Director, Strategic Programs & Projects

cw; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

cw is seeking a Director, Strategic Programs & Projects to lead the strategic project and program management function across a portfolio of complex initiatives. You will provide leadership to Program Managers and Senior Project Managers, establish scalable governance, and translate executive priorities into measurable business outcomes.

You will act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, drive portfolio execution, and ensure visibility into progress, risks, and financial health.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
• 12-15 years of progressive project, program, portfolio management, or management consulting experience leading complex, enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Experience in Big Four or global management consulting, professional services firm, or complex matrixed enterprise preferred.
• Knowledge of commercial real estate, professional services, or service-based delivery organizations preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery health and oversight for a portfolio of strategic programs and projects, ensuring alignment with objectives and defined success criteria.
• Translate executive priorities into executable roadmaps, delivery strategies, governance models, and resource plans.
• Establish, maintain, and improve project and program management methodologies, governance frameworks, and reporting standards across the PMO.
• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop Program Managers and other delivery resources to foster a high-performance culture.
• Drive talent planning, workforce development, succession planning, performance management, and career progression strategies for the PMO.
• Provide strategic guidance to program leaders by helping navigate complexity, mitigate risks, and resolve stakeholder conflicts.
• Monitor and manage portfolio risks, dependencies, and resource constraints; elevate issues to executives as needed.
• Lead portfolio resource planning, staffing strategy, utilization management, and budget planning to align talent with priorities.
• Evaluate project demand and prioritize resource allocation to maximize delivery success.
• Own executive-level portfolio reporting with clear insights on status, risks, financials, and resource needs.
• Represent the PMO in executive forums, offering recommendations on portfolio prioritization and execution strategy.
• Lead resolution of complex cross-functional risks and escalations to protect outcomes and momentum.
• Act as rapid-response leader for urgent executive initiatives with governance and delivery frameworks.
• Champion enterprise-wide initiatives and new capability launches spanning multiple functions.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled tools and modern delivery practices to improve visibility and decision-making.

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Job description

Job Title

Director, Strategic Programs & Projects

Job Description Summary

The Director, Strategic Programs & Projects is responsible for leading the strategic project and program management function, ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery across a portfolio of complex, cross-functional initiatives. This role provides leadership, oversight, and development for Program Managers, Senior Project Managers, Project Managers, and associated delivery resources while establishing scalable governance, delivery standards, resource strategies, and operating models that translate executive priorities into measurable business outcomes.

Operating as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, the Director drives portfolio execution, enables organizational agility, and provides leadership with clear visibility into progress, risks, financial health, resource capacity, and strategic outcomes. This role is accountable for PMO maturity, delivery excellence, staffing strategy, talent development, portfolio governance, executive reporting, and strategic initiative execution. The Director serves as the escalation point for critical initiatives and acts as a rapid-response leader for urgent executive-sponsored efforts, creating structure, governance, and momentum until long-term ownership is established. This position balances strategic thinking with operational rigor to ensure the organization can effectively execute its highest-priority initiatives.

Job Description

Responsibilities:

• Own delivery health and oversight for a portfolio of strategic programs and projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives, executive priorities, customer commitments, and defined success criteria.


• Translate executive priorities into executable roadmaps, delivery strategies, governance models, and resource plans that drive measurable business outcomes.


• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve project and program management methodologies, governance frameworks, operating rhythms, templates, reporting standards, and best practices across the PMO.


• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop Program Managers, Senior Project Managers, Project Managers, and other delivery resources, establishing a high-performance culture focused on accountability, execution excellence, and continuous growth.


• Drive talent planning, workforce development, succession planning, performance management, and career progression strategies for the project management organization.


• Provide strategic guidance and support to program and project leaders by helping navigate complexity, mitigate risks, resolve stakeholder conflicts, and overcome delivery challenges.


• Monitor and proactively manage portfolio-level risks, dependencies, resource constraints, and cross-functional impacts; develop mitigation plans and elevate issues requiring executive attention.


• Lead portfolio resource planning, staffing strategy, utilization management, capacity forecasting, and budget planning to align talent with strategic business priorities.


• Evaluate project demand and prioritize resource allocation decisions to maximize organizational effectiveness and delivery success.


• Own executive-level portfolio reporting by synthesizing complex program information into clear, decision-ready insights regarding status, risks, financials, resource needs, critical path activities, and strategic outcomes.


• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive sponsors and senior leadership by framing options, trade-offs, risks, recommendations, and investment decisions.


• Lead resolution of the most complex cross-functional risks, issues, conflicts, and escalations to protect business outcomes and maintain delivery momentum.


• Act as a rapid-response leader for urgent executive initiatives by establishing governance, defining delivery frameworks, facilitating stakeholder alignment, and accelerating execution until dedicated resources are assigned.


• Champion enterprise-wide initiatives, business transformations, M&A integration efforts, organizational change programs, and new capability launches spanning multiple business functions.


• Drive adoption of AI-enabled tools, delivery automation, portfolio analytics, and modern delivery practices that improve visibility, efficiency, quality, and decision-making.


• Represent the PMO and strategic delivery organization in executive forums and planning discussions, providing recommendations on portfolio prioritization, resource investments, organizational readiness, and execution strategy.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree is required, MBA is preferred.


• 12-15 years of progressive project, program, portfolio management, or management consulting experience leading complex, enterprise-wide, cross-functional initiatives.


• Experience working within a Big Four consulting firm, global management consulting organization, professional services firm, or complex matrixed enterprise strongly preferred.


• Knowledge of commercial real estate, professional services, or service-based delivery organizations prefe