Director, IT PMO

Panera Bread

United States

On-site

USD 155,000 - 187,000

Full time

10 days ago

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Job summary

Panera Bread is seeking a Director of IT PMO to lead a centralized portfolio office, ensuring investments align with business strategy and available resources. You will drive governance, prioritization, and reporting, balancing strategic aims with operational needs across the IT organization.

The role requires building a high-performing PMO, guiding project intake and portfolio decisions, and delivering visibility into performance and financial outcomes for executive leadership.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in IT, Business, Finance, Engineering, or related field.
10+ years of progressive IT project, program, or portfolio management experience.
5+ years of leadership experience managing PMO, portfolio management, or enterprise governance functions.
Experience leading enterprise-scale project portfolios.
Experience with PPM tools, resource planning, and financial management processes.
Strong knowledge of governance frameworks, project methodologies, and portfolio management practices.
Experience presenting to executive leadership and facilitating strategic decision-making.

Responsibilities

Own and manage the enterprise IT project portfolio and ensure alignment with objectives.
Drive portfolio prioritization and investment decisions with IT and business leadership.
Establish portfolio governance and reporting, monitor health, risks, funding.
Lead portfolio planning, demand management, resource allocation, governance, and reporting.
Build and lead PMO, develop standards and templates, promote best practices.
Partner with business leaders and IT executives to balance priorities and resources.

Skills

Portfolio management

Governance frameworks

Project management methodologies

PPM tools

Resource planning

Financial management

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/Business/Finance/Engineering

Master's degree (MBA or related)

Job description

Position Summary

The Director, IT PMO is responsible for leading a centralized Information Technology Project Management Office that governs the enterprise IT portfolio and ensures technology investments are aligned with business strategy, organizational priorities, and available resources. This leader serves as the bridge between business demand, IT capacity, financial investment, and project delivery.

The Director establishes and maintains portfolio governance processes, drives strategic prioritization, facilitates executive decision‐making, and provides visibility into project performance, resource utilization, and investment outcomes. The role ensures that IT teams are focused on the highest‑value initiatives while balancing operational commitments, capacity constraints, and financial objectives.

This position leads portfolio planning, demand management, resource allocation, project governance, and reporting functions while enabling successful delivery across the IT organization.

Location: Newton, MA moving to Weston, MA in July 2027

Key Responsibilities

IT Portfolio Management

Own and manage the enterprise IT project portfolio, ensuring alignment with corporate and IT strategic objectives.
Facilitate portfolio prioritization and investment decisions in partnership with IT and business leadership.
Establish portfolio management practices that balance strategic initiatives, mandatory projects, operational commitments, and available resources.
Maintain visibility into portfolio health, risks, dependencies, funding status, and value realization.
Drive quarterly and annual portfolio planning processes.

Strategic Alignment & Governance

Establish governance frameworks that ensure projects align with approved business priorities, technology strategy, architecture standards, and funding decisions.
Lead project intake, evaluation, and approval processes.
Facilitate governance committees and executive steering reviews.
Develop decision‑making frameworks that support prioritization, funding, and trade‑off discussions.
Ensure adherence to project management methodologies, stage‑gate controls, and governance standards.

Capacity Planning & Resource Management

Lead enterprise IT resource planning and capacity management processes.
Partner with IT Directors and functional leaders to evaluate resource demand, skills gaps, and allocation needs.
Recommend prioritization decisions based on resource availability, business value, risk, and strategic alignment.
Drive workforce planning initiatives that support both short‑term delivery and long‑term strategic objectives.
Monitor resource utilization and portfolio capacity metrics.

Portfolio Performance & Reporting

Develop executive dashboards and reporting that provide actionable insights into portfolio performance.
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for portfolio health, project delivery, investment effectiveness, and resource utilization.
Provide regular portfolio updates to executive leadership, steering committees, and governance forums.
Monitor project financials, budget performance, and forecast accuracy.
Identify portfolio risks and drive mitigation strategies across projects.

PMO Leadership & Process Excellence

Build and lead a high‑performing PMO organization consisting of project managers, portfolio analysts, and PMO support resources.
Define standards, templates, methodologies, and tools that drive consistency across IT initiatives.
Promote best practices in project, program, and portfolio management.
Drive continuous improvement of PMO processes, governance frameworks, and reporting capabilities.
Champion adoption of project portfolio management tools and data‑driven decision‑making.

Stakeholder Management

Partner closely with business leaders, IT executives, finance, architecture, security, and delivery teams.
Facilitate discussions that balance competing priorities and resource demands.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership regarding portfolio investment decisions and execution risks.
Build strong relationships across the enterprise to improve collaboration and transparency.

Leadership Expectations

Lead through influence and collaboration across multiple IT and business functions.
Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and disciplined execution.
Promote data‑driven decision‑making and objective prioritization.
Drive organizational alignment around strategic objectives and portfolio commitments.
Develop PMO talent and build portfolio management capability across the organization.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, or related field.
10+ years of progressive experience in IT project, program, or portfolio management.
5+ years of leadership experience managing PMO, portfolio management, or enterprise governance functions.
Demonstrated experience leading enterprise‑scale project portfolios.
Experience with project portfolio management (PPM) tools, resource planning, and financial management processes.
Strong knowledge of governance frameworks, project methodologies, and portfolio management practices.
Experience presenting to executive leadership and facilitating strategic decision‑making.

Preferred Qualifications

Master's degree (MBA or related discipline).
PMP, PgMP, PfMP, PMI‑ACP, SAFe SPC, SAFe LPM, or equivalent certification.
Experience implementing Lean Portfolio Management or Agile Portfolio Management practices.
Experience leading PMO transformation initiatives.
Strong financial planning and investment governance experience.

Success Measures