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10160814 - Manager, Portfolio Operations

About the Role & Team

Disney Studio Technology and Operations is seeking a Manager, Portfolio Operations to lead the delivery of technology initiatives across Disney Motion Picture Productions, Marvel Studios, Twentieth Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Lucasfilm. This role leads a team of Program and Project Managers responsible for supporting studio productions through world-class, AI-enabled technology delivery. The Manager will serve as a strategic orchestrator, balancing human judgment and AI-enabled workflows to improve portfolio visibility, strengthen operational processes, and deliver measurable business outcomes. This role will also lead internal process improvement initiatives that support the team’s evolution from traditional program management to portfolio operations focused on strategic value delivery.

What You Will Do

In this role, you will lead portfolio operations for studio production technology programs, providing visibility into the products, services, workflows, risks, and investments that support live-action, episodic, and animation productions. You will partner closely with Studio Technology, Operations, Engineering, Production, and executive stakeholders to guide portfolio planning, strengthen governance, validate AI-generated insights, and translate program activity into clear, decision-ready business value.

You will manage and develop a team of Program and Project Managers, coach team members on responsible AI use and executive communication, and help build scalable processes that improve delivery speed, transparency, and accountability across the portfolio.

Responsibilities

Strategic Alignment & Portfolio Leadership

• Own the delivery portfolio for studio production programs across live-action, episodic, and animation productions.
• Provide portfolio-level visibility into the products, services, programs, dependencies, risks, and outcomes supporting each production.
• Align initiatives to Studio Technology and Operations strategy, business priorities, OKRs, capacity plans, and KPIs.
• Lead monthly portfolio reviews and quarterly planning processes, preparing executive-ready updates on progress, risks, investment value, and production impact.
• Connect program investments to measurable business outcomes through ROI analysis, budget synthesis, and value-based prioritization.

AI Workflow Design & Governance

• Pilot, govern, and scale AI-enabled workflows for status reporting, risk tracking, portfolio analytics, and production program delivery.
• Define clear guardrails, roles, performance measures, and human-in-the-loop controls for responsible AI use across the program team.
• Validate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, bias, relevance, and business readiness before operational or leadership use.
• Use AI-enabled analytics to identify emerging risk patterns, generate portfolio insights, and shape escalation recommendations.
• Champion AI adoption, responsible experimentation, and practical enablement across Studio Technology production pillars.

Execution, Delivery & Change Leadership

• Lead internal Strategy and Portfolio Operations initiatives, including process refreshes, planning improvements, workflow documentation, and automation opportunities.
• Manage end-to-end delivery across waterfall and agile methodologies, ensuring timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks, and budget status are clearly tracked.
• Build trusted partnerships with Studio Technology, Operations, Engineering, Production, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Communicate program health, investment value, risk, and recommendations in clear narratives for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Drive change management efforts that introduce scalable, AI-enabled ways of working into production technology practices.

Financial Stewardship & Team Leadership

• Support budget forecasting, production allocation planning, variance analysis, resource utilization, and financial reporting across the portfolio.
• Establish financial governance standards and ROI measures that connect program spend to strategic priorities and business outcomes.
• Manage, coach, and develop Program and Project Managers, setting clear expectations for delivery quality, AI fluency, productivity, and goal achievement.
• Create a collaborative, learning-oriented team culture that supports responsible AI experimentation, continuous improvement, and professional growth.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 7+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, Project Management, Portfolio Operations, or a related technology delivery function using both waterfall and agile methodologies.
• 5+ years of experience managing, coaching, and developing program or project management teams.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI tools, automation, or analytics to improve program management workflows, status reporting, risk tracking, portfolio insights, or operational processes.
• Proven ability to evaluate, validate, and communicate AI-generated outputs with appropriate judgment, context, and quality control.
• Experience managing technology portfolios or production-facing technology programs in Media & Entertainment, film, television, animation, or similar environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into executive-ready narratives, recommendations, and business cases.
• Experience partnering with technical operations, IT engineering, software development, business intelligence, or technology delivery teams.
• Strong written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, contracts, purchase orders, operational budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting.
• Ability to build trust, influence stakeholders, and lead through ambiguity, change, and cross-functional complexity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing, implementing, or governing AI-enabled workflows, automation solutions, agent-based systems, or multi-agent operating models.
• Previous experience in feature film, episodic television, animation, studio operations, or production technology environments.
• Experience as a Product Owner or portfolio leader overseeing business intelligence, technology, planning, or reporting initiatives.
• Familiarity with prompt engineering, AI governance, agentic workflows, and emerging AI technologies.
• Experience leading change management programs, operating model improvements, or organizational transformation efforts.
• PMP certification or equivalent experience; Certified Scrum Master is a plus.
• Experience with enterprise tools such as Jira, Smartsheet, Power BI, or similar portfolio, planning, reporting, and analytics platforms.

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

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