What Is the Role?
- The Product & Technology Group (PTG) at Blackbaud is seeking a strategic, forward-thinking, people leader with experience in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). This role will champion the effective use of SAFe within our Agile Release Trains (ARTs) as they support the continuous delivery of large-scale, cloud-based software solutions, while also contributing to the leadership and development of our team within the Portfolio Management Office (PMO).
- The desired candidate will possess exemplary project and program management skills; exhibit strong business acumen and operational excellence; has the proven ability to drive and support predictable and high-quality delivery across a large, geographically distributed, cross-functional team as they realize the product vision and provide value to the customer. This person will also have a passion for building empowered, high-performing teams; driving a culture of continuous improvement; and delivering secure, valuable, and high-quality solutions to customers.
What You’ll Do – Program Management
- Oversee overall delivery for assigned projects/programs including intake, evaluation, prioritization, planning, execution, dependency management, risk management, release management, and stakeholder management.
- Plan, coordinate, and facilitate the major events and ceremonies for your projects/program and coordinate with dependent ARTs, as needed.
- Partner Product Manager to ensure backlog priorities are adjudicated and that conflicts are resolved prior to and throughout execution so the team can limit WIP, drive quality, deliver on its commitments, and realize business value.
- Be a Senior-level Agile Coach guiding teams to consistently leverage agile values, principles, practices, and ceremonies.
- Foster a safe, collaborative environment where teams can deliver commitments while feeling empowered to surface issues openly and honestly.
- Ensure clear communication and alignment between agile teams, Product Managers, Product Owners, System Engineers, Architects, Business Stakeholders, Partners, Suppliers, and other dependent teams (may include waterfall delivery teams and agile teams who do not live on the ART).
- Gather data from multiple sources, synthesize metrics, generate key insights, communicate project/program-level data within the train and across the business.
What You’ll Do – People Management Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, coach, and grow a team of agile PMO professionals.
- Oversee your team’s performance, manage conflicts, promote continuous learning, and professional growth/development.
- Collaborate with Human Resources (HR) and other departments for activities related to recruiting, onboarding, coaching, and training.
- Promote a positive and inclusive work environment, while upholding company values and culture.
- Contribute to the strategic direction of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) holistically, while aligning to enterprise and department-level goals.
- Positively represent the value the PMO brings in organizational forums, while fostering a culture of togetherness, adaptability, continuous improvement, and innovation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment and effective communication.
- Engage with executive leaders and other stakeholders to ensure successful delivery.
What We’re Looking For:
- A bachelor’s degree in a technology-related field preferred.
- SAFe certifications preferred
- 8+ years of experience managing large, cloud-based software development, software programs, or other technical delivery.
- 2-3+ years of demonstrated people management and team development experience, with a focus on building, leading, and motivating high-performing teams.
- Adept at organizing and leading outcomes-focused large planning and problem-solving sessions.
- Strong technical aptitude to drive accountability and quality outcomes, while fostering collaboration across product and engineering teams.
- Experience working in an agile organization, especially Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), or other scaling model.
- Experience using agile best practices (i.e., burndown charts, engaging retrospective formats, defect management, well-written User and Enabler Stories, Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD), Test-Driven Development (TDD), Behavior-Drive Development (BDD), Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), automated testing, etc.).
- Experience with Agile collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Azure DevOps, etc.)
- Exposure to AI agents and tools.
- Ability to deliver work which meets all minimum standards of quality, security, and operability.
Stay up to date on everything Blackbaud, follow us on Linkedin, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
Blackbaud powers social impact through purpose‑driven technology and responsible AI. Guided by our Intelligence for Good® vision, we’re building a culture where innovation, trust, and human expertise come together to help organizations make a greater difference in the world.
Blackbaud is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining an inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.
