Director, IT PMO (Remote)

Cole Haan•Greenland, NH

4d•$180,000 - $210,000•Remote

About The Position

Reporting into the VP of Information Technology, the Director, IT Program Management Office is responsible for establishing and leading a centralized PMO function within Cole Haan’s IT organization. The role ensures consistent, disciplined delivery of the enterprise IT project portfolio while serving as the primary interface between IT and business stakeholders on project status, risk, and change impact. The Director owns the full delivery lifecycle—from methodology and governance through business communication and executive reporting. The role manages cross-project dependencies, drives proactive risk assessment, coordinates change management readiness with the business, and owns all executive-level project status communication. This enables IT domain leaders to remain focused on technical delivery and solution quality. The role leads dedicated project coordination resources and provides dotted-line methodology oversight to project managers embedded within IT domain teams. The Director is expected to build a PMO culture where project managers are active delivery partners—anticipating risk, driving real-time adjustments, and contributing to solution outcomes—not passive status collectors.

Requirements

10+ years information technology experience
Define, implement, and continuously improve standard IT project management methodology including project charters, stage gates, acceptance criteria, and formal project closure
Establish and manage the IT project intake process, ensuring initiatives are properly scoped, resourced, and aligned to portfolio priorities
Maintain delivery discipline across all active IT initiatives, providing visibility into timeline, scope, and budget performance
Manage cross-project dependencies, resource conflicts, and sequencing across the IT portfolio
Serve as the primary point of coordination between IT project teams and business stakeholders, ensuring alignment on scope, timing, and impact throughout the project lifecycle
Own all executive-level project status communication, including IT Steering Committee reporting, leadership updates, and stakeholder briefings
Drive ongoing risk assessment across active programs, surfacing issues early and partnering with IT and business leaders on mitigation strategies
Coordinate change management readiness with business stakeholders—ensuring awareness of upcoming changes, impact to processes and people, and organizational preparedness for adoption
Hold external vendors and implementation partners accountable to SOW milestones, acceptance criteria, and delivery timelines
Lead milestone reviews and vendor performance assessments in partnership with domain leaders and IT Business Operations
Support contract negotiations by providing delivery-informed input on scope, timeline feasibility, and performance incentive structures
Define and own IT project management policies, standards, and templates
Establish and maintain standard reporting cadence and tools across the portfolio
Drive adoption of consistent delivery practices across domain teams
Provide direct leadership to dedicated project coordinator(s) within the PMO
Provide dotted-line oversight, coaching, and methodology support to project managers embedded within domain teams
Set the standard for active, delivery-oriented project management—ensuring PMs are embedded in the work, planning ahead for risk, driving real-time course corrections with delivery teams, and contributing to outcomes rather than passively collecting status
Lead post-implementation reviews to capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement
Free IT domain leaders and technical teams to focus on solution delivery and quality by absorbing coordination, communication, and status reporting responsibilities

Nice To Haves

retail business experience is a plus

Responsibilities

Define, implement, and continuously improve standard IT project management methodology including project charters, stage gates, acceptance criteria, and formal project closure
Establish and manage the IT project intake process, ensuring initiatives are properly scoped, resourced, and aligned to portfolio priorities
Maintain delivery discipline across all active IT initiatives, providing visibility into timeline, scope, and budget performance
Manage cross-project dependencies, resource conflicts, and sequencing across the IT portfolio
Serve as the primary point of coordination between IT project teams and business stakeholders, ensuring alignment on scope, timing, and impact throughout the project lifecycle
Own all executive-level project status communication, including IT Steering Committee reporting, leadership updates, and stakeholder briefings
Drive ongoing risk assessment across active programs, surfacing issues early and partnering with IT and business leaders on mitigation strategies
Coordinate change management readiness with business stakeholders—ensuring awareness of upcoming changes, impact to processes and people, and organizational preparedness for adoption
Hold external vendors and implementation partners accountable to SOW milestones, acceptance criteria, and delivery timelines
Lead milestone reviews and vendor performance assessments in partnership with domain leaders and IT Business Operations
Support contract negotiations by providing delivery-informed input on scope, timeline feasibility, and performance incentive structures
Define and own IT project management policies, standards, and templates
Establish and maintain standard reporting cadence and tools across the portfolio
Drive adoption of consistent delivery practices across domain teams
Provide direct leadership to dedicated project coordinator(s) within the PMO
Provide dotted-line oversight, coaching, and methodology support to project managers embedded within domain teams
Set the standard for active, delivery-oriented project management—ensuring PMs are embedded in the work, planning ahead for risk, driving real-time course corrections with delivery teams, and contributing to outcomes rather than passively collecting status
Lead post-implementation reviews to capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvement
Free IT domain leaders and technical teams to focus on solution delivery and quality by absorbing coordination, communication, and status reporting responsibilities