Lead Technology Portfolio Project Manager

Position Compensation Range

$ - $ Pay Rate Type:
Salary Compensation may vary based on the job level and your geographic work location. Relocation support is offered for eligible candidates.

Primary Accountabilities

• Lead portfolio process enhancements and adoption Lead incremental process improvements that build toward the broader Technology Portfolio Management vision while recognizing different levels of portfolio maturity. Drive change adoption through clear communications, leader forums, training, feedback loops, and transparent measures of progress.
• Serve as portfolio liaison and planning partner Translate strategic priorities into integrated initiative plans, planning milestones, dependencies, governance needs, and leadership decisions.
• Lead technology demand planning Own and continuously improve the team’s technology demand-planning approach for discretionary work, including the annual planning cycle and the emerging quarterly demand refresh.
• Strengthen initiative and backlog planning Support initiative definition and planning by clarifying outcomes, scope, assumptions, milestones, risks, dependencies, and decision points. Guide teams on backlog planning, planning hygiene, dependency visibility, and readiness for downstream execution.
• Advance stage-gate governance and SDLC alignment Apply a strong working knowledge of the software development lifecycle to ensure portfolio processes reinforce readiness, risk management, traceability, and predictable execution.
• Provide governance, insight, and executive communication Run planning cadences, governance conversations, decision logs, action tracking, and escalation paths. Influence and negotiate across competing priorities, funding or capacity constraints, and differing stakeholder perspectives.

Specialized Knowledge & Skills Requirements

Strong understanding of portfolio intake, demand management, prioritization, investment traceability, portfolio health, governance, risk, dependency management, and executive reporting. Solid understanding of software development lifecycle practices, stage gates, Agile / SAFe concepts, PI planning, backlog structures, readiness, and delivery health. Ability to build and execute roadmaps, coordinate multiple critical efforts, manage RAID items, and create structure in ambiguous environments. Comfort working directly with directors and vice presidents;

able to frame issues, present recommendations, and communicate decision needs with clarity. Demonstrated ability to lead groups to consensus, negotiate trade-offs, resolve ambiguity, and maintain progress across stakeholders without relying on positional authority. Proactive, curious, and pragmatic approach to identifying pain points, improving workflows, and supporting adoption through incremental change. Excellent written, verbal, visual, and presentation skills, with the ability to tailor detail for executives, practitioners, and cross-functional partners.

Working proficiency with Jira, Confluence, enterprise planning tools such as Apptio Target process, dashboards, and structured data used for planning and reporting. Strong organization, attention to detail, adaptability, resilience, collaboration, independent judgment, and commitment to continuous learning.

Licenses

Not Applicable.

Travel Requirements

Up to 10%.

Physical Requirements

Work that primarily involves sitting/standing.

Working Conditions

Not Applicable.

Additional Information

To ensure a strong start, all employees participate in our New Employee Orientation during their first week. This experience is held in person at our Madison, WI Headquarters or one of our AmFam core locations to help you connect with our mission, meet key team members and build relationships that support your growth. At times, sessions may be delivered virtually based on scheduling and availability.

Offer to selected candidate will be made contingent on the results of applicable background checks Offer to selected candidate is contingent on signing a non-disclosure agreement for proprietary information, trade secrets, and inventions Sponsorship will not be considered for this position unless specified in the posting Eight or more years of experience leading technology projects, programs, portfolio processes, and enterprise process improvements.

Experience working across large, matrixed technology organizations and engaging senior leaders. Experience leading annual or quarterly planning, technology demand estimation, portfolio governance, or related…