[Hiring] Lead Technical Program Manager @Wikimedia Foundation

Role Description

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.

• Be a trusted thought partner and a hands-on execution-oriented driver.
• Enable teams to deliver complex programs with clarity, efficiency, and measurable results.
• Build strong relationships and align diverse stakeholders around shared objectives.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity independently.
• Demonstrated technical depth and a proven track record of working 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 team practices, workflows, and processes at a program level.
• 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, 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.
  • Communicate effectively, "read the room," and tailor engagement to context.
  • Act as a strategic thought partner by asking the right questions 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.

Company Description

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.
• Everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely.
• We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content.
• Support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible.
• Advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.