Program Manager

Ares is seeking a Program Manager to support enterprise infrastructure and broader technology initiatives. The Program Manager will collaborate with infrastructure, engineering, operations, security, and business teams to manage and report on programs that support strategic short-term and long-term goals. This individual will lead project prioritization and coordinate activities across multiple projects to ensure alignment with business objectives, technology strategy, and operational priorities.

The ideal candidate will have experience identifying and organizing critical technology initiatives across cross-functional teams, with a strong understanding of infrastructure programs and project delivery. The candidate should be skilled in program and portfolio reporting and able to establish a structured communication cadence for updates, reprioritization, dependencies, risks, issues, decisions, and accomplishments. Experience supporting cybersecurity or information security initiatives is helpful, but not required.

Reports to: PMO lead in COO technology

Supervises: n/a

• →Understand organization goals and values and organize programs and activities in accordance with the mission and goals of the organization.
• →Identify and organize priority technology projects from various cross functional groups into a central program.
• →Prioritize projects within the program with leadership to support the strategic direction and objectives of Technology, Infrastructure, Operations, and the Business.
• →Implement a project review and onboarding process, including an impact analysis and a process to reprioritize projects as needed.
• →Develop an evaluation method to assess program strengths and identify areas for improvement.
• →Ensure success and exit criteria are established and appropriate for each project.
• →Ensure and work with project leaders for reporting on project status, health, risks, issues, and criteria progress.
• →Implement and manage changes and interventions to ensure project and program goals are achieved.
• →Produce and communicate accurate and timely reporting of program status throughout its life cycle.
• →Analyze, summarize, and report on critical program risks to all levels of the organization.
• →Communicate with stakeholders, transparently and directly reporting project issues and decisions.
• →Assist and mentor project managers, team leads, and team members across technology and infrastructure teams with project management, planning, and execution activities.
• →Create visually empowering documents that drive clear objectives, promote, deliver, and/or confirm goals/objectives.
• →Partner with technology and infrastructure leadership to develop strategic roadmaps and track modernization, resilience, remediation, and operational improvement workstreams.
• →Perform other related duties as needed and assigned.

• High-level management and leadership skills
• Excellent client-facing and internal communication skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proactive nature and ability to arrive at resolution with minimal supervision
• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking skills
• Self-motivated with excellent planning, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office products, specifically Excel and PowerPoint

• Bachelor's degree or master's degree in a related field
• Project Management Professional (PMP) / Program Management Professional (PMP) certification is a plus
• Infrastructure, cloud, IT service management, or cybersecurity certifications are a plus

• At least 5+ years in a program and project management or project delivery role (preferably in an investment management and/or big-tech firm)
• Proficient knowledge of technology projects and program management concepts, from planning and inception through implementation and support
• Demonstrated experience delivering cross-functional infrastructure and enterprise technology programs involving dependencies across engineering, operations, vendors, architecture, and business stakeholders
• Experienced in implementing program strategies, oversee collaboration, define success metrices
• Excel at Risk and Conflict Management
• Experience in developing programs, resource plans, project plans, timelines, and roadmaps
• Experience of Agile project management methods and tools such as Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet
• Experience working with IT leadership and coordinating focused programs and plans
• Experience managing infrastructure or enterprise technology initiatives across areas such as cloud, network, workplace technology, data center, platform engineering, systems, or IT operations
• Experience with budget planning, tracking, and forecasting
• Cybersecurity or information security program experience, including familiarity with security frameworks and controls, is a plus