Manager, Strategic Programs

MissionSquare; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 110,060 - 170,590; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Total Rewards package

Flexible and hybrid work schedules

Tuition reimbursement

Professional development opportunities

Comprehensive wellness programs

Volunteerism initiatives

Job summary

A financial services corporation is seeking a Manager, Strategic Programs, to oversee complex initiatives driving growth. This role involves coaching teams, monitoring performance KPIs, and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives. Candidates should have a bachelor's degree and significant program management experience. A collaborative approach across various departments is essential. The position offers a competitive rewards package, hybrid work flexibility, and opportunities for professional development.

Qualifications

• 7 to 10+ years of experience in program/project management or corporate strategy.
• Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional portfolios.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a portfolio of growth-oriented initiatives.
• Coach initiative owners on defining metrics and governance.
• Monitor initiative health across timelines and risks.

Skills

Program management

Project management

Strategic planning

KPI tracking

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or economics

MBA or equivalent

Tools

ServiceNow

MS Project

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

About MissionSquare

MissionSquare is a financial services corporation managing approximately $79 billion in assets and overseeing more than 600 employees. Founded in 1972, we focus on retirement and retiree health savings plans for public sector employees, serving over 9,200 plans and nearly 2 million participant accounts. We strive to make administration of retirement programs as easy and cost‑effective as possible.

Salary

$110,060.00 - $170,590.00

Manager, Strategic Programs

This role is critical to advancing MissionSquare’s growth agenda by driving execution of the firm’s most important transformation initiatives. As part of the Corporate Strategy team, the Manager reports to the Vice President, Head of Strategic Programs, and serves as a bridge between strategy and execution. The role oversees a broad portfolio of cross‑functional programs, coaches initiative owners, and ensures that growth priorities translate into measurable outcomes, operational effectiveness, and client impact.

Essential Functions For This Role

• Oversee a portfolio of complex, growth‑oriented initiatives, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities, clear ownership, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes.
• Coach and enable initiative owners to define clear scopes, success metrics, milestones, and governance structures.
• Establish and maintain portfolio‑level performance tracking, including KPIs, milestones, risk indicators, and value‑realization metrics.
• Partner with Strategy, Finance, Sales, Product, Investments, Operations, Technology and Human Resources leaders to align initiatives, secure resourcing, and assess financial and operational impact.
• Monitor initiative health across timelines, dependencies, risks, and performance; proactively identify issues and drive timely escalation and resolution.
• Translate strategic objectives into executable programs with defined outcomes, timelines, ownership, and performance measures.
• Support enterprise prioritization and trade‑off discussions and promote disciplined program management and performance practices.
• Directly lead high‑priority or complex initiatives that require hands‑on program and project management.
• Support initiative‑level business case development, including ROI, cost‑benefit analysis, and financial performance indicators.
• Contribute to the evolution of strategic programs tools, standards, dashboards, and reporting to strengthen execution maturity and transparency.
• Synthesize portfolio insights into clear, executive‑ready updates that support leadership decision‑making and prioritization.

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree is a plus.
• 7 to 10+ years of experience in program management, project management, management consulting, corporate strategy, transformation, or related roles within financial services, retirement, wealth, or adjacent industries.
• Proven experience overseeing complex, cross‑functional portfolios and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong ability to define, track, and interpret KPIs and performance metrics.
• Familiarity with ROI, cost‑benefit analysis, and value realization for strategic initiatives.
• Structured problem‑solving skills and comfort operating in ambiguity while driving clarity and execution discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to coach leaders and teams on execution best practices, decision making, and accountability.
• Strong executive communication skills; ability to synthesize performance, risks, and trade‑offs into concise, actionable insights.
• Experience managing initiatives across multiple delivery methodologies such as agile, waterfall, or hybrid.
• Proficiency with portfolio and project management tools such as ServiceNow, MS Project, or other, as well as Excel and PowerPoint.

Benefits

• Competitive Total Rewards package, including base pay, incentive programs, benefits, and a 401(k) plan with matching contributions.
• Flexible and hybrid work schedules to support work‑life balance.
• Tuition reimbursement to support continued education.
• Professional and career development opportunities, including courses and certifications.
• Comprehensive wellness programs promoting physical, mental, and emotional health.
• Volunteerism initiatives to encourage community engagement.

Equal Employment Opportunity

MissionSquare is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to create an environment that reflects the value and diversity of our employees and fosters respect among them. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected classification under any applicable law. This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.