Senior Director, Portfolio Management

Summary:

All applications must be submitted by April 2, 5pm ET. Any applications after that will not be considered.

Overview:

As a leader within the ASPCA’s Project Management Office—part of the Strategy team—the Senior Director, Portfolio Management helps transform mission-driven goals into impact for animals nationwide. This leader shapes and stewards strategic portfolios that align resources to the highest‑value work and enables effective, coordinated execution across projects. It’s a role for someone who thrives in complexity, inspires collaboration, and brings energy and discipline to turning strategy into meaningful action.

Who We Are

At the ASPCA, our Strategy team plays a vital role in advancing the organization’s mission to improve the lives of animals through good welfare. We work across programs and partners to spark innovation, strengthen sheltering systems, and drive meaningful, measurable impact. Our team brings together experts in strategy, planning, project portfolio management, research, and impact measurement—each dedicated to helping the ASPCA deliver its highest priorities with clarity, alignment, and purpose.

As part of this group, the Project Management Office (PMO) serves as a strategic engine for execution. Established in 2021, the PMO provides centralized oversight of the ASPCA’s project portfolio, ensuring that resources, attention, and efforts are focused where they can drive the greatest value. Through a robust portfolio management framework, the PMO promotes strategic agility, supports dynamic resource alignment, and streamlines delivery so teams can stay focused on improving outcomes for animals.

Together, the Strategy team and PMO foster a collaborative, mission‑driven environment where big ideas become actionable plans, cross‑functional partnerships thrive, and complex challenges are tackled with creativity and discipline. We’re united by a shared commitment to making a measurable difference for animals—and the people who care for them.

What You’ll Do

The Senior Director, Portfolio Management acts as a critical bridge between strategy and execution, ensuring teams stay aligned to deliver the ASPCA’s highest-impact initiatives successfully. This leader partners closely with senior leaders and cross-functional teams across the organization to translate strategic priorities into cohesive, value‑driven portfolios that align resources, sequence work, and advance the Organization’s Strategic Framework.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in project and portfolio management—ideally with PMP certification—paired with exceptional communication, organization, and facilitation skills. This leader will guide multi‑year roadmaps, support key decision‑making, and provide targeted coaching to strengthen project portfolio management capabilities across the Organization, ensuring best practices are embedded and consistently applied.

To thrive in this role, they’ll need sharp critical thinking, strong change‑management skills, and the ability to build trusting and collaborative relationships across teams. The Senior Director must be able to see the big picture while understanding day‑to‑day realities, connecting strategic goals to practical execution. A proactive, data‑driven, solution-oriented mindset is essential, as is comfort operating in ambiguity and the ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities and environments. We’re seeking someone who is creative, compassionate, and skilled at helping teams drive work forward.

The Senior Director will excel in a dynamic, evolving environment, providing confident leadership, guiding teams through change, and enabling the organization to execute its most important work with clarity and impact. This role reports to the Vice President of the Project Management Office and currently has no direct reports. While part of the broader Strategy team, the Senior Director is fully embedded within the PMO and collaborates extensively across the organization.

Where and When You’ll Work

• This remote-based position (which requires travel, as described below) is open to all candidates based within the United States.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 15% annually of the time as needed.

What You’ll Get

Compensation

Benefits

At the ASPCA, you don’t have to choose between your passion and making a living. Our comprehensive benefits package helps ensure you can live a rewarding life at work and at home. Our benefits include but are not limited to:

• Affordable health coverage, including medical, employer-paid dental and optional vision coverage.
• Flexible time off that includes vacation time, paid personal time, sick time, bereavement time, paid parental leave, and 10 company paid holidays that allows you even more flexibility to observe the days that mean the most to you.
• Competitive financial incentives and retirement savings, including a 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions — we match dollar-for-dollar up to 4% and provide an additional 4% contribution toward your future each year.
• Robust professional development opportunities including classes, on-the-job training, coaching and mentorship with industry-leading peers, internal mobility, opportunities to support in the field and so much more.

Responsibilities:

Responsibility buckets are listed in general order of importance. They include, but are not limited to:

Lead Delivery of Enterprise Portfolios (60%)

• Lead the execution of a delivery-focused portfolio framework that tracks organizational goal performance.

• Translate annual plans and Organizational Priorities into roadmaps with communication plans, measured outcomes, and balanced resource allocation.

