Lead Program Manager

Mastercard • O'fallon, MO

1d • $113,000 - $186,000

About The Position

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential. Title and Summary Lead Program Manager Position Overview The Lead Program Manager will drive strategic initiatives and ensure successful delivery of complex programs across multiple domains. This role requires strong leadership, governance, and communication skills to manage cross-functional teams, optimize processes, and deliver measurable outcomes aligned with organizational objectives.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• Experience: 8+ years in program management with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Proven expertise in governance frameworks, budget management, and risk mitigation.
• Strong proficiency in JIRA/ALM, project portfolio tools, and reporting systems.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

• PMP, PgMP, or similar certification.
• Experience in corporate security programs or regulated environments.
• Ability to manage multiple complex programs simultaneously.

Responsibilities

• Champion Program Delivery Excellence (PDE) and enforce work standardization across projects.
• Drive adoption of tools such as JIRA/ALM and maintain the Mastercard Catalog.
• Develop and maintain program scoring models, roadmaps, and strategic plans.
• Define and track objectives, OKRs, and KPIs to measure success.
• Oversee work intake, elaboration, prioritization, and planning for programs.
• Manage governance processes including VoIP, Business Continuity, and BOMM.
• Provide project oversight, ensuring alignment with technical imperatives and compliance with OKRs.
• Deliver accurate and timely reporting to stakeholders.
• Lead stakeholder management and ensure effective information flow across teams.
• Drive change management initiatives and facilitate lessons learned sessions.
• Represent programs in cabinet meetings and executive forums.
• Manage contracts, renewals, and strategic funds for programs as needed.
• Develop staffing plans and ensure readiness through shovel-ready plans.
• Conduct efficiency exercises and manage RFP/RFI processes for vendor engagement.
• Identify and mitigate program risks, ensuring timely issue resolution.
• Monitor performance metrics and enforce quality assurance standards.

Benefits

• Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more.
• Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level