Manager, Program Management

Primary Talent Partners has a new contract opening for a Manager, Program Management with our global technology client in O Fallon, MO. This is a 12-month contract with a potential for extension.


Pay: $72.00 - $82.00/hr; W2 contract, no PTO, no Benefits. ACA-compliant supplemental package available for enrollment. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States and must be able to sit on Primary Talent Partners W2 without sponsorship.


Description:
We are seeking a Manager level Product Operations & Portfolio Governance leader to support the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) product portfolio. This role is responsible for establishing and running a disciplined, scalable governance and operating model that guides product initiatives from concept through commercialization.

You will partner closely with Product, Engineering, Finance, Risk/Compliance, Legal, and Go to Market teams to ensure initiatives are properly assessed for readiness, governed through defined lifecycle decision points, tracked at the portfolio level, and supported with clear operating standards. You will also act as a trusted operating partner to product teams, helping them navigate governance expectations efficiently and consistently.

This role is well suited for someone who excels at orchestration, structure, and enablement—bringing clarity to complex, cross functional product environments.


Key Responsibilities:
Product Lifecycle Governance & Readiness

• Establish and operate an industry standard, phase based governance model (e.g., stage gate / phase gate) to guide initiatives from idea through launch and scale.
• Define readiness criteria, required artifacts, and decision standards for major lifecycle milestones (e.g., concept validation, business case approval, build readiness, launch readiness).
• Partner with product teams to assess readiness across value, feasibility, risk, delivery, and operational preparedness before advancement decisions.
• Ensure governance enables speed and quality by clarifying expectations early and reducing late stage surprises.

Governance Cadence & Decision Management

• Plan, facilitate, and support governance forums such as product reviews, portfolio reviews, and leadership checkpoints.
• Prepare agendas, pre reads, decision summaries, and action tracking to ensure decisions are clear, documented, and followed through.
• Maintain decision logs and advancement tracking to ensure transparency and accountability across the portfolio.

Portfolio Operations & Metrics

• Track and monitor the SME product portfolio across lifecycle stages, milestones, risks, and dependencies.
• Develop and maintain portfolio level metrics and reporting (e.g., progress, cycle time, readiness health, value indicators).
• Surface insights, trends, and bottlenecks to support leadership decision making and prioritization discussions.

Intake, Prioritization & Operating Standards

• Support intake and prioritization workflows by ensuring initiatives are framed consistently and evaluated against defined criteria.
• Partner with product and engineering leaders to support capacity aware planning and sequencing.
• Establish templates, tools, and operating standards that make governance repeatable and lightweight.

Enablement & Partnership

• Educate and coach product teams on governance expectations, readiness standards, and portfolio processes.
• Act as the SME portfolio governance partner, helping teams navigate decision pathways efficiently.
• Continuously improve governance practices based on feedback, outcomes, and portfolio performance.

Desired Skills & Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in product operations, program management, portfolio management, or PMO type roles supporting cross functional product delivery.
• Demonstrated experience implementing or running structured governance models for product or initiative lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding of product development lifecycles, launch readiness, and cross functional dependency management.
• Experience tracking and reporting portfolio level metrics and translating data into leadership ready insights.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and bring structure to ambiguous environments.
• Bachelor's degree in business, operations, engineering, or a related field.

Preferred:

• Experience in regulated or enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with Lean, Agile, or hybrid delivery models.
• Certifications such as PMP, SAFe, Lean, or Six Sigma.

Primary Talent Partners is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

If you are a person with a disability needing assistance with the application or at any point in the hiring process, please contact us at info@primarytalentpartners.com


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