• Present executive and senior leadership with portfolio-level status updates and timelines, flag critical risks and interdependencies, and develop alternate plans to promote a nimble, delivery-focused culture.

• Proactively lead creative problem solving to quickly remove obstacles. Leverage data and stakeholder engagement to identify and fully understand the issue, generate ideas through brainstorming, and facilitate decision-making to select a sustainable solution.

• Thrive in a dynamic and evolving environment, providing confident and consistent leadership and driving organizational change aligned with business objectives. Navigate change effectively with compassion and agility as the organization continues to evolve and respond to animal welfare issues across the nation.

• Deliver impactful presentations and dashboards that communicate complex information in a clear and understandable manner through visuals, superb communication skills, and clear calls-to-action with assigned ownership.  Ability to meet various teams where they are related to understanding, resources, and support is required.

• Facilitate decision-making, proactively tackle issues with creative solutions, drive solutions forward, and reimagine resource management to improve project delivery.

• Build and maintain productive working relationships, foster teamwork, and navigate diverse stakeholder dynamics for successful outcomes and streamlined decision-making.

 

Implement and Consult on Project Portfolio Management Across the Organization (20%)

• Implement scalable project portfolio management solutions and champion innovative project management best practices. Elevate org-wide project portfolio management skills through the PM Cohort, PM Learning Community, PMO Knowledge Library, and trainings.

• Provide project portfolio management coaching and guidance to help teams organize projects into programs and portfolios, root cause project pain points, identify and address project interdependencies, and develop sustainable solutions that empower teams to successfully track and manage their projects. 

• Promote efficiency and nurture a culture of continuous improvement by streamlining project intake, prioritization, tracking, closing (including capturing lessons learned), and reporting. 

• Serve as Planview Project Hub Administrator and thought partner. Leverage platform to create balanced portfolios of coordinated projects that optimize resources and maximize impact on our Strategic Framework.

 

Manage Projects and Lead Cross-Functional Teams (20%)

• Lead large-scale projects that are critical to our Strategic Initiatives.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders across departments, vendors, and subject matter experts to create and execute complex project plans and schedules; complete projects on time and within budget.

• Define scope, manage budgets, and develop schedules, ensuring accuracy and transparency for the team.

• Develop stakeholder registers and conduct stakeholder assessments to ensure projects are appropriately resourced and stakeholders are aligned.

• Proactively manage risks and remove obstacles, identify resource gaps, and communicate decisions.

• Maintain excellent verbal and written communication with all stakeholders; Provide insight and support to enhance existing communications between teams.

• Facilitate meetings to reach decisions, define next actions with clear ownership, and drive the team to accomplish goals.

 

Other responsibilities may include:

 

• Participate in department meetings and work cross-functionally with other members of the team and organization.

• Proactively build project portfolio management skills and expertise by learning and embracing new technology, staying abreast of industry developments and best practices, and attend or provide training as available and approved.

• Provide interim project support during vacancies.

 

Qualifications

 

• Confidence, and composure communicating at all levels, including executive audiences.

• Highly motivated self‑starter with a proven ability to independently lead projects and portfolios while also providing strategic leadership.

• Successful track record of managing multiple projects and/or portfolios simultaneously in fast-paced environments while navigating competing priorities and adapting quickly to change.

• Proven ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous situations, guide teams through trade‑offs, and facilitate effective decision‑making.

• Strong conflict‑management skills, with the ability to navigate differing viewpoints, foster alignment, and keep work moving forward respectfully and constructively.

• Strong problem‑solver with the ability to think critically, anticipate challenges, and generate effective recommendations.

• High integrity and discretion in handling sensitive information.

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

• Familiarity with animal shelters, veterinary clinics or animal welfare preferred.

• Ability to exemplify ASPCA’s core values and behavioral competencies.

 

Education and Work Experience

 

• B.A./B.S. preferred or equivalent professional experience

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification strongly preferred.

• Minimum of 8 years of experience working in project or portfolio management, including 5+ years leading large-scale projects in a complex business or nonprofit environment.

• Experience overseeing high-visibility project portfolios required

• Proficiency with technology, including Microsoft Office/Office 365, Box, Canva, Teams, virtual whiteboards, and developing dashboards required

• Advance project management platform skills preferred. Planview Adapativework experience is a plus. 

• Comfort in exploring new technical platforms, analyzing their application across the organization and leading implementation and training as needed.

• Experience leading change management required

  

Language:

English (Required)

Education and Work Experience: