ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services — Artstor, JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R — enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome historical barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, as employees we feel a deep responsibility to each other and our well-being, and are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

The Role

ITHAKA is looking for a Senior Program Manager, Operational Excellence (OE) to support ITHAKA’s mission by leading organization-wide system implementation programs to a successful completion. As a Senior Program Manager, you will be responsible for designing and implementing real change in the organization and will be accountable for identifying improvement opportunities and realizing those opportunities with speed. 

To succeed in this position, you will use a systems thinking approach to rethink and simplify our business, products, and services. You have a proven track record of negotiating challenging trade-offs and driving decisions while keeping everyone informed and maintaining excellent relationships throughout the organization. You thrive in an environment that allows you to solve complex challenges and enjoy being a change agent. This position reports to the Director, Agile Program Management, Operational Excellence.

Responsibilities

  • Drive complex cross-functional programs and projects to successful conclusions that support the best interests of the entire organization and deliver business value.
  • Define strategic long-term and short-term program objectives that consider the business environment and internal and external stakeholder needs.
  • Act as advocate for organizational improvement and operational excellence.
  • Leverage your business acumen to understand ITHAKA’s strategic priorities and ensure we select and manage projects that move these priorities forward with speed. 
  • Use Agile management best practices to support evidence-based decision-making for project prioritization and to reprioritize as new opportunities or needs arise.
  • Build and maintain productive relationships with cross-functional managers and leadership; effectively monitor and communicate constraints that may affect our ability to deliver value to our stakeholders.
  • Drive trade-off decisions to best support ITHAKA’s mission and strategic priorities.
  • Monitor and manage project and strategic risks, develop contingency plans, and identify trigger events; take corrective actions when necessary. 
  • Establish and manage success metrics and completion criteria for each project; implement appropriate short- and long-term monitoring and reporting to assess impacts and communicate whether objectives and strategic goals are met.
  • Model the operational excellence mindset by approaching work initiatives with curiosity.

Experience and Skills

  • 5 or more years of experience in senior project manager or program manager roles.
  • Proven ability to lead through influence rather than authority to implement change while maintaining collaborative relationships throughout the organization.
  • Demonstrated comfort challenging the status quo and using healthy conflict to reach winning solutions for the organization.
  • Advanced project management skills. 
  • Ability to analyze complex projects and their interactions with key strategic objectives and make recommendations that will drive value aligned with long-term strategy.
  • Demonstrated expertise in program management with a diverse toolkit that includes agile methodologies and portfolio management skills, applied across a wide range of situations and circumstances.
  • Expert business acumen, demonstrated by experience tailoring program portfolios and projects to drive strategy and operational excellence.
  • Ability to instill and maintain trust and lead an effective team in an environment that values diversity and inclusion.
  • Ability to communicate clearly and credibly at all levels of the organization.

 

Compensation and Benefits

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary ranges, so candidates know what to expect. The starting salary for this position ranges from $103,000 to $129,000 per year. Starting pay may vary with job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Our total compensation package for benefits-eligible employees includes employer-paid medical, dental, and vision plans, an employer-paid 10% retirement contribution, paid parental and caregiver leave, 22 days of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, up to 12 sick days, gym reimbursement, and more.

Work for ITHAKA 

We are committed to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork,  and trust. We take inclusion seriously. Belonging is one of our core values, and it shows in our vibrant culture. People from a wide range of backgrounds work at ITHAKA, and we believe that unique perspectives help us realize new insights and build better solutions.

We want to work with people who are passionate about ideas like these and who wish to contribute their perspectives and talents to ITHAKA’s mission. We enthusiastically welcome applications from people of all underrepresented backgrounds and credentials. We want to hear your story and include your perspective in the transformative work we aim to do.

Learn more about Working at ITHAKA.

Apply Now:

Although ITHAKA has physical offices in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, our employees are distributed across the continental United States. At this time, we’re not considering candidates who are unable to work and reside in the continental U.S.

Candidates may apply by submitting an application online through our career site, if you have any questions about your application, please contact us at careers@ithaka.org.  ITHAKA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, if there’s anything we can do to accommodate any portion of the application or hiring process, please contact us at accommodations@ithaka.org. 

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, domestic violence victim status, veteran status, disability, history of disability or perceived disability, or other status protected by law. We invite you to read our Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Statement. ITHAKA cares about your privacy, learn more about our Applicant Privacy Notice.