What are the responsibilities and job description for the IT Portfolio Governance Manager position at Sargento?
The IT Portfolio Governance Mgr plays a pivotal role in turning ideas into delivered value. You’ll provide Agile Release Train (ART) leadership by governing the flow of work from concept through delivery—ensuring demand is visible, prioritized, & aligned to capacity so teams focus on what matters most. As the owner of IT portfolio governance, you’ll guide initiatives from intake to execution, coordinating prioritization, estimation, readiness, & train‑level planning. Partnering closely with Product Owners, architects, delivery leaders, & business stakeholders, you’ll enable clear decisions, transparency, and steady momentum. With a Lean‑Agile mindset, you’ll improve flow, predictability, and outcomes—driving continuous improvement while keeping value moving, not process for process’ sake.
Your Passion. Our Culture.
At Sargento, you work for a company you believe in, with a family of people who believe in you. Our culture stems from a simple premise: Hire good people and treat them like family. At Sargento, you can make decisions based on how they affect people as well as the long-term health of our company. You will be encouraged to make a meaningful difference in the community, in the company and in your career. With diverse experiences and tools to learn and develop, you can transform your aspirations into reality. If you’re ready for the right place to belong and grow your career, you can find it here.
Benefits That Set Us Apart.
What You’ll Own & Drive:
Portfolio Governance & Flow Leadership
Education & Experience
With over 2,400 employees and net sales of $1.8 billion, Sargento Foods is a family-owned company that has been a leader in cheese for more than 70 years. We created the world’s first, successful pre-packaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses. Sargento is based in Plymouth, Wisconsin, where we manufacture and market shredded, sliced and snack natural cheese products, as well as ingredients and sauces. Sargento is known for the exceptional quality of our products and for product design, packaging and merchandising innovations that have transformed our industry.
To learn more about our culture and values, please visit our website at https://careers.sargento.com/us/en.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
Your Passion. Our Culture.
At Sargento, you work for a company you believe in, with a family of people who believe in you. Our culture stems from a simple premise: Hire good people and treat them like family. At Sargento, you can make decisions based on how they affect people as well as the long-term health of our company. You will be encouraged to make a meaningful difference in the community, in the company and in your career. With diverse experiences and tools to learn and develop, you can transform your aspirations into reality. If you’re ready for the right place to belong and grow your career, you can find it here.
Benefits That Set Us Apart.
- Comprehensive medical including Fertility, Adoption benefits, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Remote ½ day Fridays
- Onsite Health & Wellness Center
- Employer 401K contribution in the top 1% of the nation
- Relocation Assistance
- Tuition Assistance
- Access to Employee Store
What You’ll Own & Drive:
Portfolio Governance & Flow Leadership
- Own and operate portfolio level governance that keeps work flowing smoothly from intake through delivery across the Agile Release Train.
- Bring transparency to demand, priorities, trade offs, and capacity—enabling leaders to make timely, value based decisions.
- Align approved initiatives to delivery capacity by coordinating estimation, sequencing, and cross team dependencies.
- Proactively identify and manage risks, constraints, and dependencies that impact predictability and value realization.
- Partner closely with Product Owners, delivery leaders, and architects to ensure high quality backlogs, strong readiness, and aligned roadmaps.
- Facilitate train level planning and coordination forums with clear objectives and outcomes.
- Support PI Planning and ART level planning activities alongside the Release Train Engineer.
- Help teams organize and execute large, complex initiatives while staying aligned to strategic priorities.
- Lead portfolio intake, governance, and review forums with consistency, discipline, and transparency.
- Prepare and present decision ready insights on priorities, sequencing, capacity, and delivery progress.
- Reinforce clear decision rights and accountability across portfolio governance processes.
- Champion consistent portfolio governance and delivery practices across intake, prioritization, and alignment.
- Drive continuous improvement to enhance prioritization quality, delivery predictability, and flow of value.
- Provide training, guidance, and change support for governance practices, processes, and tools.
- Build trusted partnerships across IT, business teams, leadership, and vendors.
- Serve as a role model for Lean Agile behaviors—reinforcing collaboration, accountability, and outcome focused execution.
- Co own delivery tools (e.g., Jira), ensuring effective use, governance alignment, and continuous optimization.
- This role may include direct leadership of team members and/or oversight of vendor partners and consultants.
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- 5 years of progressive experience, including ART level or multi team coordination roles.
- Deep knowledge of Agile and portfolio management practices supporting enterprise IT initiatives and growth objectives.
- Clear, confident communicator with the ability to engage diverse audiences at all levels.
- Skilled at influencing, motivating, and constructively challenging others while building trust and collaboration.
- Strong negotiation and conflict resolution capabilities with a service oriented mindset.
- Strong planning and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity, change, and evolving priorities.
- Solid understanding of SAFe and Agile principles.
- Strong critical thinking skills to assess problems, develop recommendations, and clearly communicate conclusions.
- Proficiency with Microsoft tools (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Teams, OneNote, Copilot); Jira experience preferred.
- Valid driver’s license for occasional travel between Wisconsin facilities.
- Agile certifications and training are valued.
With over 2,400 employees and net sales of $1.8 billion, Sargento Foods is a family-owned company that has been a leader in cheese for more than 70 years. We created the world’s first, successful pre-packaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses. Sargento is based in Plymouth, Wisconsin, where we manufacture and market shredded, sliced and snack natural cheese products, as well as ingredients and sauces. Sargento is known for the exceptional quality of our products and for product design, packaging and merchandising innovations that have transformed our industry.
To learn more about our culture and values, please visit our website at https://careers.sargento.com/us/en.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.