Technical Program Manager (Marketing Analytics & Insights, MAI)
Purpose
Defines the formal scope and responsibilities of the Technical Program Manager role within Marketing Analytics. This section is used for alignment with leadership, HR, and technical partners (e.g., GAI) to ensure clarity on role expectations, reporting structure, and career level. It reflects Avalara's official job architecture and company-wide standards.
What You'll Do
The Marketing Analytics & Insights (MAI) team at Avalara is seeking a Technical Program Manager (TPM) to drive operational excellence, process alignment, and delivery efficiency across global analytics initiatives.
This role partners closely with the Director of Marketing Analytics, Sr. Managers, and other key partner teams like Global Analytics & Insights (GAI), Marketing Ops, and Revenue Ops to ensure seamless sprint execution, cross-functional coordination, and program governance.
The TPM plays a pivotal role in scaling the team's impact by:
- Leading the 2-week sprint process
- Owning JIRA and Confluence administration
- Driving resource planning and PTO coverage visibility
- Building structured workflows to improve transparency, prioritization, and accountability across stakeholders
Responsibilities
Program & Process Management
- Establish and maintain the Marketing Analytics sprint framework (2-week cadence) — planning, retrospectives, and demos
- Manage the JIRA project space, including workflow design, prioritization rules, tagging, and sprint boards
- Develop and maintain Confluence documentation structure, including sprint pages, project briefs, and analytical playbooks
- Facilitate sprint ceremonies, backlog grooming, and intake triage meetings across both U.S. and India hubs
- Ensure consistent communication and collaboration in a follow-the-sun model, enabling continuous progress across time zones
- Track milestones, risks, and dependencies to ensure timely delivery and cross-functional visibility
Operational Excellence
- Build a sprint capacity planning and PTO visibility process — ensuring sprints reflect true available bandwidth and resource coverage
- Partner with Sr. Managers to coordinate coverage during absences or overlapping PTOs
- Define and monitor process KPIs (velocity, throughput, blocker resolution, delivery predictability)
- Standardize templates and workflows for analytics deliverables (project charters, dashboard documentation, analytical reports)
- Maintain operational hygiene through version control, documentation quality, and continuous improvement reviews
Stakeholder Alignment & Communication
- Partner with GAI, MOps, RevOps, and Finance to manage dependencies, align deliverables, and ensure roadmap transparency
- Maintain and communicate sprint dashboards and progress summaries for leadership visibility
- Support quarterly and annual planning by organizing project roadmaps, capacity data, and sprint performance trends
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Serve as the central operational bridge between Marketing Analytics and GAI — ensuring alignment on data enablement, pipelines, and dependencies
- Coordinate with both hubs to manage cross-region deliverables, handoffs, and blockers
- Maintain a single source of truth for team workflows, capacity, and deliverable timelines
What You'll Need to Be Successful
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Analytics, Engineering, or related field
- 5+ years of experience in program or technical project management within analytics, data, or engineering organizations
- Proven experience with JIRA (workflow design, sprint setup, metrics) and Confluence (documentation and governance)
- Strong understanding of analytics project lifecycles — from data pipeline to dashboard to insight delivery
- Excellent organizational, communication, and facilitation skills
- Demonstrated success in managing projects across multiple time zones and global teams
Preferred Qualifications
- PMP, CSM, or Agile certification
- Familiarity with modern data stack tools (Snowflake, dbt, Airflow, Power BI)
- Experience supporting data science, BI, or analytics organizations
- Basic SQL or data literacy for understanding dependencies and analytics workflows
- Experience establishing sprint metrics, capacity dashboards, and process improvement frameworks
Key Deliverables – 30/60/90 Days
0–30 Days: Foundation Setup
- Audit existing JIRA and Confluence structures; propose a unified operating framework
- Create or refine Marketing Analytics JIRA project space (boards, workflows, prioritization logic)
- Establish Confluence documentation structure (sprints, templates, playbooks)
- Define sprint calendar and roles with Sr. Managers
30–60 Days: Process Activation
- Launch the first full sprint cycle (planning → execution → demo/retro)
- Implement sprint metrics dashboard (velocity, blockers, throughput)
- Introduce intake and prioritization workflow
- Develop capacity tracking and PTO visibility process
60–90 Days: Stabilization & Continuous Improvement
- Operationalize cross-hub coordination and daily handoff cadence
- Automate sprint summaries and Confluence updates
- Launch the first Operational Efficiency Report summarizing KPIs and improvement areas
- Establish self-sustaining sprint rhythm across both hubs
How This Role Fits into the Marketing Analytics Organization
The Technical Program Manager is the engine that keeps the Marketing Analytics organization running smoothly and efficiently. By owning sprint cadence, tools, documentation, and coordination across hubs, this role ensures data transitions overnight and insights move forward by morning — powering Avalara's marketing decisions with operational excellence and consistency.
Technical Program Manager – 1-Pager (Confluence)
Purpose
Summarizes how the TPM role operates day-to-day within the Marketing Analytics team. Outlines key ownership pillars: Process, Tools, People, and Communication — guiding sprint rhythm, collaboration, and operational excellence. This section is publicly visible at Avalara as a quick reference for understanding the TPM's role.
Role Summary
The Technical Program Manager (TPM) is the operational backbone of the Marketing Analytics team, ensuring structure, transparency, and delivery excellence across global hubs.
This role drives the 2-week sprint cadence, oversees JIRA and Confluence operations, coordinates resources across different functions and teams, and builds processes that enable the team to move fast while staying aligned and efficient.
Core Responsibilities
1. Process – Sprint & Workflow Management
- Own and run the 2-week sprint cadence (planning, retrospectives, demos)
- Drive consistency in project intake, prioritization, and sprint ceremonies
- Ensure cross-hub alignment and follow-the-sun progress
2. Tools – JIRA & Confluence Administration
- Maintain and optimize JIRA boards and workflows
- Create standardized templates for projects, dashboards, and reports
- Organize Confluence spaces for documentation, sprint pages, and playbooks
3. People – Capacity & Coverage
- Partner with Senior Managers (team leads) on sprint capacity planning
- Track PTOs and ensure resource coverage through capacity planning
- Coordinate daily handoffs and alignment across time zones
4. Communication – Visibility & Governance
- Publish sprint summaries and progress reports
- Surface blockers, risks, and dependency updates early
- Maintain a single source of truth for deliverables and timelines
Success Measures
- Predictable delivery velocity and reduced ad-hoc work
- Clear sprint visibility for leadership and stakeholders
- Consistent sprint hygiene (tickets, documentation, retrospectives)
- Improved collaboration and handoffs between U.S. and India hubs
- Increased stakeholder trust through proactive communication
Key Partnerships
- Director, Marketing Analytics → Strategic prioritization & sprint vision
- Sr. Managers / Team Leads (U.S. & India) → Backlog grooming, sprint capacity & delivery
- Global Analytics & Insights (GAI) → Alignment on shared dependencies
- Marketing Ops, RevOps, Finance → Coordination of cross-functional analytics work
Sprint Rhythm
- 2-Week Sprint Cadence → Planning → Execution → Demo → Retro
- Daily Handoff Syncs → Between hubs (async summary in Confluence)
- Monthly Operations Review → Velocity, blockers, and improvements
Position Summary
The TPM ensures the Marketing Analytics team runs with clarity, efficiency, and consistency, enabling analysts and engineers to focus on high-impact work while maintaining seamless global coordination.
