Manager - Technical Program Management - Cybersecurity

Job Description

Impact You Can Create

The Cybersecurity Program Manager is responsible for the program management and company-wide oversight of cybersecurity projects and programs. This role provides leadership and strategic direction for the planning, executing, and delivering of multiple projects within defined timelines and budget constraints. Requires coordinating and driving initiatives through relationship building and influence across the organization. Ensures adherence to program management methodologies and best practices while evaluating and optimizing program performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Cybersecurity at Freshworks is a diverse, focused team committed to helping secure both Freshworks and our customers. And the Program Management team is the group that helps connect the dots between threats, risk, business needs, and innovation to execute on reducing risk at Freshworks while partnering to build the best solutions for our customers.

This role combines the best practices of program management with security and compliance knowledge, while also influencing, partnering, and helping to scale the organization. The individual should be comfortable leading a sophisticated portfolio of security and compliance programs with a wide breadth of stakeholders. The individual for this role should focus on transitioning the current approach to a more scalable operation, leveraging innovation to challenge the status quo. Finally, the individual should be a force multiplier for the team, working cross-functionally to deliver commitments. This role is critical to driving project success within Cybersecurity teams. The ability to drive innovation and look around corners while finding better ways to serve our customers.

Roles & Responsibilities

In this role, the individual will be responsible for partnering with Cybersecurity and product, engineering, legal, HR, and other leaders of the organization to drive key initiatives. Driving accountability through consistent measures, standard practices, and reporting. Specific examples include implementing best practices for program reporting, consistently using a standard methodology across all teams, and transitioning to service management for delivery and tracking across all programs. Additional responsibilities include budget management, resource and capacity planning, and executive reporting.

• Closely track all Cybersecurity projects and statuses with accurate mapping of stakeholders, timelines, and dependencies.

• Closely track all risk reduction, assessment findings, audit findings, incident response mitigation work, and all non-project-based work that is driven by Cybersecurity across the organization.

• Provide periodic updates and metrics on project execution.

• Assist the team in articulating both business and technical problem statements clearly, project purpose and goals, and to determine if the identified solution addresses the identified problem.

• Engage cross-functional stakeholders to secure buy-in for Cybersecurity.

• Recognize potential challenges, internal and external dependencies, communicate in a timely manner, and collaborate with the parties involved to effectively manage.

• Lead and manage cybersecurity projects from initiation through to completion, ensuring they meet objectives, timelines, and budget requirements.

• Lead a team of project managers and coordinators, beginning with one project manager in 2026.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including other program management offices across the org, to define project scope, goals, and deliverables.

• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, including resource allocation, timelines, and risk management strategies.

• Communicate project progress, risks, and expectations to team members and stakeholders in a clear and timely manner.

• Ensure projects adhere to frameworks and all documentation is maintained appropriately for each project.

• Assess project risks and issues, effectively managing and mitigating them as necessary, and provide solutions where applicable.

• Stay abreast of the latest cybersecurity trends and technologies, incorporating best practices into project planning and execution.

• Conduct post-project evaluations and identify successful and unsuccessful project elements to drive continuous improvement in project management practices.

• Act as the audit liaison for engineering teams, translating assessment/auditor requests into developer work items using a “Do Once, Use Many” approach.

• Manage programs for both large & small initiatives, with consideration of risk/mitigation and the implementation of operational efficiencies throughout the project lifecycle.

• Ability to adapt to Projects/programs of broad scope, interdependent, high risk, high impact within the strategy & operational spaces.

• Develop and execute program strategies aligned with organizational objectives, considering budget, resources, and timelines.

• Develop project plans for specific initiatives, monitor progress against those plans, track and manage budget, and coordinate projects executed across several teams and business units.

• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including senior leaders, business partners, and cross-functional team members.

• Allocate resources effectively to achieve program objectives while optimizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks that may impact program delivery, developing contingency plans as needed to minimize disruptions.

• Identify opportunities for process improvement and innovation within the program, implementing best practices and lessons learned to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

• Provide regular updates and reports on program status, progress, and milestones to stakeholders, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the program lifecycle.

• Develop and leverage key relationships with IT, Product, and other business operations teams to ensure information risk management and compliance are appropriately prioritized within the overall scope of activities.

• Deliver quantitative metrics on the status of key internal programs or projects.

• Assist Cybersecurity teams in developing quarterly and annual roadmaps.

Qualifications

Skills

• Ability to build relationships, influence others, instill accountability, and get results.

• Excellent English presentation, facilitation, and communication skills.

• Comfortable working with ambiguous specifications and can prioritize quickly and optimally.

• Agile, proactive, Strong analytical and process improvement skills.

• Detail-oriented with an eye for quality.

• Ability to tackle complex problems and understand complex ecosystems.

• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast ­paced environment, taking up multiple responsibilities.

• A knack for ensuring team(s) and stakeholders are always executing toward the outcome.

• Ability to effectively prioritize and advance a large number of projects simultaneously.

• Ability to speak with ease to both engineers and executives.

• Foresight to understand and plan around the technical dependencies and impacts on other teams and projects.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 6+ years of experience in technical program management on security or software engineering programs.
• 3+ years of experience utilizing project management methodologies, including Scrum or Kanban.

• 2+ years of experience working with Smartsheet as the primary program tracking tool and dashboard solution.

• Experience working cross-functionally with engineering teams like Engineering Managers, Product Managers, Security Engineers, DevOps, etc.

• Experience managing security engineering and GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) projects, preferably in a SaaS organization.

Desired, But Not Required

• Certifications in Program management (PMP, Scrum Master, etc.).

• Industry certifications in compliance or security are a plus.

• Knowledge of, or experience working with, Cloud technologies/environments.

• Experience with SaaS organizations and products.

Additional Information

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.