Teachers College - Jobs - Job Details - Technical Program Manager

Posting Summary:

Teachers College, Columbia University, is seeking a Technical Program Manager to drive impactful technical projects that improve the experience of students, faculty, and staff at the College. This is a unique opportunity to lead transformative initiatives, particularly within our critical Salesforce product development program, and to design product delivery systems that promote team collaboration and enhance productivity.

The Technical Program Manager in TCIT's Project Management Office designs and manages programs that deliver technical solutions to stakeholders across Teachers College.

Job Summary/Basic Function:

In this role, the Technical Program Manager will be instrumental in managing and optimizing our Salesforce Ecosystem, ensuring the delivery of innovative solutions that empower students, faculty, and staff. Beyond Salesforce, you'll design and implement robust program management frameworks, fostering a culture of efficiency and collaboration across the organization.

The Technical Program Manager (TPM) oversees the planning, execution, and delivery of complex technical projects at Teachers College. This role ensures alignment between engineering, product, and business teams, driving technical solutions that achieve business goals while adhering to scope, schedule, and quality standards.

A core responsibility of the TPM is managing the existing Application Development program within TCIT. This includes overseeing a blended development backlog comprising iteration, enhancement, and new development for portal, workflow, and CRM products. The TPM collaborates closely with functional and technical stakeholders to conduct discovery, design solutions, write and prioritize user stories, manage issues, and plan releases. They also facilitate key product operations rituals, including roadmap reviews, sprint planning, and retrospective meetings. The TPM will have ownership and accountability for product operations and product delivery. The TPM will influence and collaborate on product discovery and design efforts. The TPM should also be able to consult on overall TCIT process and program improvements.

Beyond product operations, the TPM is tasked with designing and implementing program management frameworks across other areas of the organization. They will lead the adoption of these frameworks, fostering cross-functional collaboration, optimizing workflows, and driving consistent delivery standards. The TPM will also mentor teams, helping them build sustainable program management capabilities that support organizational growth.

The occupant of this position will also manage ad hoc technical projects and should feel comfortable wearing “project manager,” “program manager,” and “product manager” hats based on the circumstances of the demand at hand. The TPM should demonstrate adaptability and expertise in applying agile methodologies and cross-functional leadership to ensure the timely, high-quality delivery of projects that are managed inside or outside of established technical program frameworks.

WHO WE ARE:
Teachers College, Columbia University, is the nation's first, largest, and top-rated graduate school of education. With over a century of excellence in academic achievement and innovation, we have consistently shaped the future of education through research, teaching, and impactful initiatives.

The Teachers College IT Project Management Office (PMO) supports teams inside and outside of the IT department in aligning technology initiatives with strategic objectives and building delivery systems to design, develop, and launch products and services successfully.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Product Delivery:

• Coordinate and conduct product discovery activities (research, persona mapping, user journey mapping, requirements gathering, design testing, etc.) to establish a feasible solution design and align stakeholders behind it. Document product requirements, estimate overall effort, prioritize features, and support technical architecture documentation.
• Map out epics and stories based on the product requirements, ensuring alignment with design and stakeholder discussions. Maintain Asana (or other project management tools) as the source of truth for epics and stories.
• Support estimation of technical work to inform sprint planning, ensuring clarity and technical discovery.
• Track and monitor the development of user stories in the backlog, ensuring blockers are identified and stories are worked on in priority order. Ensure that delivered features are tested and queued for deployment when validated.
• Coordinate with the development team for a public launch once release goals are met, and prepare release documentation such as release notes.

Program & Project Management:

• Oversee programs designed to deliver improvements to existing products and services, as well as the development of new products and services.
• Conduct program planning rituals, including backlog reviews, release planning, sprint planning, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives.
• Coordinate with leaders in TCIT and across the College to establish a shared understanding of the strategic objectives and goals for the program, and prioritize competing demands to create program roadmaps.
• Measure program performance and velocity to improve estimation, ensure sustainable workload assignments, and report to key stakeholders.
• Lead high-impact, one-off technical projects that fall outside of established program frameworks, applying agile methodologies to adapt to unique demands.
• Build and maintain a project plan, align stakeholders behind the vision and project objectives, and facilitate working sessions and standup meetings. Ensure stakeholders understand their responsibilities and deadlines.
• Monitor risks and develop mitigation strategies. Report status as part of TCIT weekly cadence and to key stakeholders as appropriate.

Program Framework Design and Process Improvement:

• Design and implement program management frameworks tailored to other product, operations, and project teams across the organization.
• Lead the adoption and integration of these frameworks, ensuring teams have identified the roles, responsibilities, rituals, tools, and processes to optimize workflows and collaborate effectively.
• Mentor various team members to build sustainable program management capabilities that promote long-term success.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of program/project management experience in a technical environment.
• Strong understanding of agile methodologies, including Scrum, and the ability to facilitate related ceremonies.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders to gather requirements, design solutions, and manage releases.
• Strong problem-solving and leadership skills with the ability to drive alignment across diverse teams.
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with project management tools such as Asana, Jira, and Confluence.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certification in Agile or Scrum methodologies (e.g., XP, CSM, SAFe).
• Experience managing software development projects.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing scalable program management frameworks.
• Experience collaborating with UX/UI designers and ensuring technical solutions align with user-centered design principles.
• Familiarity with design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) and processes for creating wireframes, prototypes, and user flows.

Salary Range:

$90,000 - $100,000

Work Modality:

Hybrid

Competitive Compensation and Benefits 

The salary range reflects the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for the position at the time of the job posting.  Salary decisions are dependent on several factors including but not limited to market and organizational considerations, experience, and qualifications of a selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.

Our benefits contribute significantly to the total compensation package that includes medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance plans; flexible and hybrid work schedules; tuition remission; life insurance; short and long-term disability insurance; an exceptional employer retirement matching program; health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility, and a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Hybrid/Remote

Teachers College maintains a hybrid work environment, which provides employees with flexible work arrangements while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person college-campus culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite or in a hybrid model (a combination of in-office and virtual days). Employees are expected to live within a 150-mile radius of the College.