Senior Staff Product Operations Manager

Sprout Social is looking to hire a Senior Staff Technical Program Manager to our R&D Operations team. 

Why join Sprout's R&D Operations team?

Sprout empowers businesses around the globe to tap into the power and opportunity of social media. Our software brings together social content and messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence and action. Operating across major social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google and YouTube, we provide organizations with a centralized platform to effectively manage social media efforts across stakeholders and business functions. We’re relentless about ensuring the success of our customers and building elegant software, and are regularly recognized by customers for our industry-leading products.

Reporting to the Chief of Staff & Head of Ops for R&D, you’ll be responsible for driving successful delivery of strategic programs in support of our most complex and critical needs, and act as a key thought leader to grow and shape our R&D program management practice at Sprout. 

What you’ll do: 

• Develop and execute program strategy, roadmap and timeline that align with our business objectives and key stakeholder needs
• Lead the execution of high-impact, cross-functional programs from initiation through delivery — including program setup, planning, resource alignment, risk and issue management, decision-making, and progress reporting. Oversee scope, budget, and resource utilization to help us measure ROI and ensure efficient execution.
• Confidently partner with executive leaders and stakeholders across engineering, product, design, GTM, and platform teams. Build trusted relationships to effectively drive decision making, prioritization, and well-paced execution.
• Build and continuously improve frameworks that define and refine how we work in R&D on large-scale programs, ensuring they are scalable, effective, and easy for teams to adopt and apply.
• Help shape our Program Management function in R&D. 

What you’ll bring 

You’re an experienced program manager who brings clarity to complexity and builds right-sized systems that keep cross-functional work organized and accountable. You know how to navigate the org to bring in the right people, surface risks early, and get to the root of problems. You stay connected to the “why” — understanding goals, strategy, and execution — and help teams stay aligned to it. If you’re a strategic thinker with a passion for keeping R&D teams organized, and you’re excited to shape what great R&D program management looks like, we’d love to talk to you!

 

The minimum qualifications for this role include:

• 10+ years of experience working in software organizations in Engineering, Program Management, or Technical Program Management roles
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, high-impact, cross-functional technical programs
• Experience in high-growth SaaS environments

Preferred qualifications for this role include:

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to connect day-to-day execution to broader business objectives
• Skilled at navigating ambiguity and bringing clarity and focus to teams
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills
• Experience using Atlassian products (Jira, Confluence), Google Suite (Docs, Slides, Sheets), Mixpanel and Tableau

How you’ll grow

Within 1 month, you’ll plant your roots, including:

• Completing Sprout Social’s new hire training and onboarding alongside fellow new team members to gain a broad understanding of our products and how your role fits into the organization.
• Partnering with your manager to define success metrics for your role and how you’ll be measured.
• Exploring our products to understand what makes our software unique and why customers love it.
• Building relationships across product, engineering, design, and GTM teams.

Within 3 months, you’ll start hitting your stride by:

• Developing a clear understanding of our business objectives and the strategies driving R&D.
• Taking ownership of a major cross-functional program, working closely with product, design, and engineering partners to manage dependencies and drive execution.
• Asking the right questions to align teams on decisions and priorities, surfacing risks and blockers, and maintaining momentum through strong communication.
• Identifying opportunities to improve how we collaborate and operate across functions.