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.

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