Senior Manager, Technical Program Management

DE&ET INTRO:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we’re reimagining ways to create magical viewing experiences for the world’s most beloved stories while also transforming Disney’s media business for the future. Whether that’s evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to maximize flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney’s unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

• Building the future of Disney’s media business: DE&E Technologists are designing and building the infrastructure that will power Disney’s media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day – from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.
• Innovation: We develop and execute groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and enhance how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

POSITION TEAM SUMMARY:

Business Operations is the glue of DE&E Technology, with a relentless focus on connecting all the pieces of the business. All the components that make up the organization – engineering, product, design, operations, support and more – come together and move the business forward with oversight, effective prioritization, and guidance. This team synthesizes information from across the business to ensure leaders are armed with all the necessary data before making strategic and financial decisions. From forecasting, funding, tracking, and reporting on projects, to ways of working, and resource management, Business Operations has visibility and input into all aspects of the team.

This is a full-time position within the DEE Technology: Business Operations - Global Program Management Organization. The Senior Manager will focus on our News & Entertainment pillar supporting our digital consumer products, sites & apps for Disney Entertainment brands including ABC, ABC News, OTV, Disney, Marvel, National Geographic, Studios, and the frontend & backend platforms that power them to drive scale.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Developing program-level plans and driving overall execution and delivery of key priorities across multiple teams; ensuring all dependencies are understood while keeping the business partners informed on our progress.
• Working with engineering, product management, and cross-functional leaders to align on the roadmap, vision and strategy for the organization.
• Influencing direction and driving alignment across programs to help reduce complexity.
• Leading, developing and strengthening a team of managers and program managers through mentoring, hiring and by implementing organizational structure that enables the team to scale and operate efficiently.
• Partnering with engineering and product teams to ensure what is developed has the right balance of cost vs. benefit, is highly scalable and meets the business goals, objectives and customer needs.
• Driving leadership-level communications on program/priority statuses, staffing, resourcing, risks & escalations and more.
• Displaying initiative and thought leadership; taking a proactive approach and driving conversations/decision making forward as a critical leader of the organization
• Negotiate with skill and can identify a solution path for various competing requirements or stakeholder preferences.
• Learns quickly and enthusiastically, particularly about technical systems and issues. Passionate for staying up to speed on the latest innovations and technologies.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• B.S in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of people management experience, mentoring staff in development and driving teams in the delivery of technical programs and projects from inception to release.
• Proven track record with Agile project management in a hands-on role as a Program Manager, Project Manager, or Scrum Master for software development teams.
• Knowledge of servant leadership, conflict resolution, and continual improvement.
• Analytical and problem-solving experience with large-scale systems.
• Technical knowledge of architecture and development practices.
• Strong partner and communicator with the ability to articulate the team vision and technical concepts to multi-functional partners.
• Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations in a fast-paced environment with evolving business needs.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in streaming media software and digital technology.
• Experience with frontend, backend systems, machine learning, and personalization is a plus.
• Have some technical proficiency demonstrated in any number of ways, ex. coding skills, quality assurance experience or technical writing background or similar.