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TL;DR: Program Managers coordinate multiple projects and ensure various teams stay aligned on complex, cross-functional initiatives. They think strategically about how initiatives should be managed and coordinated to meet overall company objectives.
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Program managers coordinate multiple projects and ensure that various teams are aligned. While this looks different depending on the organizations, program managers are typically in charge of multiple, complex, cross-functional and dynamic initiatives. They supervise cross-functional teams and ensure that projects ladder up to overall company objectives. They are usually part of a formal project management office (PMO), a group that helps to standardize processes and improve efficiency, but now increasingly report into other business units, such as IT or marketing.
Program managers are often heavily involved in the product planning and development process. They're focused on scheduling phases of work, managing dependencies, identifying bottlenecks to delivery, and recommending process changes to drive efficiency.
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