Program Manager

Blizzard Entertainment® is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard Entertainment label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well-respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard Entertainment has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception.

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a talented and enthusiastic Program Manager to join our Corporate Applications team. The individual in this role will lead key strategic initiatives and will be responsible for end-to-end ownership of products and/or programs including concept inception, delivery, and adoption. This position will interface closely with executives, business stakeholders, product designers and software engineers to deliver innovative solutions for Blizzard.

• Define the product strategy and roadmap for assigned Blizzard corporate applications
• Successfully deliver on highly visible projects of strategic importance to the organization
• Lead the software development lifecycle and drive the technology team on all aspects of delivery, performing in a program manager, product owner, and project management capacity
• Serve as day-to-day product owner on project teams (Agile) and operational teams
• Perform all project management activities from project discovery through post-implementation efforts, including definition and management of milestones, requirements, workplan, resources, vendors, budget, scope, issues and risks, change, and stakeholders
• Develop status reporting and communicate effectively and proactively to all levels of the organization regarding status, schedules, risks, issues, etc.
• Proactively identify and communicate risks or issues that might impede assigned projects, and develop mitigation plans or solutions to resolve
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key executives, senior leaders, stakeholders, and team resources throughout the Blizzard organization to achieve project objectives and deliverables
• Launch products, lead organizational readiness activities, and partner with stakeholders to drive adoption
• Identify, develop, and implement continuous process improvements to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Corporate Applications team
• Mentor and coach more junior Program Managers within the Corporate Applications team
• Create a team environment that encourages collaboration, ongoing feedback, and participation throughout the Corporate Applications team

Requirements

• A minimum of 4-6 years of experience as a program manager, product manager, or project manager managing software development projects
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-organizational, complex enterprise application programs or projects utilizing internal and vendor resources
• Prior experience as a scrum master
• Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communications skills; comfortable presenting and communicating to large groups and across all levels of the organization in an effective, situationally appropriate, clear, and high quality manner
• Ability to work independently and deliver results with little supervision
• Self-motivated with strong initiative, ability to work in a dynamic work environment
• Ability to lead and influence without explicit authority
• Detail-oriented
• Problem solver
• Excellent organization and time management skills
• Ability to prioritize product and feature requests across the entire product portfolio, and to prioritize tasks across multiple projects
• Experience implementing, championing, and working with Agile development methodologies
• Experience with vendor and contract management process
• Experience training, mentoring, and managing others
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
• Passion for Blizzard games

Pluses

• Big 4 management consulting experience
• Experience leading third party software deployments
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification