Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Management, or related field, or equivalent experience
At least 7 years of program/project management experience
3+ years managing enterprise-level or cross-functional programs
Experience running governance forums that drive decisions
Experience partnering with product and technical leads during implementation
Responsibilities
Own and run the enterprise operating cadence for the strategic portfolio
Integrate initiatives into a single governance view and resolve dependencies
Anchor every initiative to a measurable business outcome
Prepare decision-ready pre-reads for leadership that frame outcomes and risks
Build relationships with stakeholders and hold them accountable
Lead roadmap integration across short-, mid-, and long-term goals
Govern the project-to-BAU hand-off with defined roles and responsibilities
Manage vendor partners to ensure value and service levels
Benefits
Opportunity to work on strategic, cross-functional initiatives
Engagement in a mission-driven environment focused on child development
Collaboration with senior leadership and diverse teams
Potential for professional growth in project management practices
Flexibility for remote work and occasional travel opportunities
Full Job Description
Position Summary
The Senior Project Manager is responsible for orchestrating Goddard's portfolio of strategic, cross-functional initiatives: owning the governance cadence, integrating dependencies and risks, and holding stakeholders accountable to their commitments. This role exists to turn strategy into measurable business outcomes by anchoring each initiative to an owner and target, driving decisions to closure, and ensuring work transitions cleanly to product and business owners. Every initiative this role orchestrates makes it easier for franchisees, families, and GSL teams to do their best work, advancing Goddard's mission to partner to create joyful, supportive environments where children flourish.
Key Responsibilities
Own and run the enterprise operating cadence for the strategic portfolio (collective reviews, initiative deep dives, and decision and commitment tracking), facilitating forums that end in decisions, owners, and due dates rather than status updates, and setting clear delivery expectations (quality, scope, time, resources, purpose, and desired outcome).
Integrate initiatives into a single governance view; surface and resolve cross-initiative dependencies, resource gaps, and blockers with recommended solutions, and maintain the RAID register, dependency log, milestone trackers, and stage gates.
Anchor every initiative to a measurable business outcome with a named owner, baseline, target, dashboard, and decision thresholds; challenge vague requirements until business value is defined, and track benefits realization and value delivered to the business and franchisees, not just on-time delivery.
Prepare decision-ready pre-reads for the Leadership Team and Steering Committee that frame outcomes, risks, and trade-offs, translating technical inputs into executive-ready decisions and presenting the business impact of risks so leadership can act.
Build relationships with team members and stakeholders through regular touchpoints, ensure they understand the business value (the "what" and "why") of the work, and hold them, including senior leaders, accountable to their commitments; escalate resource, timeline, and decision conflicts to governance, and recommend stopping or redirecting initiatives when the evidence warrants it, regardless of sunk cost.
Lead roadmap integration and sequencing across short-, mid-, and long-term goals, delivering value in increments tied to milestones in partnership with the IT Product Lead/Product Owner and Technical Lead.
Govern the project-to-BAU hand-off so work transitions to business and product owners with defined roles and responsibilities, documented processes, and clear enhancement and support ownership.
Manage vendor partners to value and service levels, challenging vendor and workstream claims rather than accepting reported status at face value, and pressure-test the strongest counterargument to a plan before others depend on it; evaluate governance structures and retire those that have become performative.
Core Skills (Must-Have)
Run governance and decision forums that end in commitments, owners, and due dates
Hold senior stakeholders accountable without direct authority
Frame decisions, risks, and trade-offs clearly for executive audiences
Integrate dependencies, risks, and resources across multiple concurrent workstreams
Define and track KPIs and benefits realization to report business outcomes
Translate technical detail into business decisions without owning every technical detail
Move decisively with incomplete information, matching decision speed to the cost of being wrong
Drive and reinforce change adoption using a formal, agreed-upon methodology
Lead enterprise software, technology, and business-process implementations
Work proficiently with enterprise software, collaboration, unified communications, and cloud-based technologies
Build and maintain governance materials, decision logs, RAID registers, and best-practice documentation
Bring leadership along, anticipate next steps, and help build the organization's project management practice, while staying current on business direction and emerging trends
Bachelor's degree in Business, Technology, or a related field is preferred
Minimum Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Management, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
At least 7 years of program/project management experience, including 3+ years managing enterprise-level or cross-functional programs with multiple concurrent workstreams
Experience running governance forums that drive decisions and outcomes
Experience partnering with product and technical leads through implementation and managing project-to-BAU transitions
Success in This Role
Establish a consistent portfolio operating cadence in which Leadership Team and Steering Committee forums end in documented decisions, owners, and due dates
Deliver a single integrated view of the strategic portfolio (roadmap, dependencies, RAID register, and stage gates) that leadership uses to make decisions
Ensure every active initiative has a named owner, baseline, target, and dashboard, with benefits realization reported for in-flight work
Complete at least one clean project-to-BAU hand-off with defined ownership, documented processes, and a support model
Earn recognition from senior stakeholders as a trusted, neutral integrator who brings issues forward already diagnosed with a recommended path
Physical Requirements
This role requires the ability to remain in a stationary position and work at a computer for extended periods; communicate and exchange information with internal and external stakeholders through in-person, telephone, and virtual interactions; occasionally move files, documents, or other work materials; and travel periodically, if required by the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, or physical requirements associated with the position.
There will be periodic requirements to travel for in-person events, at the discretion of your manager or the requirement of the company.
