Program Manager – COO Office (Revised for Business Execution Focus)

Role Overview

The Program Manager – COO Office will operate as a business execution partner to the COO, responsible for driving outcomes across complex, cross-functional priorities that span Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, Operations, HR, and Finance.

This role goes beyond program coordination or governance. It exists to own execution, resolve cross-functional dependencies, and ensure that company priorities move forward decisively—particularly where ownership is unclear or priorities conflict.

The Program Manager will act as an extension of the COO, enabling faster decisions, stronger accountability, and consistent execution across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Business Execution & Outcome Ownership

• Own end-to-end execution of high-impact COO-led initiatives that cut across multiple departments.
• Translate strategic intent into clear outcomes, ownership, decision points, and timelines.
• Proactively identify execution bottlenecks and force resolution through prioritization, escalation, or decision-making.
• Drive execution in environments of ambiguity, incomplete information, and competing priorities.

Cross-Functional Alignment & Trade-off Management

• Actively arbitrate trade-offs between Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, Operations, HR, and Finance.
• Resolve situations where alignment exists in principle but execution does not follow.
• Ensure accountability is explicit and outcomes are delivered—not just discussed.

COO Enablement

• Serve as the COO’s execution arm, not a reporting or coordination layer.
• Prepare concise inputs to enable faster leadership decisions (options, risks, trade-offs).
• Represent the COO in select forums to ensure follow-through on agreed priorities and decisions.

Program Structuring & Execution Discipline

• Break down complex initiatives into workstreams with owners and measurable success criteria.
• Use reviews, dashboards, and cadence as tools to drive decisions and outcomes, not as ends in themselves.
• Intervene when programs drift from intended outcomes, even if delivery metrics appear “on track.”

Qualifications

Required

• 6–12 years of experience in business execution roles, such as:
  • COO / CEO Office
  • Chief of Staff (execution-focused)
  • Business Program Manager owning cross-functional outcomes
  • Management consulting with hands-on execution responsibility
• Demonstrated ability to drive outcomes across multiple functions, not just coordinate stakeholders.
• Strong judgment and comfort holding teams accountable without formal authority.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-growth, ambiguous environments.

Preferred

• Experience in SaaS, technology, or digital-first organizations.
• Prior exposure to working directly with CXO-level leadership.
• Track record of owning initiatives involving hard trade-offs and execution challenges.