Director, Technical Program Management

Get to know The Pokémon Company International

The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children's entertainment properties in the world.

Learn more online at Pokemon.com and on Facebook (facebook.com/pokemon), YouTube (youtube.com/pokemon), Twitter (twitter.com/pokemon), and Instagram (instagram.com/pokemon).

Get to know the role

• Job Title: Director, Technical Program Management
• Job Summary: This role is a key leader and customer advocate with responsibilities spanning across all aspects of program and project management related to digital product development at TPCi. They lead a team of technical program and project managers who will be the primary liaison between the business and Technology Org., as well as across Technology Org. departments for the products and services offered to internal customers and fans of the brand. The TPMO is aligned with a larger service organization that includes Software Quality, Development Operations, Customer Service, and Data Operations. This role will lead, build, and evolve the mission of consistency, transparency, and strategic business alignment. This is an opportunity to actively generate process improvements, provide structure, and establish procedures for a global brand.
• FLSA Classification (US Only): Exempt
• People Manager: Yes

The impact you will make

Within 3 months

• Developed rapport and the foundation for trust within the Technical Program Management Office (TPMO) department.
• Identified a path forward to establish relationships with key stakeholders and partners.
• Established the role the TPMO Director plays within the leadership team of the larger service organization.
• Created a gap analysis identifying core strengths of the team and where opportunities for improvement exist.

Within 6 months

• Based on the foundation of TPCi’s culture, created an environment within the TPMO that generates high engagement from team members and establishes a place where everyone can bring their best selves to their work.
• Mapped all stakeholders and partners to create clarity on how the TPMO should support programs across TPCi.
• Created alignment on the direction of the TPMO, its structure, and where TPCi wants to own competencies with full-time employees.
• Contributed to the overall success of the larger service team’s purpose and ability to deliver against TPCi’s vision and objectives.
• Established a plan for bringing best practices, tools, and processes to all partner teams that effectively supports their business needs.
• Revamped the intake and prioritization process to better align with business strategy.

Within 12 months

• Measurably improved predictability of product delivery.
• Created a meaningfully impactful process for cross-program project management that proactively identifies interdependencies and potential risks.
• Catalyzed change across the organization leading to continuous reflection and improvement of processes, tools, and practices.
• Shaped the impact and direction of the larger service team’s leadership approach.
• Established credibility of the TMPO and demonstrated the value that program and project management brings to partners.

What you’ll do

• Serve as the strategic leader across the Technical Program Management Office (TPMO) department.
• Actively contribute to the direction and leadership across the larger service team that the TPMO is part of.
• Improve the efficiency of the TPMO through effective leadership, identification of individual and group training, and overall people development including coaching, providing timely performance feedback and assessments, and establishing performance and development plans.
• Develop a strong succession plan by investing and supporting the leadership team within the TPMO.
• Deliver risk mitigation through proactive long-term strategic planning for the department.
• Evaluate current activities across the team for relevance/value with an eye towards streamlining activities, processes, and tools towards improving productivity.
• Provide insights and define the criteria for reporting through collecting, analyzing, and summarizing information and trends allowing the team to measure and report on product delivery across multiple project teams.
• Define and evangelize metrics and software development lifecycle improvements to support the TPMO’s work across the Technology Organization.
• Identify, develop, and sustain partnerships, both within the Technology Organization, as well as with other organizations at TPCi.
• Educate partners on best practices, delivery metrics, and influence implementation and design for quality across all TPCi digital products.
• Drive a culture of change, excellence and innovation which constructively challenges the status quo and leads to prudent experimentation.
• Champion and drive Hybrid Project Management which blends traditional project management practices and Agile methodologies.

What you’ll bring

• Twelve+ (12+) years of relevant professional experience, plus five (5) years of management experience or a demonstrated equivalent level of expertise.

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or a demonstrated equivalent level of applicable experience.

• Demonstrated leadership capabilities, both as a leader of teams and as a leader of projects - dynamic, strategic, and resourceful.

• Experience in technical project/program management roles with a solid foundation in project management practices as well as experience working with Agile teams.

• Demonstrated ability evaluating tools and processes being used and aligning them to a clear strategic plan that meets team and partner needs.

• Experience with project management for large scale, multi-million-dollar technology initiatives spanning cross-functional teams with complex deployments.

• Experience working in a technology organization that routinely deploys services multiple times weekly, with a development cycle that’s measured in weeks rather than months.

• Solid technical background, with an understanding of SDLC, web technologies, implementation, and roll-outs.

• Strong understanding of various Agile delivery methods (Kanban, Scrum, Lean).

• Experience creating dashboards, road maps, and other reporting for the executive level.

• Familiarity with navigating in JIRA and Confluence preferred.

How you’ll be successful

• Passion for Pokémon: Develops an understanding of the Pokémon brand, the impact it has on our people, culture, business, fans, and communities, and applying that knowledge and passion to everything you do.
• Challenging the Expected: Approaches challenges with curiosity and creativity, embracing the possibility of failure as an opportunity to learn something new, develop innovative ideas, solve complex problems and identify unique opportunities.
• Integrity and Respect: Demonstrates integrity and respect by leading with empathy, listening to others, seeking out different perspectives, and taking personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and results.
• Dedicated to Quality: Takes ownership to maintain and promote high standards, looks for new ways to learn and improve, and embraces a growth mindset to seek and apply feedback from others in an effort to continuously improve.
• Building Relationships: Develops and strengthens relationships, adopting a “team first” mentality and working collaboratively to solve problems and meet shared goals.
• Delighting Customers: Listens and understands the interests and needs of our customers and stakeholders, making them feel heard and important, and embracing these learnings to continue delivering a unique Pokémon experience.

What to expect

• An employee first culture
• Company events that celebrate the spirit of Pokémon
• Competitive cash-based compensation programs
• Base salary range: For this role, new hires generally start between $192,000.00 - $228,000.00. The full range is $192,000.00 - $288,000.00. This range is applicable for the labor market where the role is intended to be hired. Final base salary is directly related to each candidates' qualifications and professional experience uniquely.
• 100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for you
• Generous paid family leave
• Employer-paid life insurance
• Employer-paid long and short-term income protection insurance
• US Employees: 401k Employer Matching
• UK/IRE Employees: Pension Employer Contributions
• Fitness reimbursement
• Commuter benefit
• LinkedIn learning
• Comprehensive relocation package
• Hybrid work environment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this role. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed. For roles in the United Kingdom, candidates will need the right to work. In some cases, and for some roles, the Company may be able to arrange a visa. For roles in Ireland, this role requires candidates to have the right to live and work in the Republic of Ireland. However, we welcome applications from all nationalities and may consider supporting an employment permit application, in appropriate and suitable cases.

#LI-PS #LI-Hybrid