Senior Program Manager IT

Climate Pros, LLC•Glendale Heights, IL

2d•$140,000 - $180,000

About The Position

Climate Pros LLC is seeking a highly organized and proactive Program Manager to lead the planning, prioritization, and execution of software development initiatives across our proprietary platforms. This is as much a process-building role as a delivery role: the successful candidate will establish a clear intake and prioritization process where one does not exist today and mature how our small team plans and delivers work. This role is instrumental in driving alignment between business goals and technical delivery, ensuring our teams build scalable, high-quality solutions that support Climate Pros’ mission and operational growth. The Program Manager will report directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and work closely with business stakeholders, product owners, 3rd party development partners, and a small in-house development team. This is currently a non-supervisory role (with the potential for growth, role expansion, or management of 3rd parties): the development team reports through the IT Development Manager and VP, Applications & Architecture. The Program Manager leads through influence and strong cross-functional partnership rather than direct authority. It is worth noting that the development teams recognize and understand the value of this role, so you will not need to convince people of the value of your role.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (preferred but not required) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field
8-10+ years of experience in program or project management within software development or technology environments.
Hands-on experience establishing Agile/Scrum practices, not just operating within an existing one, but introducing or improving how a team plans, prioritizes, and delivers. Doing this for small teams is a plus.
Technically literate enough to coordinate effectively across development work involving Angular, .NET Core, and SQL databases (direct experience with this exact stack is preferred, not required).
Solid understanding of SDLC agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), and project management principles.
Exceptional communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence rather than authority, driving alignment, accountability, and process adoption across teams and stakeholders who do not report to this role.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing people, setting direction, holding a team accountable, and improving performance.
Proven ability to build and run an intake and prioritization process from the ground up, including backlog management and helping stakeholders make trade-off decisions against limited capacity.
Comfort operating in a hands-on, build-it-yourself environment with limited existing process and a small team, rather than an established program-management function.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and drive results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Legal authorization to work in the U.S. indefinitely is required. Employer work permit sponsorship is not available for this position.

Nice To Haves

Experience introducing process or organizational change and getting a team to adopt it (change management).
Hands-on experience configuring and administering Jira or a comparable work-management tool.
Experience with applications deployed on Azure or similar cloud platforms.
Familiarity with enterprise integration patterns and API-driven systems.
Professional certifications such as PMP, Certified Scrum Master (CSM), or SAFe Practitioner.
Experience in field service, HVAC, or operations management industries a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage software development program workstreams and concurrent projects from conception through delivery, ensuring alignment with business and technology strategies.
Stand up and run a right-sized Agile delivery process for IT and our business, facilitating the ceremonies that add value (e.g. sprint or iteration planning, stand-ups, backlog refinement, reviews, and retrospectives) without imposing overhead the team cannot sustain.
Coordinate across front-end (Angular), back-end (.NET Core), and database (SQL) teams to ensure technical dependencies and milestones are well managed.
Own and operate the intake and prioritization process: establish a single, transparent front door for new requests, work with the business to score and sequence them against capacity, and maintain a clearly ranked, visible backlog so the team always works on the highest-value items.
Manage demand and stakeholder expectations across the business, negotiating scope and timelines, saying no or not yet when appropriate, and ensuring commitments reflect the realistic capacity of a small team.
Lead the rollout and adoption of delivery tooling, including a Jira (or equivalent) build-out, defining workflows, boards, and reporting that fit how the team actually works.
Track progress, generate clear reports, and communicate updates to leadership and stakeholders.
Drive continuous improvement by identifying process bottlenecks and implementing practical solutions.
Support long-term product and technology planning in partnership with the CIO, aligning project priorities with company goals.
Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, and agile collaboration within and across teams.