Lead, IT Program Manager - Finance Systems

Office Depot / ODP; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Office Depot / ODP is seeking a Lead IT Program Manager to drive enterprise IT initiatives, aligning IT delivery with business goals and the customer journey. The role requires coordinating across Supply Chain, HR, Finance, B2B, and Omnichannel, and advancing programs with minimal supervision.

The ideal candidate will have 6+ years in program management, PMP or equivalent cert, and strong leadership and communication skills across all leadership levels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, IT, Business or related field.
• 6+ years in program or project management roles.
• Experience managing medium to large IT application development or infrastructure programs.

Responsibilities

• Drive medium to large IT programs with schedules, RAID, and communications.
• Create program structures and cadences for collaboration and reporting across IT workstreams.
• Communicate goals, timelines, benefits, and scope to all levels including senior leadership.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Agile delivery

Leadership

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in PM/IT related

6 years of program/project management experience

Tools

MS Office 365

Smartsheet

SharePoint

Jira

Confluence

Power BI

Job description

The Lead IT Program Manager will serve as lead program manager for enterprise-wide IT initiatives, driving critical programs that turn strategic goals into reality. This role owns the connection between IT delivery, business objectives, and the customer journey, requiring cross-functional coordination across departments and teams including Supply Chain, HR, Finance, B2B, and Omnichannel/Direct. The incumbent must be able to identify priorities, resolve blockers, and move programs forward on their own initiative without needing regular direction. Strong leadership, proven program management skills, and the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization are required.

Primary Responsibilities

• Program Management: Drive medium to large IT programs, developing and maintaining project schedules, timelines, documentation, RAID tracking, and communication.
• Establish an effective program structure and cadence that fosters collaboration, communication, and simplified reporting across multiple IT workstreams.
• Communicate program goals, objectives, timelines, benefits, and scope clearly across all levels of the organization, including senior leadership.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Partner cross-functionally with product managers, IT teams, and business stakeholders across departments - including Supply Chain, HR, Finance, B2B, and Omnichannel - on requirements, interdependencies, program views, and risk assessments.
• Facilitate collaboration between Directors/Product Managers, IT teams, and the business, serving as the connective point across departments and functions.
• Track intra/inter-program dependencies, working with all teams to mitigate risks and issues.
• Program Leadership: Operate independently with a solution-oriented approach - independently identifying blockers, driving resolution, and moving programs forward without needing regular direction.
• Partner with PMO and business leadership to identify opportunities, prioritize work, and build and refine frameworks for program delivery.
• Agile Delivery: Operate within an agile application development environment to ensure the work gets done on-schedule and within-budget.
• Evaluate complex situations accurately, gather relevant data, and identify viable solutions that drive successful program outcomes.
• Program Governance & Stakeholder Management: Builds strong working relationships across the organization; relates well to people at all levels.
• Coordinates tasks across multiple projects and business teams in various locations and time zones.
• Strong understanding of global cultures and ability to adapt communication style accordingly.
• Ability to understand interdependencies across enterprise IT programs and how one initiative impacts another.

Education and Experience

• Level of Formal Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Area of Study: Project Management; Business Management; IT; or a related field
• Minimum Years of Experience: 6
• Type of Experience: 6 years of program/project management experience, with at least 3 years of experience managing medium to large IT application development or infrastructure programs, preferably for a major corporation or large enterprise.
• Experience applying standard program/project management disciplines, including scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, stakeholder, communications, and vendor management/procurement.
• Experience leading IT initiatives using Agile, waterfall, and hybrid methodologies.
• Proven experience partnering cross-functionally with product managers, IT teams, and business stakeholders across multiple departments and time zones.
• Demonstrated ability to operate proactively and independently - identifying priorities and driving programs forward with minimal oversight.
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making, and issue-resolution skills.
• People management skills, with the ability to motivate teams and drive delivery against deadlines.

Special Certifications

• PMP (Project Management Professional) or an equivalent program/project management certification (e.g., PgMP, PRINCE2) required. CSM a plus.

Technical Competencies & Information Systems

• Proficient in the Microsoft O365 suite of tools
• Smartsheet Project Management Software
• SharePoint
• Jira, Confluence, and Power BI
• Experience with software applications and tools related to project management, process automation, and system integrations.

Skills & Abilities

• Team-oriented mindset focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience.
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities across all leadership levels, including executive audiences.
• Builds strong working relationships across the organization; relates well to people at all levels.
• Proactive, go-getter mindset with the ability to identify priorities, resolve blockers, and move initiatives forward independently, without needing regular direction.
• Strong cross-functional coordination skills, working effectively across departments, teams, and time zones.
• Organized, p