Advanced Program Manager

Independence Pet Group•Chicago, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Independence Pet Holdings (IPG) is seeking an Advanced Program Manager to lead high-complexity, enterprise programs and strengthen portfolio execution across Marketing and technology-enabled initiatives. This role serves as a senior execution partner to Portfolio Execution leadership, providing oversight of the Portfolio Governance Tool, driving disciplined intake and prioritization, shaping cross-functional delivery plans, and converting executive priorities into measurable outcomes. The Advanced Program Manager will lead through influence across business, product, technology, data, operations, finance, legal/compliance, vendors, and external partners, while supporting and mentoring team members responsible for initiative intake and governance.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED required.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
10+ years of relevant program, portfolio, transformation, product delivery, or enterprise change experience, including leadership of complex cross-functional initiatives.
Strong experience managing Marketing, digital, customer, partner, product, or technology-enabled initiatives in a matrixed organization.
Demonstrated capability in program governance, intake, prioritization, requirements, risk/dependency management, executive reporting, and delivery readiness.
Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to tailor messages for executives, business stakeholders, and technical teams.
Proficiency with portfolio/project tools such as Azure DevOps, Jira, Monday.com, Smartsheet, Confluence, SharePoint, PowerPoint, Excel, Power BI, or similar.
Strong judgment, organization, attention to detail, and follow-through; comfortable navigating ambiguity and shifting priorities.
Experience with Agile, hybrid, and waterfall delivery approaches, including UAT/QAT, release readiness, change management, and post-launch support.
Proven success partnering with senior executives, navigating sensitive stakeholder dynamics, and presenting clear recommendations under uncertainty.
Experience establishing or materially improving portfolio governance, intake/prioritization, executive reporting, and capacity/dependency management practices.
Demonstrated ability to mentor other delivery professionals and act as a senior continuity point for a portfolio or PMO function.

Nice To Haves

Insurance, financial services, regulated-industry, or partner-channel experience is strongly desired.
Advanced degree, PMP, PgMP, Agile SAFe, or comparable certification is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Facilitate alignment across senior leaders and teams where ownership, decision rights, requirements, or prioritization are unclear.
Continuously improve portfolio execution practices, including intake workflows, prioritization frameworks, RACI/ownership models, status transparency, capacity planning, lessons learned, and governance standards.
Operate with minimal supervision and sound judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments, with the ability to influence outcomes without direct authority.
Lead a portfolio of high-priority Marketing programs and complex technology-enabled initiatives with enterprise, customer, partner, financial, or regulatory impact.
Serve as a trusted deputy to Portfolio Execution leadership by anticipating needs, framing tradeoffs, driving decisions, and ensuring agreed priorities translate into accountable execution.
Own the quality and operating discipline of the Portfolio Governance Tool, ensuring portfolio data is current, decision-useful, and supported by clear owners, milestones, PI dates, benefits, dependencies, risks, and executive actions.
Provide senior oversight and coaching for the Initiative Intake Process, including demand shaping, request refinement, strategic alignment, value assessment, prioritization, readiness, sequencing, and governance decisions.
Partner with senior business and technology leaders to reconcile competing priorities, capacity constraints, dependencies, and delivery commitments; present options and recommendations for resolution.
Create integrated portfolio roadmaps, governance models, executive dashboards, decision forums, and escalation paths that improve transparency and delivery confidence.
Drive weekly portfolio reviews and targeted follow-ups, holding owners accountable for updates, decisions, risk mitigation, and next steps without creating unnecessary process burden.
Lead complex requirements, planning, readiness, implementation, and change-management activities across Marketing, Product, Technology, Data/Analytics, Customer Operations, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and external partners.
Prepare and deliver concise executive communications, portfolio tradeoff assessments, steering materials, and recommendations for senior leadership.
Identify systemic gaps in ownership, operating models, capacity, governance, and ways of working; design and implement practical improvements.
Mentor program managers and intake/governance partners, establish quality standards, and provide backup leadership across the Portfolio Execution function.
Operate with broad latitude and independent judgment in sensitive, ambiguous, and fast-moving situations; influence outcomes at all levels without direct authority.
Considered an advanced practitioner with broad organizational influence and significant latitude for independent judgment.