IT Program Manager - Digital Platforms

The International Rescue Committee helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

The IT department provides end-to-end solutions for the organization including application development & integration, system deployment, quality assurance & testing, and overall Project Management in an effort to help the organization build and implement the best solutions for its business needs.

Job Overview:

The IT Program Manager - Digital Platforms will help to shape digital technology solutions that drive the International Rescue Committee’s fundraising and engagement objectives.

The IT Program Manager - Digital Platforms will be part of the project management team (which includes other Project/Program Managers) and responsible for supporting Enterprise CRM and Marketing Technology projects. The platforms in scope include the Salesforce CRM and marketing platforms such as donation / e-commerce platforms (Springboard), website (Drupal), email marketing platform (Pardot) and SMS platform (Mobile Commons).

In this role, the candidate will be responsible for managing the delivery of various initiatives related to the development and enhancement of these technology platforms to drive the IRC’s digital supporter management capabilities and fundraising and engagement objectives. The Program Manager will require the use of Agile methodologies to successfully implement program workstreams. This includes leading and managing product backlog management, sprint planning, task management, etc. They will act as scrum master by educating the team on scrum, facilitating the various scrum events, and removing any obstacles faced by the product/platform teams. This role will often manage several initiatives at once, new market launches, website and donation platform improvements, and system integrations.

This position will have responsibility for planning and driving these initiatives and the various project activities such as business requirement gathering, process documentation, stakeholder management, development, testing, training, and analyzing project success. They will also work closely with product managers in managing the build out of product and project roadmaps. They will also help manage the project budget and any vendors affiliated with projects to ensure that initiatives are delivered to the expected budget and timelines. This individual will also assist in the annual budget planning process for this portfolio.

Expected project artifacts will include project work plans, weekly and monthly status reports, presentations, risk/action/issue logs, etc. In addition, the Program Manager will work proactively to gather information required for analysis and management of project cost, resources, and schedule.

This is an exciting and fast-paced position which requires strong strategic problem-solving and interpersonal skills, excellent analytical and project management skills, a high level of personal initiative and the ability to work well in a distributed, multicultural, dynamic environment.

This role reports to the Senior IT Program Manager, Digital Platforms and will require coordination with Product team Leads, Product Managers and Business Analysts to effectively deliver the projects across CRM and MarTech platforms.

Major Responsibilities:

Manages the maintenance of Program Plans, Roadmap, and Product Backlogs: Develops, and continually updates, detailed program management plans, project roadmap and product backlog. Develops work breakdown structures based on the project objectives and scope. Ensures the system implementation methodology is adhered to.

Leads Workstream Project Status Reporting: Prepares status reports to convey project scope, goals, milestones, budget, risk, and critical issues to the client and project team.

Supervises Project Cost Estimation, Ongoing Budget Tracking and Vendor Invoicing: Provides oversight of budget tracking and invoicing. Manages and validates the development of cost estimates and data analyses based on experience and insights.

Performs Project Resource Management for Assigned Workstreams: Monitors project resource requirements and staff assignments across projects in the portfolio. Checks for staff availability. Updates the project plan with work assignments.

Conducts Risk Management: Maintains documentation for identified risks and mitigation strategies. Proactively gathers and updates risk status and documentation and escalates to project leadership as needed.

Supports Stakeholder Management: Works with technology and business owners to analyze expectations for projects based upon approved project requirements.

Manages Project Business Analysis Tasks: Works with the team to anticipate and handle business and technical analysis work required, e.g., definition and tracking of technical and functional requirements, current and future state business process definition, testing, etc. Coordinate these assignments with the Business Analyst on the team and also assist as needed.

Manages Overall Program Administration: Leads program team meetings, proactively documents meeting minutes, track issues, decisions and action items, and follow-up between meetings to drive issues to closure.

Supports the implementation of program management best practices across the portfolio: Works with the Director, IT Digital Program & Portfolio management and Product Team Leads to implement program management best practices related to estimation, resource management, work breakdown structures, governance, risk & issue management, status reporting, budgeting, vendor management, contracting and stakeholder management.

Performs Scrum Master role: Educates product and project teams on scrum, facilitates work within the agile project management tool, removes impediments and facilitates scrum meetings.

Conducts Other Tasks as Needed: Performs and contributes towards other duties or special projects as required or as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Work Experience:

• Four or more years of experience related to IT systems implementation and operations project management, CRM and Marketing Technology related experience is preferred.

• Knowledge of Agile Project Management practices and/or program management certification (PMP, CSM, CSPO, SAFe) highly preferred.

• Consistent track record leading multiple projects and delivering against commitments and timelines is required.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent project management skills, with demonstrated track record of applying program management principles, practices, and techniques with a strong results orientation.

• Experience with Agile project management practices will be preferred.

• Experience using project management software tools, such as Jira, Monday.com and MS Azure DevOps to effectively lead, manage, monitor, and control project activities.

• Experience in supporting multiple concurrent projects and initiatives within a portfolio.

• Ability to develop positive partnerships with both the technology and business user communities. Self-motivated and a problem solver who can assess and develop strategies for achieving the needs of the user community.

• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills – able to synthesize, visualize, and present data to drive decision-making.

• Excellent verbal and written communication abilities – Ability to speak to technical-level staff and develop written reporting and presentational content with level-appropriate messaging up to and including the senior executive level.

• Highly organized with excellent time management – able to multitask and balance priorities.

• Independent and resourceful – able to identify unique solutions to tackle complex challenges with limited guidance.

• Excellent skills in productivity software (Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Visio and other tools) and experience crafting high-quality work products. Ability to lead project team members in line with the goals of the individual project.

• Encourages and facilitates cooperation, results orientation and collaboration within the team.

• Demonstrated ability to work in a matrix environment, particularly in managing cross-functional teams across multiple lines of business, over whom there may be no direct authority.

• Preferred knowledge of fundraising/e-commerce and customer engagement programs.

• Eager to learn and adapt to new technologies.

• Familiar with SDLC processes (e.g., Waterfall) and Agile (e.g., Scrum).

Preferred experience & skills:

• Experience with CRM and Marketing Technology platforms such as Salesforce, Drupal, Springboard, , Pardot, payment processing platforms etc.

• Experience in international development, human rights or another field related to the IRC’s work.

• Understanding of non-profit fundraising and marketing business process.

• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Excel to generate pivot tables and graphs.

• Training / certification in Agile Methodology (e.g., Scrum Master certification) a plus.

Benefits and Working Environment:

• The IRC offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package! These include paid sick leave, generous time-off, 403B retirement plan, medical, dental and other health and wellness plans.

• Standard office working environment.

• Currently the team is working in a hybrid model with one day per week in the office (unless the employee’s location is outside of NYC).

• Some international travel as needed up to 20%.

• This role may require working remotely full or part time and part time remote employees may be required to share workspace.

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity:

IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality:

IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards:

The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

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