Senior Program Manager

Job Description

Senior Program Manager, 2028 LA Olympics Stanford Activation (Fixed-Term for 2 years)

Deadline to Apply: Monday, August 17th, 2026

Position Summary:

Provide comprehensive project management and strategic operational support for Stanford University’s activation leading up to and at the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. This unique, fixed-term role is responsible for driving a unified university-wide strategy to rally the global Stanford community behind current and former Cardinal Olympic athletes while also creating an engaging experience for local Stanford Alumni in attendance at the Games.

The Senior Program Manager will report directly to the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA), Chief Alumni Relations Officer, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Deputy Athletics Director, Olympic Sports and Student-Athlete Success.

The successful candidate will bring superior project management skills, a deep appreciation for Stanford’s Olympic legacy, and a demonstrated ability to oversee large-scale event logistics and budgeting, manage complex timelines, and lead cross-departmental collaborations. This role requires strategic vision, meticulous operational detail, and the diplomacy required to manage high-profile stakeholders, including university administrators, alumni, donors, and elite athletes.

Given the nature of this program, a candidate based in Los Angeles is required with regular travel to Stanford expected.

Job Purpose:

Responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of all elements of Stanford’s presence leading up to and during the 2028 LA Olympic Games. This includes managing community-wide planning and high-touch communication timelines, coordinating leadership briefings, and supervising on-site and virtual activations. Partner closely with various teams across campus, as well as alumni volunteers, to ensure seamless operational execution, strict budget stewardship, and a unified brand experience that elevates Stanford’s reputation on the world stage.

In this role you will:

• Strategic plan & community mobilization: Lead cross-functional planning teams to design and implement a comprehensive plan that engages the global Stanford communit and builds excitement around current and former Cardinal Olympic athletes.

• Develop creative, forward-thinking concepts that translate strategic objectives into compelling community experiences and initiatives that accomplish the program goals.

• Develop and manage centralized systems to keep all Olympic Activation-related materials organized, accessible, and aligned, enabling seamless collaboration.

• Act as the central bridge between SAA, Athletics, University Communications, and other university units, ensuring seamless communication, strategic alignment, and collaboration across the university.

• Anticipate challenges and implement proactive solutions to keep the program on track.

• Direct the physical setup, logistics, vendor management, venue sourcing, and daily operations of Stanford’s dedicated activation spaces and events leading up to the Olympics, and on the ground in Los Angeles during the 2028 Games.

• Direct and support staff and volunteers participating in each event, including role assignments, pre-event communications, staffing forms, role trainings, on-site walk-throughs, and post-event acknowledgments.

• Draft and manage the distribution of comprehensive event briefings for university leadership, faculty, and key stakeholders, ensuring accuracy and alignment with university messaging.

• Serve as a responsible steward of the allocated multi-year program budget, aligning resources with priority initiatives to maximize the activation's impact.

• Train, supervise, and mentor junior event planners and contingent event staff as needed, ensuring they are well-prepared and supported in their roles.

• Collect feedback, lead team debriefs, and analyze attendee/alumni data post-events to evaluate success and archive standard operating procedures for future major university athletic activations.

Job Requirements:

• Demonstrated experience conceptualizing and executing large-scale, high-visibility, complex events.

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to represent the university professionally both internally and externally.

• Strong interpersonal, team, and leadership skills; tact and flexibility in working with diverse population groups.

• Sound judgment, the ability to analyze problems quickly and accurately, and the ability to develop practical and effective solutions to solve a variety of problems.

• Computer proficiency and the ability to learn new systems, including (but not limited to) Marketo, Cvent, Workzone, etc.

• Excellent project management skills and the ability to manage complex timelines and multiple projects.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, time management, and customer service skills. Must be well organized and detail-oriented.

• Exceptional customer service skills with the ability to cultivate partnerships.

• Demonstrated high level of confidence in making strategic decisions, good judgment, and innovative and creative problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work highly independently as well as part of a team collaboratively across deeply matrixed departments (Alumni Relations and Athletics).

• Based in Los Angeles. Ability to travel frequently to Stanford.

• A connection to Stanford University and an athletic background, ideally in the form of an undergraduate and/or graduate degree from the institution, is preferred.

Salary Range : $91,968 to $125,122