Senior Research Operations Program Manager

Okta•Toronto, ON

2d•CA$118,000 - CA$162,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Research Operations Program Manager at Okta, you will play a crucial role in building and enabling an impactful research practice. Via close collaboration across research, design, product and engineering teams, you will programmatically manage cross-functional teams’ research needs. You will proactively build and manage the operations for a research beta program, collaborating with other cross functional functions to plan the necessary infrastructure for this programming to be successful, following compliance and governance best practices.

Requirements

5+ years of experience working in research or operational programming roles
A holistic and collaborative approach to solving problems
Proactive approach to making research a team sport
A strong sense of ownership, transparency, flexibility, and ability to self-initiate projects
Experience building or managing beta and/or early release evaluation programs
Experience managing research panels and/or participant communities
Knowledge of best practices for leveraging AI tooling, such as Claude and Gemini, to improve efficiency and streamline processes
Knowledge of the practices and impacts of inclusive research and design approaches
Creativity in supporting challenging research recruitments
Strong organizational and multitasking skills to manage multiple research programs simultaneously
Strategic thinking and the ability to align research operations initiatives with organizational goals
Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, with experience engaging with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Knowledge of UX research approaches and methodologies (including direct research experience to ensure quality of research)
Project management and/or operational expertise to ensure programs are sustainable, scalable and delivered within constraints
Comfortable with ambiguity and possess a desire to overcome obstacles
A curious mind, a quick learner with a bias for action, and an attention to detail
An ability to train/coach others to ensure the program runs successfully and the people who you’re guiding to execute research themselves are fully supported

Responsibilities

Lead research operations and panel management for beta programming
Work collaboratively across multiple teams to empower Okta staff to carry out impactful research
Help manage the general pipeline of inbound research requests from various teams across the organization, including prioritizing new and ongoing projects
Develop and maintain research documentation, templates and other informational resources for research methods, procedures and techniques
Develop internal activities that help cultivate Okta’s broader user research culture and community
Help teams access relevant knowledge through reviews of past research
Support cross-functional team members to analyze, share, and store their findings and insights
Grow your colleagues’ research skills and competencies through training workshops, presentations and documentation
Conduct primary research with both Okta staff and potentially customers to inform the improvement of user research operations
Ensure that user research programs and processes meet accessibility standards and promote inclusion among both Okta staff and customers
Ensure compliance with ethical research standards as well as privacy policies and regulations
Contribute to the continuing improvement of our research systems, such as our participant panel and research repository
Manage and maintain a database of existing and prospective research participants, proactively building out our panel of participants as needed
Provide leadership in program management methodologies and best practices, ensuring consistent and successful delivery of projects
Identify and manage potential risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve project challenges proactively