Senior Product Manager - Automation Portfolio

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:

VUMC IT Automation Services - Service Delivery

Job Summary:

The Senior Product Manager, Automation Portfolio provides strategic leadership for VUMC's growing automation portfolio by overseeing project intake, prioritization, portfolio governance, stakeholder engagement, and alignment of automation initiatives with organizational objectives. This role serves as the primary product and portfolio leader for enterprise automation services, translating business needs into scalable automation solutions that improve operational efficiency, service delivery, and business outcomes.

The Senior Product Manager is responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of automation initiatives across multiple customer groups, balancing competing priorities, and driving execution from concept through delivery. This individual partners with senior leaders, operational stakeholders, and technical teams to identify opportunities, define roadmaps, evaluate emerging technologies, and ensure automation investments deliver measurable organizational value. Success in this role requires strategic thinking, strong executive presence, accountability, problem-solving skills, and the ability to lead multiple initiatives simultaneously while fostering trusted relationships across the organization.

(Note: this role can be performed remotely from most US locations.)

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Requirements:

• 5+ years of Product Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management, or related leadership experience in healthcare, technology, automation, or digital transformation environments.

• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects, customer engagements, and strategic initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability to translate business and operational challenges into technology-enabled solutions.

• Experience developing product roadmaps, prioritization frameworks, business cases, and portfolio governance processes.

• Strong stakeholder management, executive communication, presentation, and facilitation skills.

• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence outcomes without direct authority.

Preferred:

• Experience with automation workflow and intelligent automation platforms, including:

  • Automation Anywhere (preferred)

  • Microsoft Power Automate (preferred)

  • Blue Prism

  • UiPath or similar automation technologies

• Healthcare operations experience and understanding of clinical, administrative, revenue cycle, or shared services workflows.

• Epic knowledge or experience.

• Experience evaluating customer needs, identifying automation opportunities, and driving solution design and implementation.

• Familiarity with AI-enabled automation, process mining, workflow orchestration, and enterprise automation strategies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and manage the vision, strategy, roadmap, and governance framework for VUMC's automation portfolio.

• Lead intake, evaluation, prioritization, and lifecycle management of automation initiatives across multiple business areas.

• Partner with operational leaders to identify opportunities that improve efficiency, reduce risk, enhance customer experience, and drive strategic outcomes.

• Translate customer needs and business objectives into scalable automation solutions and product roadmaps.

• Establish prioritization frameworks that optimize resource allocation and maximize organizational value.

• Provide leadership and direction to technical and delivery teams responsible for automation solution development and deployment.

• Manage relationships with key stakeholders, vendors, and technology partners.

• Communicate portfolio performance, risks, opportunities, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends to identify opportunities for innovation and expansion of automation capabilities.

• Drive accountability for portfolio outcomes, value realization, adoption, and customer satisfaction.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators, success metrics, and reporting mechanisms for automation initiatives.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders across the organization regarding automation strategy and digital transformation opportunities.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
• IT Portfolio Management (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of IT Portfolio Management in practical applications of a difficult nature. Manages a portion of the Company's Application Portfolio that focuses on comparing spending on established systems based upon their relative value to the organization. Manages a portion of the Project Portfolio which addresses the issues with spending on the development of innovative capabilities in terms of potential ROI and reducing investment overlaps in situations where reorganization or acquisition occurs.
• Product Vendor Management (Intermediate): Can lead the development of a software or hardware contract. Serves as the primary contact for issue notification, escalation, and resolution in day to day operations including monitoring of key performance indicators, quality, and leadership concerns. Works effectively with the vendor to develop the necessary technical specifications. Is recognized by participating departments as a leader in contract negotiation. Understands the financial rationale for "make versus buy" decisions and extrapolates internal and vendor costs to develop Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
• Emerging Technologies (Intermediate): Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the new technology and its impact on the systems infrastructure of the company. Demonstrates acute knowledge of industry trends, promising technologies, competitors' products and services, regulations and legislation impacting the company. Attends industry seminars and forums on a regular basis. Successfully investigates, evaluates, recommends and implements new technology to meet requirements of state-of-the-art systems and projects.
• Project Coordination (Intermediate): Performs project tracking and reporting relative to task completion dates, dependency effects, problem anticipation, schedule conflicts, and assignment to appropriate staff for resolution. Manages prioritization procedures for changing scope [i.e., change management] and project acceptance procedures. Measures progress toward goals and revises project objectives and documents applying change control procedures. Assumes responsibility [as appropriate] for resolving issues and seeing work through to successful completion. Provides training to project managers and others on project related templates and toolsets. Develops methods to measure customer satisfaction and obtains feedback at critical milestones and at project completion to ensure project efforts meet customer expectations.
• Product Knowledge (Intermediate): Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully developing or supporting applications for the product without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to educate and train others regarding the process.

About the Department:

VUMC IT

VUMC IT provides hardware, software and service solutions for the entire Medical Center. With over 40,000 workstations in the Medical Center, our teams can assist not only with hardware support, but also software and application support and services to enhance security and protection of your information.

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: Independently delivers on objectives with understanding of how they impact the results of own area/team and other related teams. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Utilizes multiple sources of data to analyze and resolve complex problems; may take a new perspective on existing solution. Breadth of Knowledge: Has advanced knowledge within a professional area and basic knowledge across related areas. Team Interaction: Acts as a "go-to" resource for colleagues with less experience; may lead small project teams.

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 Services: - 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.