Project Manager

Job Title: Project Manager

Organization: The Surplus Line Association of California (SLA)

Location: San Ramon, CA

Position Type: Full-time, In Office

Salary: $95,000-$115,000 annually

Come join our team — we’d love to have you!
At the SLA, we take pride in fostering an open, inclusive, and collaborative culture where employees come first. Our commitment to creating an exceptional workplace has earned us recognition:

• Certified as a Great Place to Work® three years in a row
• Named one of California’s Best Workplaces for 2025

As an employee-first organization, we’re passionate about supporting our team inside and outside the workplace. We offer:

• Flexible work-life balance options so you can thrive both professionally and personally
• An expansive benefits package with a variety of choices for medical, dental, and vision coverage tailored to your needs
• Educational benefits
• A generous wellness stipend to help you invest in your health and well-being
• And because we love adding a little extra value: complimentary Costco memberships for you and your family

If you’re looking to grow your career in an environment where your voice is heard, your contributions are valued, and fun is part of the culture — come join us!

About Us: At the Surplus Line Association of California (SLA), we don’t sell insurance—we protect access to it. As the only organization overseeing California’s $20+ billion surplus lines insurance marketplace, we help support coverage availability for businesses—from film studios to freight haulers—when risks are too complex, too large or too unique for the standard market.
Each year we review more than 1 million policy transactions, equip insurance brokers with compliance tools and continuing education courses, monitor the financial stability of global insurers and deliver data-driven insights that help the industry stay ahead of emerging risks. That impact—combined with our strong employee culture—has earned us recognition by Fortune as one of the Bay Area’s best places to work.

Quick Clarifier: We are not insurance agents or a government agency—and we won’t be quoting your car or life insurance. We oversee a multibillion-dollar market that primarily serves businesses with hard-to-place risks. It’s niche, essential and surprisingly interesting.

Position Overview:

The Project Manager leads high-visibility, cross-functional projects that shape how the organization operates, evolves and delivers on its priorities. The portfolio may include strategic initiatives, technology implementations, major events, organizational change and projects supporting the association’s regulatory responsibilities and services.

Working within the portfolio structure established by the Senior Project Manager, the Project Manager turns complex ideas into executable plans and owns assigned projects from initial scope through delivery and closeout. This role brings together people across the organization, creates clarity around decisions and responsibilities, anticipates obstacles and keeps important work moving toward measurable outcomes.

It is a highly collaborative role for someone who enjoys solving complex problems, working across different disciplines and seeing projects move from concept to tangible results.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Projects from Start to Finish.
• You will take ownership of assigned projects and create the structure necessary for successful delivery.
• Developing clear project charters, objectives, deliverables, success measures, timelines, and governance structures
• Establishing roles, responsibilities, decision points, deadlines, and escalation paths
• Building and maintaining detailed project plans in Asana
• Coordinating work across multiple departments and disciplines
• Identifying risks, dependencies, and blockers before they threaten delivery
• Holding project participants accountable for agreed commitments
• Escalating issues with thoughtful recommendations—not simply identifying problems

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years of project management experience, with 5+ years preferred
• A California resident
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional projects from inception through implementation and closeout
• Experience coordinating initiatives across multiple departments or disciplines
• Experience with projects involving areas such as strategy, operations, technology, regulatory work, organizational initiatives, or events
• Strong proficiency with enterprise project management tools; Asana experience is strongly preferred
• Experience using project charters, RACI models, success criteria, governance structures, and formal change-control processes
• Experience preparing project updates and recommendations for senior leaders or executive stakeholders