Program Manager Office, Data Centers

About the Role

Johnson Controls’ Global Data Center Solutions (GDCS) business is scaling rapidly across a fast-moving, highly competitive market. Executing our strategy depends on tight coordination across many parallel initiatives, functional owners, and regional teams. We are seeking a disciplined, execution-focused program leader to build and run the Program Management Office for the DC organization; serving as the connective tissue across DC leadership and functional owners, translating strategic decisions into executable plans, and surfacing risks before they escalate.

 

Core Purpose

Own the execution engine for the GDCS organization; managing the master program plan across key initiatives, multiple domains, establishing a durable operating cadence and governance rhythm, and giving DC leadership a clear, real-time view of progress, decisions needed, and risks. This role builds a permanent PMO muscle within the DC org that compounds in value as the business grows. The program portfolio spans a range of high-priority efforts; including special projects, technology integration, acquisition integration, and business process execution- and will evolve as the business grows.

 

Key Responsibilities

This role manages a portfolio of high-priority programs across the DC organization, which may include special projects, technology and acquisition integration, and business process execution. Specific responsibilities span:

 

Program Execution & Delivery (40-50%)

• Own the master program plan across key DC initiatives, including tracking milestones, dependencies, and commitments end to end.
• Build and maintain a permanent PMO capability within the DC org; owning initiative tracking, change management, and the launch of new initiatives.
• Establish and manage operating rhythms, decision logs, and governance frameworks in partnership with DC leadership to drive execution.
• Run a consistent operating cadence across DC initiatives, workstream check-ins and leadership reviews, ensuring decisions are made at the right level and the right time.
• Set and maintain program reporting templates, meeting formats, and documentation standards used across all workstreams.

Escalation & Leadership Communication (25-35%)

• Provide the DC leadership team a clear, concise view of where each workstream stands, what has been accomplished, and what decisions or support are needed.
• Identify when cross-workstream or cross-organizational collaboration is needed and facilitate the discussion, working session, or workshop with the appropriate parties.
• Surface obstacles and roadblocks before they delay progress; determine escalation path and timing for cross-workstream conflicts or stalled decisions.
• When cross-workstream conflicts arise, develop and present recommended resolution options to DC leadership for decision.
• Recommend the format and cadence of leadership reporting packages; aligning on what information is surfaced, at what level of detail, and to whom.

Planning, Prioritization & Continuous Improvement (20-30%)

• Recommend sequencing and prioritization of future transformation initiatives to DC leadership for approval.
• Partner across DC functional leaders to align on commitments, track progress against plan, and keep interdependent workstreams synchronized.
• Coordinate with the JCI Enterprise Transformation Office to align on methods, share resources, and avoid duplication of effort across transformation initiatives.
• Continuously improve program processes, governance, and reporting based on results and feedback; strengthening the organization’s execution discipline over time.

 

What Success Looks Like

Year 1:

• A permanent PMO function is operational for the DC org, with a master program plan, clear governance, and a consistent operating cadence adopted across workstreams.
• DC leadership has reliable, real-time visibility into initiative status, decisions needed, and risks- through standardized reporting packages and review rhythms.
• Cross-workstream blockers are identified earlier and resolved faster, with a clear escalation path that keeps decisions moving at the right level.
• Workstream milestones are delivered more predictably against plan, and leadership reviews consistently run on schedule with high-quality outputs.
• The role becomes a trusted coordination point across DC functional leaders and a credible interface to the Enterprise Transformation Office.

Ongoing

• Key initiatives consistently progress on time and on plan, with risks surfaced and addressed before they escalate.
• The operating cadence and governance framework scale smoothly as the business grows and new initiatives launch.
• Institutional knowledge- decision logs, templates, and program history; compounds in value and makes each successive planning cycle faster and sharper.

 

Desired Qualifications

Experience & Expertise

• 7+ years in program or project management, PMO leadership, strategy execution, business operations, or a similar cross-functional orchestration role; technology, infrastructure, or data center markets preferred.
• Proven ability to run a portfolio of concurrent initiatives; building master plans, managing dependencies, and driving delivery against milestones across multiple owners.
• Track record of establishing operating cadences, governance frameworks, and decision-making rhythms for senior leadership teams.
• Strong command of program management tooling and methods and fluency in executive reporting formats.
• Experience coordinating with enterprise transformation, strategy, or change-management functions is a plus.

Leadership & Interpersonal

• Exceptional coordinator and communicator who can align senior stakeholders without direct authority; leading through influence, clarity, and trust.
• Sound judgment on when to resolve issues laterally and when to escalate; able to navigate competing priorities among senior functional leaders diplomatically.
• Highly organized and process-disciplined, with the ability to hold many parallel workstreams, deadlines, and details in view at once.
• Executive presence in written and verbal communication; able to distill complexity into a clear, concise view of what matters and what’s needed.
• Self-starter who takes initiative, drives work forward without perfect direction, and builds structure where none exists.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) welcomed. Equivalent practical experience valued.

HIRING SALARY RANGE: $100,000. – 150,000. Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data. This position includes a competitive benefits package.

For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site.