Director, Marketing Project & Program Management

About the role

Pinterest is seeking a Director to lead its Marketing Project and Program Management Office (PMO). This role is crucial for establishing operational excellence and technological innovation within the marketing organization. You will guide a team responsible for the strategic oversight and technical infrastructure supporting Pinterest's global marketing initiatives.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop and manage the Marketing PMO, creating a governance framework for all marketing projects. This includes standardizing intake processes, portfolio organization, reporting cadences, and escalation procedures for major events, annual campaigns, and international efforts. You will implement a project management approach that blends agile principles with long-term project management needs.
• Oversee the project management structure for Pinterest's marketing events, ensuring project managers act as independent monitors and escalation points. Your team will focus on milestone adherence, risk identification, and blocker resolution, allowing marketing and event leads to concentrate on strategy and creative execution.
• Establish the PMO as a neutral entity focused on process and structure, rather than project outcomes. Foster a culture where rigorous operational support is seen as a valuable service.
• Partner with business leadership to strategically manage the project portfolio, assessing capacity against demand and providing data-driven insights for resource allocation decisions to VPs and C-suite executives. Collaborate with Finance to offer an objective view of portfolio health and necessary trade-offs.
• Build and mentor a team of project managers, recruiting individuals who excel at independent thinking and problem-solving. Provide coaching on stakeholder engagement and clear decision-making in ambiguous situations. Define team performance metrics and establish a process for continuous improvement.
• Design and implement the AI-powered technology infrastructure for the PMO. This includes tools for planning, forecasting, automated scheduling and risk alerts, capacity modeling, reporting, and AI-assisted content generation for briefs and statements of work. You will decide on the technology stack, manage build-vs-buy decisions, and ensure integration with existing Pinterest systems, working closely with marketing technical teams.
• Set high standards for the quality of technology-driven outputs. Establish review processes, accuracy benchmarks, and escalation triggers to ensure automated results meet expectations before reaching senior stakeholders. You will be accountable for the integrity of all PMO deliverables, both human and AI-generated.
• Continuously adapt the technology stack as the PMO's operational model evolves. Identify opportunities for automation, areas needing enhancement, and where human judgment remains essential, clearly defining these boundaries and holding both aspects accountable.

Requirements

• A minimum of 12 years of experience in project management, with direct experience within a marketing, creative, or communications department.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with creative, marketing, communications, and brand teams, and to be recognized for providing structural clarity and objective guidance.
• Demonstrated success in operating a PMO as a true governance function, maintaining neutrality in project outcomes and deriving authority from established processes and structure.
• Experience in developing a hybrid project management methodology, incorporating both agile and long-cycle approaches, specifically within a marketing or media context.
• Experience managing a marketing events portfolio, including large-scale flagship events, regional activations, and international campaigns.
• Experience in strategic project portfolio management, including capacity modeling, presenting trade-offs to senior leadership, and collaborating with Finance departments.
• Hands-on experience building or implementing AI-driven workflows and agents in an operational setting, including evaluating tools, making deployment decisions, and ensuring accountability for automated results.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, including SLA adherence and making recommendations on build, buy, or extend strategies.
• Experience in building and leading project management teams, including hiring for a governance-focused model and cultivating team culture.
• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Nice to have

• None specified.

Skills & tools

• AI-powered workflow tools
• Project management software
• Capacity modeling tools
• Reporting and dashboarding tools

Practical notes

• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.
• The role requires in-office collaboration approximately once per quarter and can be located anywhere in the US.
• US based applicants only
• Salary range: $178,561 - $367,626 USD
• This position is eligible for equity.