Sr Program Manager - Special Projects

plugpower; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Plug Power in Albany, NY seeks a Sr Program Manager, Special Projects to own and lead a portfolio of complex, high-impact programs spanning engineering, product management, sales, supply chain, quality, manufacturing, and service.

You will develop charters, manage schedules and budgets, and serve as the program interface to customers and senior stakeholders, mentoring others and driving best practices in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering or related field.
• PMP certification preferred; PM coursework/training required.
• Minimum of seven years of progressive project/program management.
• Experience with budgets and resource trade-offs.
• Experience in a customer-facing environment and with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage a portfolio of complex, cross-functional programs.
• Lead high-visibility, customer programs and cross-company initiatives.
• Maintain complex schedules, budgets, and risk plans.
• Develop charters, scope documents, and business cases.
• Coordinate across engineering, product, sales, supply chain, and manufacturing.
• Serve as primary contact for customers and executives; communicate progress and risks.
• Mentor junior program managers and contribute to best practices.
• Drive process improvements and resource management across projects.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic thinking

Customer-facing

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or engineering

Master's degree preferred

PMP certification preferred

Tools

Smartsheet

Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Outlook

Job description

Sr. Program Manager, Special Projects

Status: Exempt

Department: Program Management (Engineering)

Position Summary

The Sr Program Manager will own and lead a portfolio of complex, high-impact programs that span multiple functions and product lines. They may include development and new product initiatives as well as operational, customer-facing, and cross-company programs. For each initiative, the Sr Program Manager generates a Project Charter to outline the expectations, resource requirements, and an expected return on investment, and maintains the schedules, budgets, and risk plans needed to deliver in accordance with established specifications, schedules, and budgets. The Sr Program Manager will own high-profile, strategically significant programs, serving as the program interface to customers and senior stakeholders, and coordinating across engineering, product management, sales, supply chain, quality, manufacturing, and service to ensure programs meet cross-functional requirements and are successfully delivered.

Reporting to the Sr Director of Program Management, the Sr Program Manager, leads program management best practices, and maintains oversight of schedules, budgets, and resource allocation across multiple concurrent programs. The ideal candidate exhibits strong leadership, communication, and program management skills with a solid technical background, is comfortable representing the company to customers and external partners and is self-motivated and able to manage a complex portfolio in a fast-paced organization.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Own and manage a portfolio of complex, cross-functional programs, including schedules, resourcing, budgets, risk management, and alignment with business objectives - spanning engineering and non-engineering initiatives.

Lead and own high-visibility, high-stakes customer programs, including strategic customer commitments, special projects, and cross-company initiatives, serving as the accountable owner and program customer interface.

Maintain multiple complex schedules for development projects, company programs, and new product platforms to meet the market needs as defined by the Product Management team.

Develop and maintain program charters, scope documents, and business cases in collaboration with product management, engineering, and other functional leadership, clearly defining resource requirements, budget, and milestones.

Coordinate across engineering, product, sales, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, and service to set priorities, allocate resources, and meet program commitments.

Serve as a primary point of contact for customers, partners, and senior stakeholders on program status, proactively communicating progress, risks, and schedule changes to build and maintain confidence.

Advise leadership and customers of program statuses on a regular basis, including risks, resource constraints, and trade-off recommendations.

Manage complex customer relationships, including scope-change discussions, conflict resolution, and risk-mitigation strategies.

Establish and maintain cross-functional communication so all parties stay informed and up to date on program schedules, and so critical-path items or delays are quickly identified.

Proactively anticipate potential schedule delays and initiate cross-functional activities and contingency plans that recover the schedule.

Mentor and guide junior program managers and contribute to program management best practices, standardized processes, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

Manage competing priorities across the portfolio to ensure all critical deadlines are met.

Develop our project management tools to improve the overall efficiency of our project development as well as better resource management across multiple projects.

Drive work independently with minimal oversight, multi-task effectively across a complex portfolio, and provide excellent follow-through on all commitments.

Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, or a related field of study; Master's degree preferred

PMP certification preferred. Prior PM coursework/training required.

Mentoring or supervisory experience preferred

Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive project/program management experience, with at least three (3) years in a senior or lead capacity

Experience managing program budgets and recommending resource trade-offs

Experience with Project and Resource Management Software. Smartsheet preferred.

Experience in a customer-facing environment is required, including direct interaction with customers in a highly visible role

Computer and software systems skills as applicable to the position including but not limited to: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook

Strong verbal (articulate and polished) and written communication skills, including the ability to present to and engage with customers and senior external stakeholders and explain complicated/technical information in a way others can readily understand

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