Business Operations & Program Management Lead chez The Nielsen Company

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

We are hiring a Business Operations & Program Mgmt Lead to serve as the operational backbone of our marketing organization. In this hybrid leadership role (50% Team Management / 50% Individual Contributor), you will own the rhythm of the business, orchestrating how we plan, budget, and execute global initiatives. You will move the team from ad-hoc project management to a structured, strategic Phase Gate delivery model while mentoring a distributed global team.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Operations & Planning 

• Strategy Facilitation: Partner with the Senior Director to Lead high-impact marketing leadership strategy sessions utilizing Human Centered Design (HCD) tools and methodologies to drive alignment and innovation.

• Global Marketing Calendar: Partner with Marketing leadership to define the Integrated Global Marketing Calendar, ensuring visibility and alignment across all marketing teams. 

• OKRs: Manage the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) reporting framework; support quarterly planning sessions and ensure cascading goals are tracked and reported accurately. 

• Monthly Business Reviews: Support monthly business reviews for reporting on metrics, OKRs, and organization budgets.  

Program Management Architecture

• Phase Gate Architecture: Standardize project management processes across the organization that allow functional teams to execute with speed and consistency. Develop, implement, and manage a Phase Gate process for integrated marketing initiatives, ensuring clear checkpoints, approvals, and decision frameworks are in place.

• Program Management Support: Provide high-level Program Management support for high-profile, complex strategic initiatives that require cross-functional coordination.

• Deploy Best Practices: Design and deploy best-in-class program management tools and business operations processes that standardize how work gets done.

Business Operations Architecture 

• Resource & Budget Governance: Orchestrate the monthly budget review process for the entire marketing organization to ensure fiscal discipline. Lead the monthly resource management review to align hiring and capacity with strategic priorities.

• Deploy Best Practices: Design and deploy best-in-class program management tools and business operations processes that standardize how work gets done.

Global Team Leadership 

• Distributed Team Management: Manage, mentor, and develop a global team of 4 individual contributors (based in North America and India), including Program Managers, Business Ops Analysts, and Asset Managers.

• Creative Workflow Oversight: Oversee the team responsible for the creative intake/triage process, ensuring the efficient program management and delivery of creative assets.

• Asset Lifecycle Management: Oversee the team responsible for the full lifecycle of marketing assets, including creation, review/approvals, storage, and distribution.

• Operational Excellence: Guide the team in managing Purchase Orders (PO) and budgeting processes to ensure compliance and accuracy.

Qualifications

• Experience: 7+ years in Marketing Operations, Program Management, or Business Operations with experience managing global/distributed teams.

• Facilitator: Proven experience using Human Centered Design or Design Thinking to facilitate strategy and problem-solving sessions.

• Structured Thinker: Deep experience building Phase Gate or Stage-Gate methodologies for complex campaign rollouts.

• Financial Acumen: Strong capability in budget management, resource forecasting, and operational reporting.

Additional Information

Enabling your best to power a better media future. Our comprehensive benefits package (including health & wellness plans, 401(k) retirement coupled with a Nielsen match, a generous paid time off policy, company provided car for those who qualify, and if eligible, a discretionary incentive/bonus) is designed to be inclusive for all employees and families, and we take pride in ensuring that employees are rewarded holistically for the role they are doing and their performance.

A reasonable estimated salary range for a new employee has been provided. It would be adjusted based on each employee's geographic location. The position of each employee within a compensation range at Nielsen is dependent on several individual circumstances, such as experience, training, certifications and other business requirements/needs.

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

Please be aware that job-seekers may be at risk of targeting by scammers seeking personal data or money. Nielsen recruiters will only contact you through official job boards, LinkedIn, or email with a nielsen.com domain. Be cautious of any outreach claiming to be from Nielsen via other messaging platforms or personal email addresses. Always verify that email communications come from an @nielsen.com address. If you're unsure about the authenticity of a job offer or communication, please contact Nielsen directly through our official website or verified social media channels.