Lead Program Manager

* The company is currently able to support employees based in the following US locations: CA, CO, CT, GA, IL, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OR, SC, VA, VT, and WA.

Aquent is partnering with a pioneering platform that has revolutionized how creative projects come to life. This organization stands as a global leader in crowdfunding, empowering hundreds of thousands of innovative endeavors across film, games, music, art, design, and technology. With billions of dollars pledged to support creative visions, this company is not just a platform but a vibrant community committed to fostering growth-both for its users and its dedicated team members. They champion a culture of autonomy and shared values, ensuring every individual has the space to contribute meaningfully and impact decisions.

About the Role

Are you ready to build, shape, and define the future of cross-team delivery at a company dedicated to creativity? We are seeking an exceptional program leader to join a dynamic product team in a foundational role. This is a unique opportunity to be the very first person in this position, empowering you to establish critical processes and structures from the ground up. You will be the central force ensuring seamless collaboration, clear communication, and efficient delivery across multiple technical teams, directly impacting the success of countless creative projects and the experience of millions of users. Your work will directly influence how new features and improvements reach the world, making a tangible difference in the creative ecosystem.

What You'll Do:

• Serve as the vital link between technical teams, proactively identifying and resolving dependencies to maintain smooth delivery commitments.
• Ensure high visibility and progress of delivery commitments across multiple teams, promptly flagging status, risks, and potential delays for timely intervention.
• Anticipate and mitigate sequencing conflicts among technical teams, preventing blockers and providing strategic resourcing recommendations when necessary.
• Drive the successful, on-time delivery of significant cross-organizational initiatives by partnering with product managers and project owners.
• Manage comprehensive stakeholder communications across the program, keeping key partners in legal, finance, go-to-market, and senior leadership informed with actionable insights on status, risks, and trade-offs.
• Architect and implement new dependency-mapping and risk-review frameworks, providing senior leadership with early visibility into potential challenges.
• Develop and standardize the reporting and communication strategies for the program, effectively linking program health to overall business impact for leadership.
• Establish foundational program management practices, processes, and delivery cadences, laying the groundwork for future success in this inaugural role.

Required Qualifications:

• Extensive experience in program or delivery management, typically 10-12+ years, or equivalent demonstrated impact.
• A proven track record of effectively managing cross-team dependencies and fostering strong stakeholder relationships across various functions (e.g., Engineering, Legal, Finance, Go-to-Market).
• Demonstrated ability to build delivery processes and operating models from scratch in environments where none previously existed.
• Comfort and capability in holding diverse teams accountable to delivery commitments, even without direct formal authority.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with the ability to distill complex information into clear, decision-ready updates for all levels of stakeholders.
• A proactive approach to anticipating risk and dependency conflicts across multiple teams, addressing potential issues before they escalate.
• Significant experience navigating and bringing structure to ambiguous situations, including establishing visibility in new functions or processes.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A background encompassing platform, infrastructure, or technical-adjacent delivery work would be a valuable asset given the nature of the teams involved.

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