Director, Portfolio & Program Management

Closing Date:  July 21, 2025

Salary:  Salary for commensurate with education & experience                       

Job Code:  ITM050

Pay Grade:  O

Location: Metro Atlanta

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia's children and their families.  It administers the nationally recognized Georgia's Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers Georgia Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program, federal nutrition programs, and managers Quality Rated, Georgia's community powered child care rating system.

The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education.

Job Description:  A Director of Portfolio & Program Management plays a pivotal role in steering an organization's project ecosystem to achieve strategic objectives efficiently and effectively. This position requires a visionary leader who can balance multiple priorities, manage diverse stakeholders, and drive organizational success through strategic project alignment.

Job Responsibilities:

• Strategic Portfolio Management:
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine the organization's portfolio strategy, ensuring seamless alignment with overarching business goals and objectives.
• Employ data-driven decision-making processes to optimize the project portfolio, adapting to evolving market conditions and organizational needs.
• Prioritization and Resource Optimization:
• Implement robust prioritization frameworks to evaluate and rank projects based on strategic importance, resource constraints, and potential ROI.
• Masterfully allocate and manage resources across the portfolio, balancing competing demands and maximizing efficiency.
• Stakeholder Management and Communication:
• Develop and execute a comprehensive stakeholder management strategy, engaging with executives, board members, and key partners to ensure buy-in and support.
• Establish clear, consistent communication channels to report portfolio and program status, progress, and performance to all relevant stakeholders.
• Program Oversight and Governance:
• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to program managers, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Design and implement effective governance structures to facilitate informed decision-making and ensure accountability across the portfolio.
• Risk and Change Management:
• Develop and oversee a proactive risk management framework to identify, assess, and mitigate potential threats to project and program success.
• Lead change management initiatives to support the successful implementation of portfolio-wide transformations.
• Performance Monitoring and Continuous Improvement:
• Establish and track comprehensive KPIs and success criteria for projects and programs, implementing data-driven corrective actions as needed. • Spearhead initiatives to capture lessons learned and best practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in portfolio and program management.
• Strategic Alignment and Value Realization:
• Ensure all projects and programs directly contribute to the organization's strategic objectives and vision.
• Implement value realization processes to measure and communicate the tangible benefits delivered by the portfolio.
• Vendor and Partnership Management:
• Cultivate and manage strategic relationships with key vendors and partners, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and contractual compliance.
• Cross-functional Collaboration:
• Foster strong partnerships with other organizational leaders to ensure portfolio initiatives are integrated seamlessly across departments.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and cross-pollination of ideas between different programs and projects.
• Innovation and Agility:
• Stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in portfolio and program management, introducing innovative approaches to drive organizational agility.
• Lead the adoption of cutting-edge tools and technologies to enhance portfolio management capabilities.

Entry Qualifications:

High school diploma/GED and three (3) years of job-related experience, which includes two (2) years in a managerial or supervisory role.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in IT project management, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles
• Proven track record of successfully managing complex, multi-million dollar IT project portfolios
• Experience working in or closely with government agencies or highly regulated industries
• Demonstrated expertise in a wide range of IT projects, including but not limited to:
• CRM implementations (e.g., Salesforce Sales Cloud)
• Enterprise software development and implementation
• Cloud services integration (e.g., Azure Integration Cloud Services)
• Service management platforms (e.g., ServiceNow)
• Workforce management systems
• Enterprise resource planning
• Customer service technologies

Required Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
• SAFe Scrum Master – Scaled Agile Inc.    
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) – Scrum Alliance
• SAFe Product Manager / Product Owner – Scaled Agile

Technical Competencies:

• Strategic IT Planning and Execution in alignment with government policies and directives
• Public Sector IT Financial Management and Budgeting
• Stakeholder Management and Communication across various levels of government
• Risk Management and Mitigation in compliance with government IT regulations
• Change Management in public sector IT organizations
• Proficiency in both Agile and Waterfall Methodologies as applied in government settings
• Vendor Management in accordance with government IT procurement policies
• Performance Metrics and KPI Development for public sector IT programs

Physical Position Requirements:

·         Work is typically performed in an office environment with intermittent sitting, standing, or walking in various settings.

·         The ability to speak clearly, to hear and understand at normal conversational level, and to receive detailed information through verbal communication.

·         Close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading and visual inspection.

·         Full range of hand and finger motion for data entry purposes.

Bright from the Start:  Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is a family-friendly employer, offering flexible work schedules (at supervisory discretion) and a comprehensive compensation package, to include healthcare, retirement, 401-k match, and elective options for dental, vision, AD&D, short and long-term disability, and life insurance.  Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is an equal opportunity employer and drug-free workplace.  A background check will be completed upon hire, which may consist of any or all of the following: criminal and employment histories, credit history (as applicable to the position), education credentials, and motor vehicle driving records.

If you are an individual with a disability who may require assistance or other reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the selection process for this position, you may contact our HR department at 678-879-2993.  Due to the volume of submissions received by this office, information concerning application or interview status cannot be provided in writing, over the phone, or in person. All applicants who submit a complete application package will be considered but may not necessarily receive notification or an interview.  The job posting may be subject to being closed at any time without notice.  Only those qualified candidates who are selected for an interview shall receive notification upon the filling of this vacancy.

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is an equal opportunity employer.