Working with KinderCare Learning Companies means using your outstanding talents to help set the foundation for lifelong learners, where you can collaborate with colleagues, grow and learn, and positively impact the families we serve.

With over 50 years of experience, 30,000+ employees, and more than 2,000 early learning center programs, we are the most accredited leaders in early childhood education. Together, we create environments where kids grow and thrive. As one of only four companies to receive the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award six times, we’re confident that you can grow and thrive here, too. We can’t wait to meet you.

KinderCare Learning Companies is looking for an experienced Director, Agile Delivery to support the development of the KinderCare Digital Family Experience Program. We are undertaking a comprehensive digital transformation, building, and supporting best-in-class systems that uplift the family experience and enable our center staff to focus on the children. This role will champion agile product development practices in the program, facilitate all program events, communicate risks and issues to the Portfolio Steering Committee, and support the Digital Program Sponsor with the overall management of the digital program. The successful candidate is comfortable working in a customer focused, continuous delivery or agile portfolio environment that is forming and evolving regularly.

WHO YOU ARE:

• A servant-leader at heart, you thrive on leading high-performing individuals and view your role as ensuring that they are always fully supported and set up for success.
• As team coach, you recognize unique team member differences and you are comfortable bringing their experience and skills together to build a more elevated team.
• A Self-starter, that when faced with a new initiative, is driven to set goals, take action, and build.
• An activator, you run at challenges and simultaneously embrace change.
• As a trusted thought partner, you drive to align the team to the KinderCare vision of project management and are excited to bring your excellent experience to bear in the spirit of continuous improvement.
• A relationship builder, you recognize that partnership and collaboration at all levels is foundational for success.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Work with Executive Steering, Product Managers, Product Owners, and other key stakeholders to help ensure strategy and execution alignment across the digital portfolio
• Leads the portfolio management processes that support the flow of value through the value streams using various tools (Portfolio Kanban, Program Roadmap, RAID log, Value Realization Metrics, etc.)
• Leads a skilled team focused on driving technical and operational excellence for KinderCare. This Director will consistently demonstrate passion for creating exceptional experiences for our collaborators, through optimizing the performance and availability of critical applications and services.
• Establish and communicate the annual calendars for Iterations and Program Increments (PIs)
• Facilitate PI Planning readiness by fostering a Continuous Exploration process which drives the synthesis of a Vision, a Roadmap, and Backlogs, and through Pre- and Post-PI Planning events
• Facilitates quarterly PI Planning events
• Manages the schedule, maintains upcoming milestones to be used in PI Planning, and helps to identify dependencies across value streams.
• Collaborates with product managers to ensure coordinated value stream objectives and key results
• Owns and develops new work processes and tools, driving activities to change the culture and to demonstrate outcomes, progress and corresponding improvements to value delivery speed and efficiency.
• Works with the portfolio team and key business partners to understand budget guardrails and communicate them to product managers.
• Regularly participates in Agile ceremonies such as system demos, sprint planning and sprint retrospectives.
• Acts as liaison across value streams to successfully align work, dependencies, manage risks, and drive decision making.
• Help manage risks and dependencies, escalate and track impediments, and provide input on resourcing to address critical bottleneck
• Coach leaders and product delivery teams toward an improved practice of Agile and product delivery.
• Leads the identification and launch of new value streams and product delivery teams.
• Supports the Digital Family Experience Program Sponsor with the development, management, and continuous improvement of program operations

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience
• Prior experience leading large-scale digital transformation efforts
• Ability and appetite to lead and engage diverse and equitable teams
• Proven experience navigating ambiguous environments
• Exemplifies and promotes Agile values and principles
• Outstanding communication (both oral and written), facilitation, negotiation, and coaching skills. Ability to initiate and foster collaborative relationships
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills with meticulous attention to detail
• Experience using agile planning tools (Jira, Azure DevOps, etc.) Specific experience using Jira a plus
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Technology or a related field

NICE TO HAVES:

• Certified Release Train Engineer (SAFe RTE), or
• Agile certification or training (e.g. Scrum Master, SAFe, etc.)
• Educational technology experience highly desired

Our benefits meet you where you are. We’re here to help our employees navigate the integration of work and life:

• Know your whole family is supported with discounted child care benefits.
• Breathe easy with medical, dental, and vision benefits for your family (and pets, too!).
• Feel supported in your mental health and personal growth with employee assistance programs.
• Feel great and thrive with access to health and wellness programs, unlimited paid time off and discounts for work necessities, such as cell phones.
• … and much more.

At KinderCare Learning Companies you'll use your skills and expertise to help craft and contribute to our shared mission of supporting communities and encouraging lifelong learners. From our teachers to our cooks to our financial analysts, we are all passionate about crafting a world of learning, happiness and adventure for more than 150,000 children every day.

As the first national early childcare education provider to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating from the International WELL Building Institute, we continue to follow the latest science-backed and evidence-based strategies for maintaining a safe and worry-free workplace.

Our highest priority has always been to keep our employees, children, families, and communities as safe and healthy as possible. KinderCare highly encourages its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves and their communities. We are proud to provide paid time off for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We are also subject to state law, local ordinances, and Health Department requirements for employees working in child care, school facilities, and corporate work spaces.

We truly believe that everyone belongs in our circle, and everyone deserves to be celebrated for who they are. By partnering with underrepresented groups and experts in DEI, we are identifying areas to improve and forging a path forward through accountability, compassion, accessibility, and inclusion.

KinderCare Learning Companies is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.

Primary Location : Portland, Oregon, United States

Job : Corporate