Director, Product Operations and Portfolio Management

ampliFI Loyalty Solutions•Naperville, IL

17h•$120,000 - $150,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Product Operations and Portfolio Management is a highly execution-focused, hands-on leader responsible for driving day-to-day portfolio coordination, product operational readiness, and cross-functional project execution. This role emphasizes action and accountability—organizing, structuring, documenting, tracking, and driving work forward with discipline and precision. The position partners closely with Product Strategy, Client Delivery, Finance, Marketing, Risk, Data & Analytics, and Technology teams to support project plans, reporting needs, and execution frameworks. The Director ensures portfolio decisions are data-informed, performance-driven, and aligned with business outcomes. In addition, the role supports day-to-day business production oversight, vendor SLA tracking, and issue coordination, collaborating with Technology (which owns technical resolution) to ensure business impact, urgency, and communication are clearly understood. This is a business-led, product-centric, highly organized, and execution-driven role, aligned in level and rigor with a Director of Product Management. The position also contributes to translating strategy into structured requirements, use cases, and operational plans, and is expected to evolve into a people-management role as the Product Operations & Portfolio Management function scales.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Finance, Technology Management, or related field required
10+ years of progressive experience in product operations, project / program management, business operations, or product management support roles
Demonstrated strength as a hands-on project manager with exceptional organization, structure, and attention to detail
Proven ability to write clear, detailed requirements, user stories, epics, and business use cases
Strong experience building, managing, and tracking detailed project plans, risks, dependencies, timelines, and milestones
Hands-on experience using JIRA (or similar tools) to manage backlogs, user stories, epics, sprints, and workflows
Deep familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, hybrid) and experience operating within Agile delivery environments from a business execution perspective
Experience working in complex, cross-functional, matrixed organizations
Experience partnering with Data & Analytics teams on reporting, KPIs, dashboards, and performance insight
Experience working with vendors, contracts, and SLA / service-level performance
Strong documentation, analytical, and communication skills

Nice To Haves

Experience in payments, loyalty, fintech, financial services, or SaaS environments
Background in regulated environments
Experience supporting system migrations, platform transformations, or new product launches
Familiarity with reporting and visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI)
Strong data literacy and comfort working with dashboards and analytics outputs
Highly detail-oriented, structured, and process-driven
Project execution & delivery discipline
Requirements and use-case development
Agile project execution & JIRA-based workflow management
Data-informed decision making
Organization, structure & attention to detail
Cross-functional coordination
Operational and portfolio management
Accountability & follow-through

Responsibilities

Portfolio Execution & Product Operations Drive day-to-day execution of portfolio management activities across products, platforms, and client programs
Own and maintain detailed portfolio documentation, including intake items, priorities, dependencies, timelines, risks, decisions, and performance indicators
Ability to translate product and business needs into clear, detailed requirements, epics, features, user stories, and use cases
Ensure consistency, structure, and traceability in how requests, initiatives, requirements, and metrics are documented and tracked
Maintain the accuracy of the portfolio backlog as the single source of truth, including data and performance fields
Support prioritization reviews with documentation, data, and actionable recommendations
Project Management & Delivery Discipline Serve as a hands-on business project manager for key initiatives, enforcing timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks, and accountability
Build and maintain detailed project plans, workback schedules, risk and issue logs, stakeholder maps, and communication plans
Drive action item completion and remove blockers across cross-functional teams
Ensure governance, documentation, and process discipline is consistently applied throughout the project lifecycle
Requirements & Use Case Development Lead development of business requirements, functional requirements, workflows, acceptance criteria, and success metrics
Translate ambiguous or unstructured input into structured, measurable, and actionable documentation
Validate requirements with Product, Client, Finance, Risk, Data & Analytics, Marketing, and Technology partners
Support UAT planning, test case documentation, and business acceptance validation
Data & Analytics Partnership Partner with the Data & Analytics team to support portfolio reporting, KPI development, dashboard definitions, and insight generation
Translate business and product questions into clear analytical and reporting requirements
Ensure metric definitions, data sources, and calculations are aligned with Finance, Product, and Analytics standards
Use data to support prioritization, ROI analysis, risk identification, and roadmap recommendations
Support interpretation of trends, variances, and key drivers to inform decisions
Help ensure analytics outputs support executive, product, and client-facing needs
Vendor & Partner Coordination Track vendor performance, deliverables, and SLA commitments using defined KPIs and reporting
Support preparation for Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and ongoing partner performance discussions
Track action items, risks, and remediation plans tied to partner performance
Financial & Performance Support Assist in building and maintaining business cases, ROI models, and cost/benefit analysis
Track portfolio-level revenue, cost, and margin performance
Support financial and performance reviews with the VP, Finance, and Data & Analytics teams
Ensure reporting cadence and accuracy align with leadership and business requirements
Operational & Issue Coordination Serve as a business-side coordination point for production and portfolio-related issues
Partner with Technology to ensure business impact, urgency, and priority are clearly communicated
Track progress of RCA and remediation actions owned by Technology
Ensure incident documentation, reporting, and follow-up actions are completed
Communication & Stakeholder Support Prepare concise, data-driven status reports, summaries, dashboards, and executive-ready materials
Support communication for launches, incidents, and major portfolio changes
Maintain strong cross-functional relationships and consistent information flow
People & Team Contribution Support onboarding, mentoring, and development of junior team members and analysts
Contribute to the design and improvement of portfolio management, reporting, and intake processes
Demonstrate discipline, accountability, and operational excellence in day-to-day execution
Positioned for future people leadership as the function scales, with the opportunity to take on direct management responsibilities over time based on performance, business need, and organizational growth

Benefits

Competitive pay plus 401(k) with employer match
Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
Voluntary café plans, including voluntary life, accident, hospital, critical care, and parking/transit options
Tuition Reimbursement
Paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave
Employee Assistance Program
Hybrid work environment with flexible hours
Onsite perks including gym access and snacks
Employee recognition programs celebrating milestones and achievements
Growth opportunities within a supportive, team-oriented environment