Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives

Role Summary This role drives execution on the CTO’s highest-priority initiatives by owning program delivery, stakeholder alignment, and executive-ready communications. You’ll run a set of cross-functional programs end-to-end (often spanning Technology, Operations, Marketing, Finance, and external vendors), ensuring initiatives move from plan to pilot to rollout with clear owners, measurable outcomes, and minimal surprises. Reports to: Chief Technology Officer (or as otherwise assigned) Travel: Periodic field visits to restaurants and for meetings. Est 10-20%. International travel (Canada) required. Responsibilities 1. Own strategic program delivery Lead 2-4 cross-functional initiatives (e.g., store tech pilots, digital enhancements, process automation, marketing initiatives, etc.) Build and maintain program plans: milestones, dependencies, resources, risks and mitigations. Drive execution through ambiguity – hold owners accountable, unblock issues and maintain momentum. 2. Create stakeholder alignment Facilitate working sessions across technical and non-technical teams. Define clear decision points and ensure alignment on scope, success metrics, and rollout sequencing. Coordinate launch readiness: training/support materials, go/no-go criteria, and escalation paths. 3. Executive communications and reporting Produce concise, executive-ready updates: status, risks, decisions needed and impact. Translate technical progress into business outcomes (speed, uptime, adoption, revenue/cost impacts). 4. Operational rigor and measurement Define and track KPIs; build simple dashboards Improve execution hygiene: action tracking, meeting structure, documentation, and retrospectives/postmortems Required qualifications 5-8 years in project/program management, ops, consulting, or similar execution roles in tech-adjacent environments. Proven track record of leading cross-functional initiatives from concept through launch. Strong executive communication skills (written + verbal); ability to simplify complex work into decisions and outcomes. Comfort working with technical teams and business stakeholders; able to influence without authority. Strong organizational, prioritization, and risk management skills. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYSarku Japan strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.