Program Manager

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 17471
Department: Universal Services
Opening Date: 11/02/2026
Closing Date: 12/3/2026 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 100

Position Description
Senior IT Program Manager

Harris County Universal Services (HCUS) is seeking an experienced and strategic Senior IT Program Manager to lead complex technology programs and portfolios that support county-wide initiatives and departmental business objectives. This role is responsible for driving the successful delivery of multiple concurrent projects, providing strategic leadership, fostering stakeholder engagement, and ensuring strong governance, accountability, and alignment with organizational priorities.
Job Responsibilities:

Program & Portfolio Management

• Lead and manage complex IT programs and project portfolios aligned with HCUS and stakeholder department strategies.
• Develop and maintain program and portfolio roadmaps that support organizational goals and technology modernization efforts.
• Oversee project scope, schedules, budgets, resources, risks, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple initiatives.
• Monitor program and portfolio performance, providing actionable insights and recommendations to executive leadership.
• Evaluate, prioritize, and align initiatives based on business value, organizational impact, and resource capacity.

Strategic Planning & Leadership

• Partner with business and technology leaders to develop strategic plans and technology roadmaps.
• Provide strategic guidance on investment decisions, project prioritization, resource planning, and organizational change initiatives.
• Identify risks, opportunities, and emerging trends that impact business and technology objectives.
• Support executive decision-making through business cases, presentations, dashboards, and performance reporting.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build strong relationships with business leaders, county departments, executive leadership, vendors, and technical teams.
• Serve as the primary liaison between business and technology stakeholders.
• Facilitate governance meetings, steering committees, and executive reviews.
• Communicate program status, risks, issues, and outcomes to stakeholders at all organizational levels.

Project Oversight & Team Collaboration

• Partner with Project Managers and cross-functional teams to ensure successful project delivery.
• Coordinate resources, dependencies, and priorities across multiple projects and departments.
• Remove obstacles, resolve conflicts, and drive accountability for program outcomes.
• Promote collaboration, transparency, continuous improvement, and best practices.

Governance :

• Ensure compliance with established program, portfolio, and project management methodologies.
• Support governance processes, documentation standards, regulatory compliance requirements, and performance measurement activities.

Requirements
Education

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Public Administration, Project Management, or a related field.

Experience:

• Seven (7) or more years of experience in IT program management, portfolio management, project management, or related technology leadership roles.
• Proven experience managing complex, cross-functional programs and project portfolios with multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success delivering large-scale technology initiatives from planning through implementation.
• Experience developing strategic roadmaps, managing competing priorities, and aligning technology investments with organizational objectives.
• Experience presenting executive leadership and facilitating strategic decision-making.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong program and portfolio management capabilities.
• Strategic thinking, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills.
• Knowledge of governance frameworks, budgeting, resource planning, and performance reporting.
• Understanding government operations, procurement processes, public-sector governance, and regulatory compliance requirements.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into business-focused recommendations and outcomes.

Applicants for this position will be subject to a criminal background check that includes being fingerprinted. This applies to any position with network access to Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) or access to an area where CJIS is received, maintained or stored either manually or electronically (i.e. custodian, maintenance).

Automatic Disqualification:

• Convictions, probation, or deferred adjudication for any Felony, and any Class A Misdemeanor
• Convictions, probation, or deferred adjudication for a Class B Misdemeanor, if within the previous 10 years
• Open arrest for any criminal offense (Felony or Misdemeanor)
• Family Violence conviction

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

Preferences

• Experience working in government public sector (Law enforcement background), county, municipal, or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience with digital transformation, enterprise technology implementations, and organizational change management.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), PgMP, PMI-ACP, or equivalent certification.
• Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, PMBOK, PRINCE2, or other project and portfolio management frameworks.

General Information
**Harris County Universal Services does not provide sponsorship or authorization to work in the United States. Employees will be required to provide proof of legal authorization to work in the United States.**
Location:

• 406 Caroline St, Houston, TX 77002

Work Arrangement:

• All new hires are required to work onsite during their first 90 days of employment.
• For positions eligible for a hybrid schedule, telework may be considered after this period and requires management approval based on performance and operational needs. Telework is a privilege and is not guaranteed.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.

HARRIS COUNTY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Harris County offers a highly competitive benefits program, featuring a comprehensive group health plan and defined benefit retirement plan.
The following benefits are offered only to Harris County employees in regular (full-time) positions:
Health & Wellness Benefits

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Ten (10) days of vacation leave per year (accrual rate increases after 5 years of service)
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays
• One (1) floating holiday per year
• Paid Parental Leave*
• Sick Leave

Retirement Savings Benefit

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are available to Harris County employees in full-time and select part-time positions:

• Professional learning & development opportunities
• Retirement pension (TCDRS defined benefit plan)
• Flexible work schedule*
• METRO RideSponsor Program*

* Participation may vary by County department. The employee benefits plans of Harris County are extended to all eligible participants across various departments with the exception of the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, for which the cited Health & Wellness Benefits are administered through the State of Texas.
In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, group health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Harris County Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County Benefits & Wellness website:
01

Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?Qualifying information must be documented in the Education section of your application.

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02

If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?

• Public Administration
• Project Management
• Information Technology
• Business Administration
• Other Related Field
• Unrelated Field
• N/A; No Degree

03

Please describe your educational background including level of education completed, area of study and completed major and minor programs.
04

Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience in IT program management, portfolio management, project management, or related technology leadership roles?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than seven (7) years
• Seven (7) years but less than eight (8) years
• Eight (8) years but less than nine (9) years
• Nine (9) years or more
• I do not have this experience

05

Please provide the dates of employment during which you obtained experience in IT program management, portfolio management, project management, or related technology leadership roles. Provide the month and year that began and ended the experience ( Example: "January 2020 - December 2025" ) If this experience is not clearly documented in the Work Experience section, your application will be disqualified. If you do not have this experience, type "N/A" in the space provided.
06

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:

Advanced:
A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.

Intermediate:
A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.

Basic:
A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.

Entry Level:
A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

07

Do you have experience working in government public sector (Law enforcement background), county, municipal, or other highly regulated environments?

• Yes
• No

08

Do you have experience with digital transformation, enterprise technology implementations, and organizational change management?

• Yes
• No

09

Do you have a Project Management Professional (PMP), PgMP, PMI-ACP, or equivalent certification?

• Yes
• No

10

Do you have famil