Principal Strategic Program Manager – Zelle

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.

Early Warning follows 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.

Overall Purpose

Responsible for designing Early Warning’s product launch program management model for our product portfolio, including Zelle®.  Creates a seamless flow from product creation to customers using and loving the products we build. This role will require you to establish a new scalable blueprint for delivering very large, complex programs focused on coordinating product launch activities of cross functional teams and external partners, creating greater efficiency, alignment, and attainment of our strategic business goals. This is a unique opportunity with high visibility to bring your expertise to the table and define and execute best-in-class.

Essential Functions

- Deeply understand how software products are created and go live while applying program management excellence to create realistic, integrated, and comprehensive plans.
- Engage partners across the enterprise to define our end-to-end product portfolio operating model and playbook; roles, responsibilities, processes, and procedures that are comprehensive and thorough to customer adoption.
- Implement and program manage a pilot rollout leveraging the new framework.
- Challenges partners to define realistic schedules and drives the process, ensuring deliverable owners are meeting their committed outcomes while looking ahead to identify emerging blockers and proactively managing risks.
- Engages external partners to assess their schedules and constraints, integrates impacts and dependencies into overall planning to ensure success.
- Evaluates resource capacity and constraints, defines program resource model, challenges the team to develop comprehensive and realistic timelines.
- Align the product launch strategy with our Scaled Agile product development methodology and toolsets.
- Owns the communication of program progress updates with executive leadership as well as cross functional workstream leads.
- Develop a rollout plan for expanding the framework across the product portfolio and coach other program and project managers on the model.
- Provides effective leadership and coaching to all stakeholders, ensuring effective delivery of program outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications

- Education and experience typically obtained through completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Program Management and/or Computer Science, or related field.
- Minimum of 15 or more years of program management, product operations, product launch, or related experience.
- Proven experience with modern B2B SaaS software development and product launch motions (sales, marketing, legal/compliance, operational readiness, customer engagement, etc.).
- Demonstrated program management excellence and people leadership in matrixed business and technical environments, related to product launch coordination.
- Ability to lead and coach program/project managers in the successful delivery of the developed framework.
- Possess excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities, able to deal effectively with ambiguity and change.
- Highly engaged, self-starter with excellent communication skills and the ability to balance achieving business results, fostering collaboration, and influencing business strategies.
- Demonstrated experience with Agile and Waterfall methodologies and all aspects of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology and tools.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with launching new technology products from the ground up; bonus for start-up experience.
- Experience leading product operations with a heavy focus on managing end-to-end coordination of product launches and related cross functional teams.
- Experience in financial institutions or similarly regulatory industries and/or software development processes with background in the data processing environment, application systems, and communication systems.
- Experience with launching products for B2B2C software providers.

- Experience with Scaled Agile (SAFe); Lean Six Sigma, Project Management Professional (PMP) and other methodology certifications.

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.

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 base pay scale for this position in:
New York, NY/ San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $190,000 - $250,000.

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL / Washington, DC in USD per year is: $172,000 - $215,000.

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 – Flexible 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!

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.