Sr. Director, PMO, Gracenote

Company Description

At Nielsen, we are passionate about our work to power a better media future for all people by providing powerful insights that drive client decisions and deliver extraordinary results. Our talented, global workforce is dedicated to capturing audience engagement with content - wherever and whenever it’s consumed. Together, we are proudly rooted in our deep legacy as we stand at the forefront of the media revolution. When you join Nielsen, you will join a dynamic team committed to excellence, perseverance, and the ambition to make an impact together. We champion you, because when you succeed, we do too. We enable your best to power our future.

Job Description

Gracenote is seeking a seasoned leader to own, scale, and optimize our global PMO  ecosystem including SDLC and New Product Introduction (NPI). In this role, you will lead the end-to-end orchestration of the product pipeline across our Video, Audio/Auto, Sports, and Platform portfolios. You will act as the single point of truth for the plan of record, driving cross-functional alignment across senior leadership, enforcing governance, and managing the process that helps us turn complex product initiatives into predictable revenue engines.

The ideal candidate brings deep domain expertise in media technology, possesses exceptional influence without authority, and knows how to balance rigorous Gated Agile governance with operational flexibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, evolve, and maintain Gracenote’s Gated Agile PMO playbook (Phases, Gates, Deliverables, RACI) from ideation through post-launch evaluation.

• Drive change management and enablement training across teams to ensure long-term process adoption and eliminate cross-functional handoff failures.

• Host and enforce cross-functional Gate Reviews (Research > Alpha > Beta > Limited Availability > General Availability) using objective entry/exit criteria to optimize product-market fit, prevent premature commercial scaling, and accelerate time from initial commercial availability to first closed-won revenue and ultimately broad market adoption.

• Simultaneously orchestrate complex, multi-region product introductions across Video, Audio/Auto, Sports, and Core Platform domains.

• Enforce tier-based change control (minor, moderate, major). Establish and run global RAID logs, escalation protocols, and process retrospectives.

• Serve as the primary connector across Product, Engineering, Legal, Marketing, Sales, CPX, Operations and Finance. Align VP/SVP leadership on process compliance and define strict criteria for executive exceptions.

• Build and maintain dashboards tracking program health, milestone delivery, and other KPIs.

• Deliver clear, actionable updates and strategic risk mitigations for VP/SVP audiences during weekly operational and monthly strategic syncs.

• Measure post-launch success by tracking adoption rates, ARR ramp speed, and efficiency against the original business case.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of progressive experience in Program Management, Product Operations, or GTM Management within B2B Tech, SaaS, Data, or Media Technology industries.

• Proven track record of building and scaling enterprise-wide  Stage-Gate/Agile or similar NPI frameworks across multi-product portfolios.

• Strategic, cross-functional fluency across Engineering, Legal, Marketing, Sales, Product, and Finance at the executive level.

• Mastery of Gated Agile, hybrid Stage-Gate methodologies, and software development lifecycles (SDLC).

• Strong executive presence and manage-by-influence skills with a demonstrated ability to constructively challenge senior leadership, manage ambiguity, and drive organizational change.

• Knowledge of and success with a Project management Office for large programs

• Successfully establish and lead project teams providing guidance and structure
   

Additional Information

Relevant certifications: PgMP, PMP, SAFe SPC, or equivalent.

Enabling your best to power a better media future.

Holistic Rewards: We are committed to an inclusive benefits package that supports our employees and their families. This includes comprehensive health and wellness plans, a 401(k) with a Nielsen company match, and a generous paid time off policy. Depending on the role, additional benefits may include a company-provided vehicle and/or discretionary incentive/bonus eligibility.

Compensation Transparency: The posted base salary range is a reasonable estimate that  may be adjusted based on the final work location of the selected employee. Individual pay within the range is determined by factors such as experience, training, geography, certifications, and business needs. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for bonuses, equity, or other incentives.

Nielsen makes hiring decisions without regard to disability status, protected veteran status, or membership in any other protected class.

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