Principal Program Manager, Skills Based Workforce Transformation

Mastercard•O’Fallon, VA

About The Position

Overview The Career Ecosystem team is leading Mastercard’s enterprise transformation to a skills-based organization—reimagining job architecture, workforce planning, and talent practices to better align skills with business strategy. The Principal Program Manager, Skills Based Workforce Transformation plays a critical role in ensuring disciplined execution across this complex, multi-workstream transformation. Reporting to the Career Ecosystem Program Manager (Head of Global Skills-Based Workforce Transformation), this role acts as the central orchestrator across all program deliverables—driving alignment, visibility, and execution across HR, Technology, Product, Total Rewards, and regional stakeholders. This is a highly visible role requiring strong program management expertise, exceptional organization, and the ability to connect multiple workstreams into a cohesive, enterprise-wide delivery plan.

Requirements

Extensive experience leading or managing large-scale, enterprise transformation programs with multiple workstreams and senior stakeholders.
Deep expertise in program and project management, including integrated planning, dependency management, and governance.
Highly organized with the ability to manage complex, fast-moving programs with multiple priorities and stakeholders.
Proven ability to establish and scale project management standards, tools, and reporting frameworks.
Strong track record of proactively identifying risks, solving problems, and driving execution in complex environments.
Exceptional executive communication skills, with the ability to translate complexity into clear, concise narratives for senior leaders.
Experience operating within global, matrixed organizations, with strong influencing and stakeholder management skills.
Tech-savvy with experience leveraging project management tools, reporting dashboards, and collaboration platforms.
Collaborative, resilient, and proactive, with a mindset focused on continuous improvement and delivering enterprise impact.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting HR transformation, workforce strategy, or organizational change initiatives is a strong advantage.

Responsibilities

Partner closely with the Career Ecosystem Program Manager to drive execution across all program workstreams, ensuring alignment to transformation objectives.
Develop and manage integrated program plans, including timelines, milestones, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple interconnected initiatives.
Establish and embed standardized project management practices, tools, and reporting frameworks to drive consistency and transparency at scale.
Provide a consolidated, real-time view of program health, including progress against milestones, risks, and interdependencies.
Identify, assess, and proactively manage program risks and issues, ensuring timely escalation and resolution.
Lead executive reporting and governance forums, translating complex program activity into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership.
Coordinate across workstream leads, project managers, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure clarity of deliverables, ownership, and accountability.
Orchestrate multiple workstreams into a cohesive program narrative, ensuring alignment across job architecture, skills, and workforce transformation initiatives.
Drive stakeholder engagement across a global matrix organization, influencing alignment and decision-making without direct authority.
Identify and implement opportunities to enhance program execution, continuously improving processes, tools, and ways of working.