Program Manager

Join to apply for the Program Manager role at Sporting Life Group. Sporting Life Group is a proudly Canadian family of retail banners, Sporting Life, Golf Town, and Team Town Sports, united by a shared passion for sport and active living. From individual pursuits to team sports, we offer the best equipment, expert services, and experiences to help Canadians play, move, and live well. Why Work Here? Access to our benefits package, with the choice of different levels of health, dental, and vision coverage to suit you. Employee discounts at Golf Town, Sporting Life, and Team Town Sports that are shareable with friends and family. Team‑first culture that celebrates an active, sports lifestyle. Fun, fast‑paced hybrid environment where your passion for sport and style belongs. Vendor Pro Deals and expert product training to fuel your knowledge and performance. Competitive pay and opportunities to grow your career in sports lifestyle. What You’ll Do; A hands‑on Program Manager responsible for leading the Technology Delivery Practice and driving execution across the organization’s technology portfolio. This role reports to the Director of Product & Solution Architecture and works closely with cross‑functional IT teams, business partners, and external vendors to ensure effective planning, mobilization, and delivery of initiatives. The Program Manager will oversee capacity planning, portfolio roadmap creation, agile practice establishment, and the operational management of delivery pods. They will directly manage Project Managers, Scrum Masters, and other delivery resources, ensuring high‑quality execution, predictable delivery, and strong alignment with business and technology strategies. This role requires strong leadership, stakeholder management, and a deep understanding of technology delivery frameworks and enterprise program management. Oversee the full technology portfolio, ensuring programs and projects are aligned with corporate and technology strategy. Lead roadmap creation, prioritization, and refinement in partnership with product, architecture, and business teams. Drive capacity planning across the technology organization, ensuring teams are right‑sized and optimally allocated across initiatives. Develop portfolio‑level reporting, dashboards, and KPIs to track progress, risks, dependencies, and outcomes. Ensure delivery consistency, standardization, and traceability across initiatives. Delivery Leadership Lead the Technology Delivery Practice, including oversight of project managers, scrum masters, and delivery leads. Build and manage high‑performing delivery pods, aligning resources to strategic initiatives. Define, implement, and continuously improve delivery standards, frameworks, and processes across the organization. Direct program mobilization activities include charter development, scope definition, planning, budgeting, and resource onboarding. Ensure clear governance and control structures for all programs and projects. Agile Practice Ownership Establish the company’s Agile delivery model, defining frameworks, standards, and best practices. Mentor PMs, SMs, and delivery teams on Agile and hybrid methodologies. Facilitate Agile scaling techniques when required (e.g., cross‑team ceremonies, PI planning). Drive adoption of Agile tooling, reporting, and measurement practices. Stakeholder & SteerCo Management Prepare and conduct Steering Committees (SteerCos) for major programs and portfolio initiatives. Communicate program status, risks, decisions, and alignment needs to executive leadership. Manage cross‑functional relationships across business units, technology teams, and vendors. Oversee vendor engagement strategies, performance management, contracting, and capacity planning. Ensure vendors adhere to delivery standards, SLAs, timelines, and financial controls. Manage escalations, negotiations, and relationships with key delivery partners. Risk, Issue & Change Management Maintain strong governance for risk identification, mitigation planning, and issue resolution. Ensure structured change management, including stakeholder engagement, communication, and readiness planning. Oversee dependency management across systems, teams, and programs. Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement Evaluate and optimize delivery processes, tools, and methodologies. Champion quality assurance and operational readiness across all initiatives. Drive maturity in project lifecycle management, documentation, reporting, and knowledge transfer practices. Provide day‑to‑day leadership, coaching, and performance management for project managers, scrum masters, and delivery staff. Support skill development, certifications, and career progression pathways for the Delivery Practice. Promote a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. What You’ll Bring; At least 7 - 10 years of experience in technology program or portfolio management. Demonstrated experience managing enterprise‑level technology programs and large cross‑functional teams. Strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC), Agile methodologies, and enterprise program governance. Experience leading or building agile practices, delivery frameworks, or PMOs is strongly preferred. Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree in business, technology, or related field preferred. Certifications such as PMP, PgMP, PMI‑ACP, CSM, SAFe, or Prosci are preferred. Experience with vendor governance, budget planning, and contract management. Strong communication, negotiation, and executive presentation skills. Proven ability to influence without authority across technical and business environments. Experience working with complex enterprise systems (ERP, POS, cloud platforms, integrations) is an asset. Ability to manage competing priorities and oversee multiple initiatives simultaneously. Seniority level Not Applicable Employment type Full‑time Job function Information Technology and Project Management Industries Retail and Retail Apparel and Fashion Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Sporting Life Group by 2x. #J-18808-Ljbffr