Job Description
Location: Remote with some travel expected 1 - 3 times a year Department: Product and Technology Reports To: Director of Program Management Hours: Available for synchronous collaboration 3pm - 8pm UTC About The Role We are looking for an experienced and strong Technical Program Manager (TPgM) to drive critical cross-functional and cross-departmental programs, ensure strategic alignment of the work, and guide teams toward impactful outcomes. In this role, you’ll be both a trusted thought partner and a hands-on execution-oriented driver, enabling teams to deliver complex programs with clarity, efficiency, and measurable results. We are looking for someone with a proven ability to build strong relationships and align diverse stakeholders around shared objectives. The role requires comfort navigating ambiguity independently. We are specifically looking for a TPgM with demonstrated technical depth, and a proven track record of working with and partnering with large, complex technology organizations. Key Responsibilities Program Leadership & Delivery Drive planning, coordination, and execution of initiatives across teams and departments. Track, support, and enable teams to deliver meaningful impact; establish clear metrics and/or milestones to measure success. Facilitate and improve - at a program level - the team practices, workflows, and processes. Strategic Planning & Capacity Management Lead capacity planning exercises, identify gaps and make recommendations for resource allocation or escalation as needed. Partner with Product and Technology leadership and program stakeholders to align priorities with strategic objectives and operational realities. Risk, Issue & Dependency Management Proactively identify risks, issues, and cross-functional dependencies (especially with Legal and Communications), and develop management, mitigation or escalation plans. Resolve conflicts and ensure smooth collaboration across teams. Partner with engineering to evaluate technical tradeoffs, identify architectural risks, and guide decisions that balance speed, scalability, and quality. Stakeholder & Relationship Management Build and maintain strong relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including the volunteer community where required; communicate effectively, "read the room" and tailor engagement to context. Act as a strategic thought partner by asking the right questions, sensing partnership needs, and fostering productive dialogues. Program Operations & Reporting Manage program-level operations such as scheduling, coordination, reporting, and meeting facilitation. Maintain strong documentation and transparent reporting structures, ensuring visibility across all stakeholders. Evaluate success against metrics and milestones, and ensure clear communication of that in reporting. Enablement & Training Conduct training and coaching for program stakeholders on programmatic tools, processes, and best practices. Promote understanding and adoption of scalable program management practices across the department. Mentor and support other TPgMs. Narrative & Communication Tell the story of complex work streams clearly and simply, highlighting the why, the how, and the impact. Serve as an effective nudger - keeping the right level of accountability without micromanagement. Qualifications 8+ years of experience in Technical Program Management or a related field, preferably in a product-driven or engineering-led organization. Strong systems thinking, organizational, and analytical skills. Proven success managing complex programs with multiple stakeholders. Expertise in risk management, capacity planning, and strategic alignment. Exceptional communication and relationship-building abilities. Comfort with ambiguity and a bias for action. Experience working with Legal, Communications, and other business-critical functions outside of Product & Technology. About The Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading,