The Director, Project Management leads the Operations Services project-management function and is accountable for successful delivery of strategic, cross-functional initiatives across Panera.
This leader oversees five Managers of Project Management, establishes consistent governance and delivery standards, manages the enterprise project portfolio, and ensures initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and to executive sponsor expectations.
Location: Newton, MA moving to Weston, MA in 2027
Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Portfolio Leadership
- Own portfolio health and delivery performance.
- Establish project intake, evaluation, prioritization, sequencing, approval, and portfolio review processes.
- Partner with executive sponsors to define outcomes, success measures, sponsorship, and priorities.
- Identify capacity constraints, dependencies, timing conflicts, and tradeoffs and recommend portfolio decisions.
- Lead, coach, and develop five Managers of Project Management.
- Assign projects based on complexity, capacity, priority, and capability.
- Set expectations for outcomes, stakeholder experience, and execution quality.
- Build project-management competencies, coaching routines, and career development.
- Design and improve methodologies, stage gates, tools, templates, and minimum standards.
- Establish requirements for charters, integrated plans, governance, risk, financial tracking, change control, deployment, and closeout.
- Conduct portfolio and project health reviews and intervene when work is off track.
- Serve as the primary project-management advisor to executive sponsors.
- Lead steering committees, portfolio reviews, and critical decision forums.
- Oversee budgets, forecasts, variances, vendor commitments, resources, and investment tradeoffs.
- Ensure projects incorporate change management, field readiness, communications, training, and adoption.
QualificationsEducation & Experience
- Bachelor's degree required; master's degree preferred.
- 5+ years of progressive project management experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives.
- Demonstrated people-leadership experience with responsibility for project managers or complex portfolios.
- Experience partnering with executive sponsors and senior leaders.
- Restaurant, retail, hospitality, franchise, or multi-unit operations experience strongly preferred.
- PMP or equivalent certification preferred.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Exceptional project planning, organization, prioritization, and follow-through.
- Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, judgment, and creative problem-solving.
- Ability to influence without authority, navigate ambiguity, and build stakeholder alignment.
- Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive presentation skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project-management tools.
- Ability to travel based on business needs.
Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans
Competitive Pay $177,243 - $212,691 annually
The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
Newton Support CenterSkills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 5+ years of progressive project management experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives
- People-leadership experience managing project managers or complex portfolios
- Experience partnering with executive sponsors and senior leaders
- Restaurant, retail, hospitality, franchise, or multi-unit operations experience
- PMP or equivalent certification
- Exceptional project planning, organization, prioritization, and follow-through
- Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, judgment, and problem-solving skills
- Ability to influence without authority, navigate ambiguity, and build stakeholder alignment
- Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive presentation skills
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project-management tools
- Ability to travel based on business needs
- Master's degree
What We Do
Panera began in 1987 as St. Louis Bread Company, a humble community bakery founded with a sourdough starter from San Francisco and a dream of putting a loaf of bread in every arm. While our business has expanded well beyond St. Louis since then, that same sourdough starter is still used in our iconic sourdough bread and the craft of baking bread fresh each day remains at the heart of Panera Bread. Each day, our trained bakers fill our bakery shelves with delicious freshly baked cookies, pastries, bagels, and a range of breads from focaccia to classic baguettes. We believe in serving delicious, freshly prepared, clean food made with carefully selected ingredients that we are proud to serve our own families. Our menu, crafted by chefs and bakers, features classic, comforting dishes, each with an intriguing twist. We respect our planet and take measures to lessen our impacts. We believe in treating people with warmth, kindness, and respect, whether it’s a guest in our cafe or one of our associates. And we believe in helping our local communities, especially in times of need. We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we offer omni-channel access to your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering, catering, and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders, Curbside pick-up and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests. Today, Panera operates as both Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co St. Louis Bread Company in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Panera Bread is privately held by JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread is part of Panera Brands, one of the largest fast-casual restaurant platforms in the U.S., comprised of Panera Bread®, Caribou Coffee® and Einstein Bros.® Bagels.
