coordinate the identification and resolution of agency-level policy, procedural, operational, and organizational changes required to transition from current-state to future-state processes. Participate in and support established program risk, action, issue, and decision management processes.
• Lead cohort activities supporting legacy system remediation, including systems inventories, requirements validation, remediation planning, and coordination of testing activities with technical and quality assurance teams in alignment with established program direction and standards.
• Provide leadership and oversight for cohort data readiness activities, including data analysis, data conversion strategies, non-master data mapping, data quality assessment, and validation of converted data.
• Ensure alignment and integration across readiness disciplines, including business process, business analysis, data, technical remediation, testing, and change management, within the cohort and with applicable One Washington enterprise workstreams.
• Monitor cohort progress, agency readiness, risks, issues, dependencies, and resource needs; identify and address barriers, escalate matters requiring program or workstream direction, and coordinate with agency partners, program leadership, and workstream leaders to maintain progress toward established outcomes.

What we need you to bring

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge of enterprise transformation and implementation, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) concepts, business process reengineering, future-state operating models, workflow design, system functionality, and organizational readiness. Ability to understand and coordinate technical and data readiness activities, including legacy system remediation, data conversion and validation, system integration, and process testing, in collaboration with technical and functional subject matter experts.

• Advanced skills in team leadership and cross-agency coordination, including leading multidisciplinary teams, setting expectations and priorities, assigning work, providing feedback, developing staff, addressing performance concerns, and fostering accountability, inclusion, and collaboration. Ability to coordinate matrixed resources, interdependent workstreams, competing priorities, dependencies, and implementation milestones.

• Ability to apply systems thinking and adaptability to understand interdependencies among agency operations, enterprise processes, technology, data, organizational readiness, and program objectives; anticipate impacts; and adjust to changing requirements and agency needs while maintaining alignment with enterprise standards and program outcomes.

• Ability to exercise sound professional judgment and make decisions by analyzing complex information, assessing risks and implications, resolving issues within established authority, and recognizing when escalation or broader program direction is needed.

• Advanced skills in stakeholder engagement, communication, and change management, including building productive relationships, explaining complex business, technical, and program concepts, facilitating collaboration among stakeholders with differing perspectives, addressing difficult issues with transparency and respect, assessing change impacts and adoption barriers, and coordinating transitions to new processes, systems, roles, and ways of working.

• The ability to learn and grow.

• The ability to meet the needs of others.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience supporting or implementing specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, such as Workday, SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, or comparable systems, particularly in finance, procurement, budgeting, or human capital management.

• Experience working in state government or other federated public-sector environments with shared enterprise standards, governance, and coordination across multiple agencies or organizations.

• Formal education, training, or certification in organizational change management, such as Prosci or ACMP.

• Experience applying project or program management methodologies, such as PMI, Agile, or SAFe. PMP or comparable certification is desirable.

• Proficiency with enterprise collaboration, workflow, and project management tools, such as Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Smartsheet, Azure DevOps, or comparable platforms.

• Knowledge of accessibility, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging principles and their application to organizational practices, process design, stakeholder engagement, and team environments.

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one from a less traditional background. Don't let doubts stop you from applying for this position. If you have transferable experience, please tell us about it or contact us with questions about the required qualifications and how your experience relates to them.

Supplemental Information

What we offer

At OFM, we foster a culture of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. We value both learned and lived experiences, believing that diversity makes us stronger. To support your health and well-being, we offer a variety of benefit programs for our employees.

Please visit our Recruitment Page for a full list of benefits available to employees. Here's a quick glance at some of the unique benefits that OFM offers:

• An environment of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 12 paid holidays, 14 paid vacation days (minimum), and 12 days of sick leave per year
• State retirement programs

Application Process:

Once you've decided to apply for a state government job, you'll complete an online application to showcase your qualifications. Keep in mind that once you submit the application, a real person will read it. We do not use AI or any other technology to screen your application and reject it. Please ensure you provide clear, detailed information about your work history so your qualifications can be accurately assessed. We will contact the top candidates directly to schedule interviews. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please call 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.

When completing your application, please attach all of the following required documents:

• Cover letter: describing your qualifications for this specific position
• Resume: that details your applicable experience and education.
• References: at least three professional references and their current contact information.

Questions:

OFMs Staff ASL interpreter is available to all deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants. For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application or interview process, please email us at TalentAcquisition@ofm.wa.gov.

The Office of Financial Management is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects diversity in culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons over 40 years of age, and disabled and Vietnam-era veterans are encouraged to apply.

This position is exempt from civil service rules.

For more information, please see WAC 357-19-195.

More than Just a Paycheck!

Employee benefits are not just about the kind of services you get, they are also about how much you may have to pay out of pocket. Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation.

We understand that your life revolves around more than just your career. Like everyone, your first priority is ensuring that you and your family will maintain health and financial security. Thats why choice is a key component of our benefits package. We have a selection of health and retirement plans, paid leave, staff training and other compensation benefits that you can mix and match to meet your current and future needs.

