Sr. Workplace Programs Manager

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Leads Workplace Programs, high priority HR initiatives, process change, and critical HR operations.

Overall Purpose 

The Sr. Workplace Programs Manager is responsible for managing large, complex programs that support our People Initiatives and HR roadmap and are targeted to meet one or more key company strategic business goals.  This role is a trusted advisor to leaders, as well as the lead for project/program planning, execution, communication, reporting, and risk/issue management.  The program manager must also oversee interdependency planning, and overall program adherence to compliance, security, and enterprise standards/practices.  

Essential Functions  

• Understands portfolio priorities and drives successful business outcomes by ensuring projects are aligned with priorities. 

• Manages all aspects of multiple interrelated projects within the program to ensure the overall program is aligned to and directly supports the achievement of strategic business objectives. This includes program level governance review of all associated projects. 

• Accountable for following project/program management framework, tracking progress, managing risk, and controlling change to ensure delivery that meets time, cost and quality objectives.  

• Monitors projects on an ongoing basis, evaluating progress, proactively works with project teams mitigating risk and effective issue resolution across programs. Provides regular updates on projects and programs to People Team Leadership and other executives. 

• Establishes best practices, templates, policies, tools and partnerships to expand and mature and improve effectiveness in support of meeting business objectives. 

• Supports all internal and externally driven audits of projects within the program. 

• Engages cross project interdependency scheduling to ensure project interdependencies are documented and tracked including defining critical program level milestones within each project for visibility. 

• Provides effective leadership and coaching to all stakeholders ensuring effective delivery of project/program outcomes in terms of cost, schedule, budget and quality. 

• Develops productive working relationships with key stakeholders and ensures key project information is clearly communicated to drive fact-based decisions and improve project/business performance. 

• Monitors, analyzes, and communicates project/program performance to vested stakeholders, team members and key leaders to facilitate optimal decisions, drive awareness and maintain value proposition of project. 

• Creates and maintains master program plan for all active aligned projects and status reporting regarding program level milestones, success criteria, deliverable, dependencies, risks and issues, effectively communicating including executive leadership. 

• Creates and manages a project plan, including prioritized scope, budget, timeline, quality, risks, and business expectations; coordinate with cross-functional subject matter experts, Project Managers and/or project teams, when applicable. 

• Supports the company's commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data. 

• Leads strategic process improvement initiatives that result in tangible business benefits. 

• Works with management to determine the priority of requirements; consults with business leader(s) to ensure transparency to relevant information that will drive key business decisions. 

• Identifies and analyzes business process opportunities and designs and implements solutions that are aligned to strategic objectives. 

• Determines and implements the communications needed for ongoing program management and negotiates issues between individuals or teams working on projects in the portfolio to minimize miscommunications and delays. 

• Prepares project outcomes for transition to the process owner; ensure process owners have the tools, support, and training needed for successful implementation and monitoring of solution; provide post-implementation monitoring and support, as required. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Education and experience typically obtained through completion of a bachelor’s degree in business, Project Management and/or Computer Science, Human Resources (HR) or related field. 

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or related certifications or equivalent work experience. 

• Minimum of 10 or more years of related experience in program and project management. 

• Demonstrated program management experience and people leadership and mentorship in business and technical environments. 

• Experience or familiarity with employee engagement, employee experience, inclusivity, and other HR programs/initiatives that are part of the EWS HR roadmap. 

• Ability to handle multiple complex projects within program / programs, to work independently, have excellent follow-up, and meet tight deadlines for deliverables.  Possess excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities and be able to deal effectively with ambiguity and constant change. 

• Effectively manage a portfolio of projects having insight to key interdependencies, strategic alignment and resource constraints (people, process and technology). 

• Effective at setting expectations and holding multiple resources accountable to all key health metrics of a program. 

• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills to interact proficiently with executive leadership, staff and vendors. 

• Ability to effectively deliver presentations at all levels of the organization. 

• Highly engaged, self-starter with ability to balance achieving business results, fostering collaboration and influencing business strategies. 

• Proactive in identifying and driving process improvements and documenting efficiency gains within the organization. 

• Can assess and prioritize risks and articulate mitigation plans in a manner that resonates with multiple stakeholder groups. 

• Demonstrated experience with Agile and Waterfall methodologies and all aspects of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology and tools. 

• Background and drug screen. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Workplace Programs, Employee Experience or other HR capability and discipline. 

• Agile / ScrumMaster certifications.

• Lean Six Sigma certification. 

• Experience with people management. 

• Experience in financial institutions or similarly regulatory industries. 

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers. Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

The base pay scale for this position in:

Phoenix, AZ in USD per year is: $135,000 - $150,000.
New York, NY/ San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $145,000 - $160,000.

Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness 

•  Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.

• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.

• Paid Time Off – Unlimited Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.

• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave

• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.