Director, Strategic Programs

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. Planned Parenthood organizations serve all people with care and compassion, with respect, and without judgment, striving to create equitable access to health care. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable education and information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports the independently incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates, which operate non-profit health centers across the U.S. PPFA also works to educate the public on and advocate for issues of sexual and reproductive health. Formed as the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is a separate non-profit membership organization tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4). The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education in furtherance of the Planned Parenthood mission.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood Action Fund (Action Fund) seek a dynamic and innovative Director, Strategic Programs. This job reports to the Sr. Director, Office of the Chief People & Culture Office in the People, Culture & Equity division. The People, Culture & Equity division is a critical partner focused on delivering a progressive people agenda that​ attracts, develops, and retains top talent and provides them with a great place to work for all.

Purpose:

The Director, Strategic Programs leads the program management and change management capability for People, Culture & Equity (PCE), translating strategic priorities into coordinated, executable plans and ensuring complex, cross-functional initiatives are successfully implemented. The Director establishes consistent program and change management practices, drives execution of the PCE roadmap, and provides leaders with visibility into progress, risks, dependencies, organizational readiness, and decisions needed to support successful delivery.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Office of the Chief People, Culture & Equity Officer, the Director works across PCE to strengthen execution, coordination, and accountability while maintaining clear ownership of business decisions and subject-matter expertise within the appropriate functional teams.

Delivery:

• Establish and lead a consistent program management framework for PCE, developing scalable methodologies, governance practices, tools, templates, and standards appropriate to the complexity of the work.

• Translate PCE priorities and the annual roadmap into integrated implementation plans with clear outcomes, milestones, ownership, dependencies, timelines, decision points, and measures of success.

• Lead program management for complex, high-priority initiatives that span multiple PCE functions or require significant coordination with partners across the organization.

• Develop and manage project governance structures that create clear accountability, enable timely decision-making, and maintain momentum throughout implementation.

• Lead change management for major PCE initiatives, including stakeholder and impact assessment, organizational readiness, adoption planning, implementation sequencing, and reinforcement.

• Identify and actively manage program risks, dependencies, resource constraints, and barriers to implementation, resolving issues within the scope of the role and escalating priority, capacity, or sequencing decisions when needed.

• Maintain portfolio-level visibility into execution of the PCE roadmap through consistent reporting on progress, milestones, risks, dependencies, readiness, and decisions required.

• Develop measures of implementation, adoption, and program success and use results and lessons learned to strengthen future PCE programs and practices.

• Build program and change management capability across PCE by providing practical guidance, tools, and approaches that enable teams to plan and execute work more effectively.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Engagement:

• Partner closely with the Senior Director, Office of the CPCEO to translate portfolio priorities into executable programs and provide timely visibility into progress, risks, dependencies, capacity constraints, and decisions requiring leadership attention.

• Serve as a program and change management advisor to PCE leaders, helping teams structure complex initiatives, establish appropriate governance, anticipate implementation challenges, and strengthen execution.

• Build strong working relationships across PCE functions to coordinate cross-functional initiatives while maintaining clear accountability with functional leaders and subject-matter experts for their respective areas of work.

• Facilitate cross-functional project teams, governance forums, working groups, and stakeholder discussions to drive alignment, clarify decisions and ownership, resolve dependencies, and maintain progress.

• Partner with the Director, PCE Communications to integrate communications into change and implementation strategies, ensuring stakeholder, readiness, and adoption needs inform communication planning.

• Engage organizational partners outside of PCE as required to coordinate dependencies, implementation requirements, and stakeholder readiness for enterprise-wide People initiatives.

• Communicate complex program information clearly and concisely to leadership, translating project-level detail into meaningful insights about progress, risk, organizational impact, and decisions needed.

• Foster accountability and effective collaboration across project teams through clear expectations, transparent reporting, disciplined follow-through, and constructive resolution of competing needs.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in program management, project management, change management, organizational effectiveness, business operations, or a related field, including experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives.

• Demonstrated expertise in program and project management methodologies, including project planning, governance, dependency management, risk management, resource planning, implementation, and measurement.

• Demonstrated experience applying change management practices to complex organizational initiatives, including stakeholder assessment, change impact analysis, readiness, adoption, and reinforcement.

• Proven ability to translate strategic priorities into clear, executable plans with defined outcomes, milestones, ownership, dependencies, timelines, and measures of success.

• Strong judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify risks and barriers, distinguish execution issues from matters requiring leadership decisions, and recommend practical solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and drive accountability across cross-functional teams without relying on direct reporting authority.

• Strong facilitation and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to navigate competing priorities, build alignment, clarify decision rights, and move complex work forward.

• Ability to synthesize complex information and provide leaders with concise, decision-useful reporting on progress, risks, dependencies, organizational readiness, and decisions needed.

• Experience developing scalable program management tools, processes, governance structures, and practices that improve organizational execution and consistency.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with executive leaders, functional experts, project teams, and stakeholders across different levels of an organization.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail, accountability, and progress against broader organizational objectives.

• High degree of discretion, adaptability, and sound judgment when working with sensitive information, shifting priorities, and high-visibility organizational initiatives.

Travel: 0 - 10% domestic

The Planned Parenthood cultural ethos, "In This Together", reflects our commitment to building a workplace culture that fosters belonging, promotes learning throughout the employee lifecycle, and recognizes individual contributions to our mission.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America participates in the E-Verify program. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory work environment, and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, customer focus, and innovation.