Job Description

The Director, PMO, Governance & Operational Excellence is accountable for building, standardizing, and continuously improving the operating model that powers Aramark’s US Sector technology deployments. This role advances the organization toward a repeatable, governed, and measurable delivery capability that scales to support continued growth.

The Director owns the design and administration of project governance standards, stage-gate and readiness discipline, KPI and performance management programs, project management tool strategy, and the framework for financial discipline within project plans. This role does not own a dedicated operating budget; rather, it is accountable for creating and enforcing the methodology by which project budgets are built, tracked, and governed across all projects led by the Mobilization & Project Delivery organization, in direct support of the sector’s Adjusted Operating Income (AOI) and profitability goals during a period of significant growth.

This role leads a small team of Process Managers directly, while also operating in a matrixed capacity alongside the Director of Mobilization & Project Delivery and the broader project management team. Success depends on the Director’s ability to build shared ownership of standards, KPIs, and governance across both teams – driving adoption without formal authority over the project managers themselves – so that the PMO function and the delivery function succeed together rather than in competition.

Job Responsibilities

Governance & Standardization

• Design, implement, and maintain a standardized project and mobilization lifecycle, including stage gates, readiness criteria, and RACI models across all deployment types.
• Establish a governance cadence (portfolio reviews, readiness reviews, executive reporting forums) that provides leadership visibility into project health, risk, and readiness.
• Own and evolve PMO policies, templates, and playbooks; ensure consistent adoption across the project management population.

Financial Discipline & Budget Governance

• Design and implement a standard methodology for building project budgets into project plans, including forecasting, variance tracking, and change control.
• Partner with Finance and project leadership to enforce budget discipline across all active projects.
• Develop reporting that connects project financial performance to sector AOI and profitability goals, enabling proactive cost management rather than after-the-fact reconciliation.

KPI & Performance Management

• Design and implement a PM KPI framework covering delivery (schedule/milestone attainment), financial (budget variance, forecast accuracy), quality (readiness gate pass rate, rework), customer (satisfaction, go-live success), and PM compliance (status, RAID, budget updates).
• Establish baseline measurement, targets, and a regular cadence for reporting KPI performance to sector leadership.
• Use KPI data to identify systemic issues, coach performance improvement, and inform capacity and resourcing decisions.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Directly manage 2 Process Managers accountable for maintaining and evolving PM systems, tools, and process adoption.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide coaching, and develop team members’ skills in process engineering, governance, and PMO operations.
• Build the long-term capability and career path for a formal PMO function as it scales.

Responsibilities continued

Matrixed Partnership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as a true partner to the Director of Mobilization & Project Delivery, sharing accountability for project managers’ successful adoption of standards, KPIs, and budget discipline, without direct authority over their day-to-day assignments.
• Collaborate with Solution Design & Intake, Field Infrastructure, and Growth teams to ensure governance and readiness standards are embedded from intake through go-live.
• Build a working relationship model in which the PMO function and the Project Delivery function are jointly accountable for portfolio outcomes, with clearly defined – but shared – priorities.

Tools, Process Engineering & Continuous Improvement

• Own the strategy, administration, and adoption of enterprise PM tooling, including Smartsheet, ServiceNow, and other project/portfolio management platforms.
• Lead process engineering and continuous improvement initiatives that reduce rework, increase first-time-right execution, and simplify PM workflows.
• Develop and deliver training and change management programs to drive consistent tool and process adoption.

Executive Communication & Reporting

• Prepare and present portfolio-level dashboards and executive reporting that translate project data into clear, decision-ready insights for senior leadership.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the VP, Field Tech Operations on PMO maturity, project health, resourcing, and risk

At Aramark, developing new skills and doing what it takes to get the job done make a positive impact for our employees and for our customers. In order to meet our commitments, job duties may change or new ones may be assigned without formal notice.

Qualifications

Experience

• 8–10 years of progressive project management experience, including 3–5 years in a leadership role within a Project Management Office (PMO).
• Demonstrated experience designing or scaling governance frameworks, KPI programs, and standards across a multi-project portfolio.
• Experience building financial discipline into project management practice, including budgeting, forecasting, and variance management.
• Experience leading through influence in a matrixed environment, partnering with delivery leaders who do not report directly to this role.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Technology, or related field preferred, or equivalent professional experience.
• Relevant experience is sufficient in lieu of formal certification; PMP, PgMP, or similar credentials are a plus but not required.

Technical & Systems Skills

• Hands-on experience administering and scaling enterprise PM/PPM tooling, including Smartsheet and ServiceNow; familiarity with other enterprise project management platforms.
• Comfort building dashboards and executive-level reporting from project and portfolio data.

Leadership & Communication

• Strong people leadership skills with direct management experience.
• Excellent executive communication skills; ability to translate portfolio data into clear, decision-ready insights.
• Strong relationship-building and negotiation skills to establish shared accountability across teams without formal authority.
• Strategic mindset with a track record of moving organizations from reactive to proactive operating models.

About Aramark

Our Mission

Rooted in service and united by our purpose, we strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and our planet.

At Aramark, we believe that every employee should enjoy equal employment opportunity and be free to participate in all aspects of the company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military status, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by applicable law.

About Aramark

The people of Aramark proudly serve millions of guests every day through food and facilities in 15 countries around the world. Rooted in service and united by our purpose, we strive to do great things for each other, our partners, our communities, and our planet. We believe a career should develop your talents, fuel your passions, and empower your professional growth. So, no matter what you're pursuing - a new challenge, a sense of belonging, or just a great place to work - our focus is helping you reach your full potential. Learn more about working here at http://www.aramarkcareers.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.