Strategic Program Leader

About McDonald's, we are a purpose-driven organization that values innovation, inclusivity, and impact.

We are committed to staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald's remains one of the world's leading corporations after almost 70 years.

Joining us means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

We lead through our values centered on service, integrity, community, family, and inclusivity. From support of charities to our youth opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry, and planet.

We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

Director, Program Management Job Description:

• This role is responsible for driving cross-functional alignment across multiple GBS initiatives by maintaining the Integrated Workplan, facilitating planning workshops, and assisting with resource forecasting.
• The Director will work with Integrated PMO governance team members to help manage risks to program delivery through established governance channels.
• This role will also leverage a deep understanding of market- and program-specific nuances to build and maintain strong relationships across markets & project teams to support strategic GBS initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain a comprehensive program workplan across GBS initiatives with multiple views tailored to different audiences.
• Conduct rolling check-ins with initiative and market representatives to ensure plan accuracy.
• Standardize and facilitate forecasting of resource needs across markets.
• Identify and communicate strategic insights from integrated plans to optimize timelines and resourcing across the program.
• Support preparation and facilitation of integrated planning workshops to align program strategy with market needs.
• Raise and help mitigate potential dependencies, risks, or other issues through appropriate governance channels.
• Socialize integrated plans with market and initiative forums for validation and with executive forums for awareness.
• Oversee smooth user experience of project management tooling and assist with continuous learning.
• Support collaboration and synthesization between Integrated PMO, initiative project teams, Transformation Management Office, and horizontal capabilities.
• Introduce Leads and PMs to Integrated PMO ways of working, standards, and onboarding materials.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across markets and initiatives to support alignment.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related field required.
• Overall 15+ years of experience.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in project or program management.
• Skilled with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Experience with project management tools (e.g., Planview, Jira, Smartsheet's).
• Experience maintaining workplans across initiatives and geographies.
• Skilled in deriving strategic insights from plans and forecasting models.
• Experience in resource management and capacity planning.
• Experience leading workshops with executive-level, global stakeholders.
• Effective communicator with ability to customize messaging for varying audiences.
• Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a purpose-driven organization that values innovation, inclusion, and impact.
• Work with a collaborative and supportive team across global markets.
• Enjoy competitive compensation, flexible work options, and continuous learning opportunities.

Additional Information:

• We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.