Director, Portfolio Strategy & Enablement

KFC Corporation; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 222,600 - 261,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Onsite childcare

Onsite dining center

Onsite gym and fitness classes

Tuition reimbursement

Parental leave

401(k) with matching

Comprehensive medical & dental

Job summary

Taco Bell is seeking a senior leader for Portfolio Strategy & Enablement to shape how Digital & Technology operates as a cohesive, value-producing system across Consumer, Team Member, Product & Platform, Engineering, and Restaurant Technology Operations.

Reporting to the Global Chief Digital & Technology Officer, this role builds the operating model, governance, and decision frameworks to ensure strategy translates into coordinated execution with transparent trade-offs and sustainable delivery.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of enterprise PSE leadership, strategy & operations, or large-scale technology program leadership
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of experience; MBA or advanced degree a plus
• Proven track record designing and scaling enterprise governance and delivery integration models
• Ability to influence prioritization with execution realities across product and engineering
• Experience building or scaling Agile governance frameworks at enterprise level
• Strong financial acumen including investment planning and ROI modeling
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams in dynamic environments

Responsibilities

• Design and institutionalize Taco Bell D&T’s enterprise prioritization and roadmap integration framework
• Provide scenario modeling, sequencing visibility, and capacity transparency for executive trade-offs
• Architect cross-functional orchestration mechanisms including governance and risk forums
• Establish enterprise reporting standards and delivery health observability across squads
• Partner with Finance to ensure value visibility and ROI alignment
• Codify decision rights across Consumer, Team Member, Platform, and Infrastructure domains
• Lead and develop a high-performing PSE team focused on enterprise integration
• Serve as trusted thought partner to the Global CD&TO and senior leadership on operating model design

Skills

Portfolio Strategy

Leadership

Enterprise governance

Strategic alignment

Financial acumen

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

MBA or advanced degree a plus

Job description

Who is Taco Bell?

Taco Bell was born and raised in California and has been around since 1962. We went from selling everyone’s favorite Crunchy Tacos on the West Coast to a global brand with 7,500+ restaurants, 350 franchise organizations, that serve 42+ million fans each week around the globe. We’re not only the largest Mexican-inspired quick service brand (QSR) in the world, we’re also part of the biggest restaurant group in the world: Yum! Brands.

Much of our fan love and authentic connection with our communities are rooted in being rebels with a cause. From ensuring we use high quality, sustainable ingredients to elevating restaurant technology in ways that haven’t been done before... we will continue to be inclusive, bold, challenge the status quo and push industryboundaries.

We’re a company that celebrates and advocates for different, has bold self-expression, strives for a better future, and brings the fun while we’re at it. We fuel our culture with real people who bring unique experiences. We inspire and enable our teams and the world to Live Más.

At Taco Bell, we’re Cultural Rebels. Want to join in on the passion-fueled fun? Learn more about the career below

About the Job:

This is a high-impact enterprise leadership role responsible for shaping how Taco Bell Digital & Technology (D&T) operates as a cohesive, value-producing system across Consumer, Team Member, Product & Platform, Engineering, and Restaurant Technology Operations

Reporting to the Global Chief Digital & Technology Officer, this role leads the Portfolio Strategy & Enablement (PSE) function—serving as the enterprise alignment engine for D&T.

The Director, Portfolio Strategy & Enablement will architect and institutionalize the operating model, governance, and decision frameworks that ensure:

• Strategy translates into coordinated execution
• Trade-offs are transparent and made early
• Capacity and change are managed sustainably
• Value is clearly defined and realized

This role operates across Taco Bell, Yum! Digital & Technology, Finance, and Operations with significant executive visibility and influence.

The Day-to-Day:

• Design and institutionalize Taco Bell D&T’s enterprise prioritization and roadmap integration framework

• Provide scenario modeling, sequencing visibility, and capacity transparency to inform executive trade-offs across consumer value, team member capacity, and delivery constraints

• Architect cross-functional orchestration mechanisms, including dependency governance, risk escalation, and control tower forums

• Establish enterprise reporting standards, delivery health transparency, and observability expectations across squads and platforms

• Partner with Finance to ensure value visibility and outcome transparency (Finance retains ownership of economic validation and ROI modeling)

• Codify decision-rights clarity across Consumer, Team Member, Platform, and Infrastructure domains

• Lead and develop a high-performing Portfolio Strategy & Enablement (PSE) team focused on enterprise integration and transparency

• Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Global Chief Digital & Technology Officer and Senior Digital & Technology Leadership Team on operating model design and continuous improvement

Is This You?

• 12+ years of experience in enterprise Portfolio Strategy & Enablement (PSE) leadership, strategy & operations, or large-scale technology program leadership

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of experience; MBA or advanced degree a plus

• Proven track record of designing and scaling enterprise governance, delivery integration models, and capacity transparency systems in complex, matrixed environments

• Demonstrated ability to influence and align strategic prioritization with operational execution realities across product and engineering organizations

• Experience building or scaling Agile governance frameworks or Centers of Excellence at enterprise level

• Influences and shapes enterprise governance architecture and organizational design & integration

• Strong financial acumen, including investment planning, capacity modeling, and business case evaluation

• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams in dynamic, fast-paced environments

Work-Hard, Play-Hard

• Hybrid work schedule and year-round flex day Friday

• Onsite childcare through Bright Horizons

• Onsite dining center and game room (yes, there is a Taco Bell inside the building)

• Onsite dry cleaning, laundry services, carwash,

• Onsite gym with fitness classes and personal trainer sessions

• Up to 4 weeks of vacation per year plus holidays and time off for volunteering

• Tuition reimbursement and education benefits

• Generous parental leave for all new parents and adoption assistance program

• 401(k) with a 6% matching contribution fromYum! Brands with immediate vesting

• Comprehensive medical & dental including prescription drug benefits and 100% preventive

  care

• Discounts, free food, swag and... honestly, too many good benefits to name

Salary Range: $222,600 to $261,000 annually + bonus eligibility + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we'll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

At Taco Bell, we Live Más and invite you to do the same. Take a seat at our table. Bring your voice. Bring you, just as you are, a Cultural Rebel. We want you to be your best self!

Taco Bell is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging for all dimensions of diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other protected characteristic.

Taco Bell is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities or special needs.

US Job Seekers/Employees - To view the "Know Your Rights" poster, click here. You may also access Taco Bell’s Pay Transparency Policy Statement.

Employment eligibility to work with Taco Bell in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for this position.

California Residents: For more information about the categories of personal information we collect from you and how we use, sell, and share that information, please see ourPrivacy Notice for California Employees here.