Job Description:
Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead – our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It’s a big ask, but it’s one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate – pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it’s a career with purpose. It’s a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future – including your own.
We’re actively seeking a talented Program Manager to join the Strategy & Program Management Office (PMO) in our Workforce Benefits Division (WBD) in Newport Beach, CA. This role is hybrid. We believe in empowering our employees to get work done both in and out of the office.
As a Program Manager, you’ll move Pacific Life, and your career, forward by leading complex, cross-functional programs from concept to delivery. You’ll partner with business and technology leaders across the organization to translate the division’s strategy into action. Your initial focus will be leading our Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program. This role requires a self-starter and delivery leader who brings structure, drives clarity, and ensures steady progress, even when priorities shift. The ideal candidate embraces the ambiguity and complexity of scaling a new business, balances planning with adaptability, and operates with a strong sense of ownership and urgency.
How you’ll help move us forward:
Lead and manage multiple, complex programs and projects across the division, including new product development, new capability development, and operational readiness, from concept to delivery
Develop integrated program roadmaps, master plans, timelines, and deliverables that align business, technology, and operational workstreams to strategic objectives and business outcomes
Lead delivery using a combination of Agile, waterfall, and hybrid methods, adjusting plans based on team feedback, stakeholder input, and shifting priorities
Coordinate cross-functional teams across the value chain within the Division and with Enterprise teams, ensuring dependencies, impediments, and delivery constraints are actively managed
Drive timely program decisions; identify risks early, manage trade-offs, and escalate when appropriate to maintain delivery momentum
Monitor and report on program performance, key metrics, and progress, communicating clearly and effectively to senior leadership and stakeholders
Develop program and project business cases, partnering with stakeholders to define value, key metrics, resource needs/costs, and delivery assumptions
Act as a liaison between internal teams and external vendors, ensuring tightly coordinated program execution
Partner with product managers, business owners, and delivery leads to ensure scope, timing, and outcomes are aligned
The experience you bring:
Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, technology, or a related discipline
10+ years of program and project management experience leading highly complex, cross-functional programs in hybrid Agile environments (Agile, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or mixed models)
Experience bringing new products or capabilities to market, from concept to implementation
Experience managing external vendor relationships and coordinating vendor-delivered work
Strong facilitation and communication skills, with a proven ability to lead through ambiguity
Experience managing delivery in environments with both iterative and milestone-driven work
Ability to track and manage progress across multiple teams and technologies without heavy overhead
Familiarity with project, portfolio, and collaboration tools such as Planview, Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Project, or Smartsheet
Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and coordinate across stakeholder groups
Experience in regulated…