Read about our benefits:

The following information describes typical benefits available for full-time employees who are expected to work more than six months. Actual benefits may vary by appointment type or be prorated for other than full-time work (e.g. part-time); view the job posting for benefits details for job types other than full-time.

Note: If the position offers benefits which differ from the following, the job posting should include the specific benefits.

Insurance Benefits

Employees and their families are covered by medical (including vision), dental and basic life insurance. There are multiple medical plans with affordable monthly premiums that offer coverage throughout the state.

Staff are eligible to enroll each year in a medical flexible spending account which enables them to use tax-deferred dollars toward their health care expenses. Employees are also covered by basic life and long-term disability insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage amounts.

To view premium rates, coverage choice in your area and how to enroll, please visit the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) website. The Washington Wellness program from the Health Care Authority works with PEBB to support our workplace wellness programs.

Dependent care assistance allows the employee to save pre-tax dollars for a child or elder care expenses.

Other insurance coverage for auto, boat, home, and renter insurance is available through payroll deduction.

The Washington State Employee Assistance Program promotes the health and well-being of employees.

Retirement and Deferred Compensation

State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). New employees have the option of two employer contributed retirement programs. For additional information, check out the Department of Retirement Systems web site.

Employees also have the ability to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP). This is a supplemental retirement savings program (similar to an IRA) that allows you control over the amount of pre-tax salary dollars you defer as well as the flexibility to choose between multiple investment options.

Social Security

All state employees are covered by the federal Social Security and Medicare systems. The state and the employee pay an equal amount into the system.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, and meet the qualifying criteria, you may be eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Holidays

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.

Note: Employees who are members of certain Unions may be entitled to additional personal leave day(s), please refer to position specific Collective Bargaining Agreements for more information.

Full-time employees who work full monthly schedules qualify for holiday compensation if they are employed before the holiday and are in pay status for at least 80 nonovertime hours during the month of the holiday; or for the entire work shift preceding the holiday.

Part-time employees who are in pay status during the month of the holiday qualify for the holiday on a pro-rata basis. Compensation for holidays (including personal holiday) will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status in the month to that required for full-time employment, excluding all holiday hours. Pay status includes hours worked and time on paid leave.

Sick Leave

Full-time employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month. Overtime eligible employees who are in pay status for less than 80 hours per month, earn a monthly proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment. Overtime exempt employees who are in pay status for less than 80 hours per month do not earn a monthly accrual of sick leave.

Sick leave accruals for part-time employees will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment. Pay status includes hours worked, time on paid leave and paid holiday.

Vacation (Annual Leave)

Full-time employees accrue vacation leave at the rates specified in WAC 357-31-165(1) or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Full-time employees who are in pay status for less than 80 nonovertime hours in a month do not earn a monthly accrual of vacation leave.

Part-time employees accrue vacation leave hours in accordance with WAC 357-31-165(1) or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on a pro rata basis. Vacation leave accrual will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status, in the month to that required for full-time employment.

Pay status includes hours worked, time on paid leave and paid holiday.

As provided in WAC 357-58-175, an employer may authorize a lump-sum accrual of vacation leave or accelerate the vacation leave accrual rate to support the recruitment and/or retention of a candidate or employee for a Washington Management Service position. Vacation leave accrual rates may only be accelerated using the rates established WAC 357-31-165.

Note: Most agencies follow the civil service rules covering leave and holidays for exempt employees even though there is no requirement for them to do so. However, agencies are required to adhere to the applicable RCWs pertaining holidays and leave.

Military Leave

Washington State supports members of the armed forces with 21 days paid military leave per year.

Bereavement Leave

Most employees whose family member or household member dies, or for loss of pregnancy, are entitled to five (5) days of paid bereavement leave. In addition, the employer may approve other available leave types for the purpose of bereavement leave.

Additional Leave

Leave Sharing

Parental Leave

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Leave Without Pay

Please visit the State HR Website for more detailed information regarding benefits.

Updated 01-07-2026

01

The application process requires that you attach a cover letter detailing how you meet the qualifications of this position and a resume. Please check your attachments and click below to indicate you have attached the required documentation.

• Yes, I have attached a cover letter and a resume.
• No, I have not attached a cover letter and a resume.

02

Describe your experience leading multidisciplinary teams or coordinating resources across organizations to deliver complex, interdependent work. Include how you establish priorities, manage competing demands, and maintain accountability.

03

Describe your experience addressing a complex implementation challenge involving interconnected processes, technology, data, or agency needs.

04

Describe your experience supporting stakeholders through significant organizational, process, or technology changes. How have you addressed differing perspectives, communicated complex information, and supported readiness and adoption?

Required Question

Employer State of Washington

Address View Job Posting for Agency Information

View Job Posting for Location, Washington, 98504

Website http://www.careers.wa.gov