Sr. Technical Program Manager, Product Lifecycle Management

Get to know The Pokémon Company International

The Pokémon Company International, 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 corporate.pokemon.com and Pokemon.com. And check out Twitter (twitter.com/pokemon), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/Pokemon), YouTube (youtube.com/pokemon), and Instagram (instagram.com/pokemon).

Get to know the role

Job Title: Sr. Technical Program Manager

Job Summary: This role is responsible for driving all phases of the design, build, testing, and rollout of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution and related integrations for both Pokémon Center (PC) and Trading Card Game (TCG). The Sr. Technical Program Manager is the primary liaison between the business and technology organizations for the products and services offered to business customers. This role will help build and evolve the mission of scaling our product development processes with 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: No

What you’ll do 

• Lead the implementation of the enterprise Product Lifecycle Management tool on behalf of the Pokémon Center and Trading Card Game businesses.
• Identify, define and lead the creation of integrations between the PLM system and other business applications.
• Facilitate cross-team and cross-business program discussions, coordinating dependencies with other PLM Initiative Program Managers.
• Define the PLM tool implementation program via collection of business and systems requirements from internal business users and technology teams and drive program schedules from kickoff to go-live.
• Make appropriate tradeoffs and clearly communicate goals and desired outcomes to all stakeholders.
• Act as the product owner for the PLM tool and related integrations, post implementation.
• Partner with external tool vendors, business leads, and business applications.
• Balance agility and discipline, blending traditional project management practices and Agile methodologies.
• Build and manage a backlog for supported systems, prioritizing business requests and issues.
• Proactively identify technical, legal, procedural, logistical, and communication issues and drive creative solutions to address them and manage risk.
• Work with development teams on sprint planning and sprint reviews, agreeing on accepted story completion. This includes validating that the story meets acceptance criteria, that it has the appropriate, persistent acceptance tests, and that it otherwise complies with its Definition of Done (DoD).
• Coach others on Agile methodologies and project management best practices.
• Contribute to building processes, standardization, and best practices.

What you’ll bring 

• Eight (8) or more years of related professional experience.
• Bachelors degree preferred in quantitative discipline, engineering, sciences
• Experience in technical project/program management roles with a solid foundation in program management practices as well as experience working with agile teams.
• Experience with program management for large scale, multi-million-dollar technology initiatives spanning cross-functional teams with complex deployments.
• Solid technical background, with an understanding of SDLC, web technologies, implementation, and roll-outs.
• Strong understanding of various agile delivery methods (Kanban, Scrum, Lean).
• Detail oriented with strong analytical, organizational, and critical thinking skills.
• Experience creating dashboards, road maps, and other reporting for the executive level.
• Familiarity with navigating in JIRA, Confluence, and SharePoint.
• Experience with Product Lifecycle Management tools and consumer product development lifecycles preferred.
• Certifications (preferred): PMP, CSM, IAPM CAPM, GAQM CPD, CSPO or analogous
• Proficiency in Microsoft Project.

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 $151,000.00 - $179,550.00. The full range is $151,000.00 - $227,000.00. 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.

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