Program Manager

About the role

Gartner is seeking an experienced IT Program Manager to lead technology projects within the Digital Product and Technology organization. The Program Manager will oversee multiple globally distributed teams using Agile frameworks (Scrum/Kanban) and will be accountable for the entire product delivery life cycle, including software development processes, quality assurance, benefits realization, and end-user satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and manage global technology-based project portfolios in support of IT infrastructure initiatives.
• Report project progress to executive level and cross-team stakeholders.
• Leverage personal expertise to develop and present rational conclusions, recommendations, and direct implementation strategies.
• Analyze the scope and direction of initiatives across multiple levels of management and organizational boundaries.
• Influence and manage the expectations of clients, team members, management, and external groups with a proven track record of acting as a valued IT business partner to senior leadership.
• Establish project metrics with available tools to track health, quickly analyze problems, identify root causes, create action plans, assess impact, and develop resolution options.
• Develop strategic and tactical planning of technology and people resources necessary for successful completion of several large-scale projects.
• Facilitate Scrum ceremonies such as daily stand-up meetings, sprint planning, sprint review, grooming, and sprint retrospective and ensure timely delivery of working codes (MVP).
• Work as a liaison between the Product and Technical teams to prioritize backlog for the sprints for MVP development and ensure deliveries are made as described in the quarterly roadmap.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure dependencies are identified and managed effectively, and any risks are managed ahead of time.
• Regularly communicate project status, risks, issues, deliveries/release status, team-performance with all stakeholders.
• Escalate obstacles without delay and promote continuous improvement process based on feedback received during retrospective (create and manage Kaizens).
• Independently manage 'Change Management Process' for the team's regular delivery.
• Monitor JIRA boards, ensure high deliverability of working codes (>80%), and keep team performance data up to date for management view.
• Triage Production/Security issues with the dev and product partners for a quick resolution.
• Ensure the establishment of a safe working environment by promoting open discussion between the team members.
• Encourage team to discuss ideas irrespective of their scale and merits.
• Develop comprehensive risk management frameworks to identify, assess, and mitigate potential threats to program success.
• Conflict negotiation within and beyond the team as needed.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Computer Science or related STEM fields.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in working with IT Development and/or IT Infrastructure teams in a project management capacity and overall 12 years of IT industry experience.
• Certification in any Agile Methodologies (CSM or PSM preferred).
• Strong understanding of various Agile Methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban, Lean Product Development, JIT etc.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, STLC, Project Planning, Change Management is required.
• Ability to lead and facilitate various project ceremonies independently for multiple teams across the globe.
• Guide and coach team members on agile methodologies.
• Coordinate with multiple different cross-functional teams, including business/product teams for effective project collaboration and product delivery.
• Proficiency in Agile tools such as JIRA, Confluence, ServiceNow; as well as Microsoft suites including MS-Project.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines and multiple project deliverables.