Director Program Management
Administration
Oak Brook, IL, USA
The Director, Program Management Office (PMO) is a senior delivery leader responsible for building and operating Inspira Financial’s Health & Benefits (H&B) project portfolio management capability. Reporting to the Senior Director, Program Management within the Execution Office, this role owns the end-to-end intake, prioritization, resourcing, and execution management of Inspira’s highest-priority initiatives across Health & Benefits, Service Delivery, and Technology.
The Director leads a team of Program Managers, Senior Project Managers, and Project Managers, ensuring that Health & Benefits (H&B) projects are governed effectively, delivered on time and within scope, and aligned to Inspira’s strategic OKRs. This role is distinct from the Center of Excellence (CoE) function: the Director, PMO is accountable for portfolio execution and delivery performance, not for process documentation, template maintenance, or PM training — those responsibilities sit with the Process & Tools Manager (CoE Lead).
Duties & Responsibilities:
Portfolio Management & Intake
- Own the Health & Benefits (H&B) project intake process: receive, evaluate, and triage incoming project requests from business leaders, ensuring all submissions are properly scoped and assessed against strategic fit and capacity.
- Maintain a consolidated, real-time portfolio view of all active and queued Health & Benefits (H&B) initiatives, inclusive of status, resource allocation, dependencies, and risk posture.
- Lead the portfolio prioritization process in partnership with the Senior Director and executive stakeholders, sequencing initiatives against organizational capacity, strategic importance, and budget.
- Identify and actively manage cross-initiative dependencies, sequencing conflicts, and capacity bottlenecks before they become delivery risks.
Delivery Execution & Governance
- Deploy and manage Program Managers, Senior Project Managers, and Project Managers to Health & Benefits (H&B) initiatives based on project complexity, scope, and skill requirements.
- Establish and enforce project governance standards: proper use of charters, tollgates, RACI frameworks, risk registers, and milestone-based reporting across all PMO-managed projects.
- Serve as the primary escalation point for delivery risks, scope changes, budget variances, and cross-functional blockers, coordinating resolution across business and technology stakeholders.
- Ensure all PMO-managed projects adhere to the frameworks and toolkits developed by the CoE; partner with the Process & Tools Manager to identify gaps and improvements.
- Drive adoption of the Health & Benefits (H&B) PPM tool for all active projects, ensuring data integrity for executive portfolio reporting.
Executive Reporting & Stakeholder Management
- Prepare and deliver concise, data-rich portfolio dashboards and executive updates to the Senior Director and C-suite, surfacing delivery health, risk posture, and capacity trends.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior business leaders, executive sponsors, and external partners across the Health & Benefits (H&B).
- Translate organizational strategy into actionable delivery roadmaps, communicating trade-offs and sequencing decisions with clarity and confidence.
- Facilitate alignment sessions and steering committee meetings, ensuring decision-making momentum on critical in-flight programs.
Team Leadership & Talent Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Program Managers, Senior Project Managers, and Project Managers — setting clear performance expectations, providing regular feedback, and building career growth plans.
- Partner with the Senior Director and CoE to ensure all PMO team members are trained on and consistently apply Health & Benefits (H&B) delivery standards and toolkits.
- Oversee hiring, onboarding, and performance management for all PMO direct reports.
- Identify skill gaps within the PMO team and work with HR and the CoE to close them through targeted development or hiring.
- Model a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement within the PMO.