Lead Program Manager

About the Role & Team 

The Lead Program Manager will reside within the PMO team and report to the Director of Project Management. The Lead Program Manager will be a team leader supporting program portfolio management, including discovery, planning, delivery and execution of high visibility programs across ESPN BET, theScore and Hollywood Casino family of products. The ideal candidate will be a motivated team leader that possess a strong ability to strategically plan and effectively problem solve in support of priority business objectives.  

About the Work

• Lead, mentor, and manage Program Management team members by providing day-to-day guidance, strategic direction, and best practices to drive execution of our Program Portfolio
• Responsible for owning our program portfolio and scope, including definition of program objectives, roles and functions of team members, and managing program timelines to empower the team to achieve program milestones and objectives.
• Collaborate with Program team and Project Management leads to identify and implement opportunities for improvement, standardization, automation, and enforcement of Project & Program governance within the project and program management teams.
• Ensure systematic approach to manage and provide visibility into Program milestones, deliverables, resources, action items, and timelines.
• Empower the Program Management team to drive accountability and ensure projects remain on track by monitoring progress and unblocking the team.
• Identify dependencies and synergies between programs, making strategic program decisions to drive organizational objectives.
• Collaborate with and present to the leadership team to proactively set and manage expectations around Program objectives, timelines, risks, and overall status.
• Support the Program team as a point of escalation to leadership teams when required, to drive alignment on objectives, de-risk timelines, strategic optionality for program execution, and ensure organizational alignment.
• Exercise independent judgment and decision making on complex issues regarding job duties and related tasks, working under minimal supervision.
• Reflect on lessons learned from projects and programs to continuously improve project and program management practices and methodologies on the Project Management team.

 About You

• 7+ years of experience in technical program management for software teams, including experience leading programs and large-scale projects from start to finish
• 5+ years experience in cross-functional collaboration with Engineering, Product, and Business teams
• Experience with project management, cross-functional collaboration, leading high-performing teams, and working with a wide range of stakeholders and leadership teams
• You have a “can do” attitude.  Owning a problem doesn’t scare you, but rather empowers you to take 100% responsibility for achieving our mission.
• You thrive on collaboration and working in a fast-paced environment.
• You have extensive knowledge and expertise in the use of program and project management methodologies and tools.
• You have deep knowledge of Atlassian suite (Jira & Confluence).
• You’re highly organized with an impeccable attention to detail.
• You’re comfortable with ambiguity, and can turn incomplete or even conflicting inputs into clear plans.
• You have experience identifying & implementing scalable solutions to systemic challenges.
• You’re a clear communicator (both written & verbal) who can work with senior leadership to unblock teams, mitigate risks, and drive successful program outcomes.
• You have a track record of leading high-performing teams, consistently fostering a collaborative and results-driven environment.  Your leadership style encourages team members to take ownership of their work while driving towards shared success.
• You understand the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) frameworks.
• You’re a strategic thinker who asks the right questions to understand challenges, and implement practical and scalable solutions.

Bonus

• Project management certifications (PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, PgMP, PMI-RMP, etc).
• A passion and knowledge for sports and/or sports betting and iGaming.
• Experience working with project management tools (Smartsheet).

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation package
• Fun, relaxed work environment
• Education and conference reimbursements.
• Parental leave top up
• Opportunities for career progression and mentoring others

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