Program Manager, Intake & Portfolio Management

About the role

This is not a typical project management role. As Project Manager for People Operations Intake & Portfolio, you will own the systems, processes, and judgment layer that determines what the Partners, Operations & Insights (POI) organization works on — and in what order. You will be the connective tissue between the People team's ambitions and POI's capacity, serving as the first point of contact for all work requests flowing into POI's four core teams: People Solutions, People Data Analytics & Research (PDAR), People Partners, and Employee Relations & HR Compliance.

• Own and operate the POI intake process end-to-end.
• Manage the Jira-based intake system, ensuring all incoming requests are triaged promptly, routed correctly, and tracked through their full lifecycle from submission to delivery.
• Serve as the primary intake partner for People team requestors.
• Act as a knowledgeable, approachable first point of contact who helps teams scope and frame requests well, setting clear expectations on timelines, effort, and likelihood of prioritization.
• Facilitate regular intake and portfolio cadences. Set cadence for POI Intake reviews, backlog grooming, and full roadmap reviews.
• Identify systemic patterns and surface insights to leadership. Synthesize trends across intake submissions to proactively flag capacity constraints, recurring themes, capability gaps, and emerging risks before they become blockers.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in project management, business operations, strategy, or consulting with experience navigating complex, matrixed organizations and managing competing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, or significantly improving an intake, triage, or portfolio management process for a delivery team or operations function.
• Strong analytical and systems-thinking skills. Able to evaluate competing requests against strategic frameworks, make well-reasoned prioritization recommendations, and communicate trade-offs clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Jira or equivalent ticketing/project management tools. Comfortable with workflow configuration, ticket lifecycle management, capacity planning, and reporting.
• Proven experience using AI tools (LLMs, AI agents, or automation platforms) to streamline workflows, build lightweight productivity solutions, or automate repetitive operational tasks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Able to translate ambiguous, incomplete requests into clear, actionable project briefs and present complex portfolio data accessibly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to manage relationships with senior stakeholders (directors, VPs), including setting expectations, navigating pushback, and facilitating alignment conversations with confidence.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous environments where the work is not always well-defined. Able to independently identify the right approach and establish meaningful success metrics.
• Collaborative, low-ego working style. Able to operate as a strategic partner and trusted advisor rather than a decision-maker, earning credibility through rigor and good judgment.
• At least 2 years of experience working within or closely alongside an HR, People, or equivalent internal operations team.