Senior Manager - Program Management - Temporary Work Assignment (6 Months)

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

As part of our diverse tech team, you can architect, code and ship software that makes us an essential part of our customers’ digital lives.  Here, you can work alongside talented engineers in an open, supportive, inclusive environment where your voice is valued, and you make your own decisions on what tech to use to solve challenging problems.  Amex offers a range of opportunities to work with the latest technologies and encourages you to back the broader engineering community through open source.  And because we understand the importance of keeping your skill fresh and relevant, we give you dedicated time to invest in your professional development.  Find your place in technology on #TeamAmex. 

How will you make an impact in this role?

The Infrastructure Data & Analytics team unifies FinOps, Data Science and Business Intelligence to enable Technology cost transparency, infrastructure performance optimization and commercial efficiency for the enterprise through consistent, high-quality data and predictive analytics. This team within Global Infrastructure aims to establish and reinforce a culture of effective metrics, data-driven business processes, architecture simplification, and cost awareness. Metric-driven cost optimization, workload-specific forecasting and robust contract management are among the tools and practices required to drive accountability for delivering business solutions that derive maximum value. The result will provide a solid foundation for decision-making around cost, quality and speed.

We are seeking a strong, data-driven Senior Program Manager who knows that delivering on that promise takes foresight, planning and agility. Metric-driven cost optimization, workload-specific forecasting and robust contract management are among the tools and practices required to drive accountability for delivering business solutions that derive maximum value. The result will provide a solid foundation for decision-making around cost, quality and speed.  This Senior Program Manager help build and pioneer the first Tech Operations impact cost estimation and process integration into the current Technology Investment process to deliver a Unified Ops and Investment Planning process that includes total cost of ownership for critical programs. In order to deliver on short- and long-term goals for a unified Tech Ops and Investment process, this individual will lead change management and communications, data analysis, process governance, and process transformation. S/he will require a unique blend of strong leadership and data analytics skills to mature and expand the Tech Ops sizing process and tracking across the enterprise.  S/he will bring passion for data-driven decisions, enterprise solutions, and stakeholder engagement to the role.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Lead the design and transformation of Technology business management processes and change management communications for key cross-functional programs
• Develop the process, data requirements, and training for integrating Tech Ops into Tech Investment Planning and agile ways of working in partnership with Technology Business Management team
• Work with data owners and product managers within the Technology and Infrastructure data domains to define user journeys and system rationalization for the enterprise Technology reporting and scorecard ecosystem
• Own key user journeys to define, prioritize, and deliver roadmap, product, and process requirements through technical acumen, customer-first perspective, and strong relationships across engineering and portfolio/commercial management teams
• Identify and plan strategic engagement and operating model changes required to mature Tech Ops and Investment planning
• Drive risk mitigation, cross-functional collaboration, decision-making, standardization, and consensus across Tech Ops (Infrastructure, Information Security, and Digital Workplace) and Tech Business Management teams
• Act as a point of contact for Tech Ops functions in process adoption and alignment discussions with Technology, Product and Portfolio leads
• Lead communications and cross-functional program management to deliver on and track shared goals and KPIs
• Perform business data analysis to extract strategic leadership insights and enable proper governance of data completion and improvements
• Develop key integrations with TIPc, Permit to X, Transformation Optimization, and Tech Strategy workstreams
• Establish ongoing metrics and KPIs to clearly define success and failure points and to guide roadmap execution and prioritization based on business priorities
• Create an environment of continuous improvement by steering and delivering reflective conversation and regular retrospectives, project standups, workshops, communications, and shared processes to ensure transparency of development process and project performance
• Draft impactful and comprehensive communications, presentations, and talking points for key business reviews, executive presentations, and discussions; escalate and facilitate resolution of risks, issues, and changes tied to product development
• Act as point of contact for internal inquiries and key partnerships across Technology and business teams

Minimum Requirements:

• 9+ years of experience working as a program manager (or equivalent) in a Technology Business Management or data analytics team
• Proven track record for managing large, complex processes or programs with multiple partners across technical and non-technical functions
• Self-starter who is able to provide strategic thought leadership and prioritization with limited guidance and in a complex environment
• Ability to create clarity and execute plans in ambiguity, and to inspire change without direct authority
• Proven leadership skills in high-visibility, high-pressure, strategic transformation programs
• Strong analytical skills, capable of interpreting data insights to inform product decisions and optimize algorithms for personalized recommendations
• Outstanding influential and collaboration skills; ability to drive consensus and tangible outcomes, demonstrated by breaking down silos and fostering cross-team communication
• Capable of leading technology and culture change with excellent strategic and technical thought leadership, and strong program management skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills with strong personal presence; active listening skills, summarization skills, and lateral thinking to uncover and react to emerging opportunities
• Proven track record of launching new processes and the change management required to bring others along
• Experience working with portfolio-type personas and defining clear roles and responsibilities for new functions
• Experience working with technology infrastructure, information security, or digital workplace teams a plus
• Experience with design and coding across one or more platforms and languages a plus
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data engineering, data analytics, or other technical discipline, or equivalent work experience a plus

This is a Temporary Work Assignment which will last 6 months.

AXP employees will maintain their current salary and may be eligible for a completion bonus at the end of the temporary work assignment. The completion bonus is up to 5% base salary for laterals in band and up to 10% base salary for stretch assignments. The completion bonus amount will also be pro-rated to reflect the length of the assignment.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan 
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.