Program Manager Strategic Initiatives Jobs in Canton, GA

Description

U.S. Soccer Overview

The U.S. Soccer Federation exists in service to soccer. Our aim is to ignite a national passion for the game. Because we believe that soccer is more than a sport; it is a force for good.

We understand the importance and the power of teamwork, on and off the pitch. That is why we work closely with our Federation partners and members, to inspire, support and guide every level of the game: from the grassroots to the National Teams. We want to bring soccer into every home and every community, right across America. Because we believe that soccer can transform lives like no other sport. Soccer can represent the best of U.S.

U.S. Soccer is in a period of significant growth, with ambitious plans for U.S. Soccer in the near and far future. We are, therefore, looking for dynamic servant leaders to join us on this journey: in service to soccer. Applicants must be able to demonstrate visionary leadership, analytical decision-making, professional flexibility, and an empathic management style that builds bold teams and delivers globally significant results.

Position Description

The WNT Program Manager serves as a strategic-administrative partner supporting execution of WNT Strategy and Goldprint for Winning through planning, coordination, and day-to-day alignment across all departments. The role ensures strong follow-through, clear communication, and consistent standards across people, processes, and projects, enabling WNT leadership to remain focused on high-impact priorities as the program builds toward World Cups and Olympics.

This is a senior program management role - not a purely administrative one - requiring independent judgement, strong soccer and organizational understanding, influence with senior stakeholders, and the ability to manage complexity across multiple workstreams while translating strategy into coordinated action across the WNT and Youth National Team ecosystem.

Primary Responsibilities

In Camp Roles and Responsibilities

• Operate with a high degree of autonomy while maintaining alignment with WNT leadership, WNT Operations, and Sporting Strategy.
• Embed female-specific best practices into planning, logistics, and communication.
• Advocate for athlete-centered and gender-informed operational standards.
• Measure and report on progress against strategic milestones.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and recommend process improvements.
• Flag misalignment, recommend prioritization changes, and escalate risks or resource constraints to the Program Director and relevant leadership.
• Ensure continuity and institutional knowledge across multi-year cycles.
• Assist with daily updates in the camp planning and information flow.
• Support the Program Director with the preparation and follow-up of all relevant meetings. 
• Ensure key decisions, actions, and follow-ups from camp meetings are clearly captured and progressed.
• Support and reinforce the consistent application of female-specific standards, processes, and planning assumptions across WNT operations, escalating misalignment where required.
• Help maintain standards, consistency, and accountability across departments during camp.
• Support alignment between WNT and U23 (or other WYNT) camps during side-by-side camps.
• Enable WNT Leadership to stay focused on people, performance, and process rather than administrative load.

Off Camp Roles and Responsibilities

• Drive and support mid- and long-term planning aligned to the WNT Strategy and Goldprint for Winning.
• Contribute to major strategic initiatives including World Cups, Olympics, Legacy 2031, and broader WNT priorities.
• Work closely with the Sporting Strategy team to ensure alignment between WNT objectives and wider U.S. Soccer initiatives.
• Act as a strategic thought partner to the Program Director, helping prioritize high-impact, high-stakes decisions.
• Own and manage the WNT Project Planner (e.g., Airtable), ensuring end-to-end tracking of priorities, timelines, RACI, and delivery.
• Maintain oversight of cross-departmental workstreams to ensure alignment, prioritization, and progress.
• Provide progress updates to IRD and WNT staff, highlighting risks and dependencies.
• Drive clear actions, ownership, timelines, and follow-through from strategy and meetings.
• Support the cadence of out-of-camp and internal/external meetings by preparing agendas, briefing materials, and decision frameworks.
• Attend relevant US Soccer all-staff and all-sporting meetings and feed key insights back to WNT leadership.
• Support short-term planning and coordination for upcoming WNT camps.
• Organize and support pre- and post-camp club calls for WNT, U23, and other WYNT programs where relevant.
• Support ongoing alignment and integration between the WNT and U23/WYNT pathways.
• Maintain and oversee key documentation related to strategic planning, pathways, and department initiatives.
• Contribute to succession planning and organizational continuity by embedding repeatable systems, documentation, and processes.
• Support internal and external stakeholder mapping and coordination in collaboration with the Strategy department.
• Reduce administrative burden on senior leadership, enabling greater focus on strategy, relationships, and decision-making.
• Undertake a progressive and ongoing personal and professional developmental process attending and participating in house CPD sessions and external sessions.
• Undertake regular performance appraisals to review your personal development plan and on and off camp progress with WNT Leadership and line manager.
• Execute additional departmental and team tasks as requested by WNT Strategy Team. 

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in Business, or a related field preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, timelines, and stakeholders, translating strategy into execution.
• Strong organizational, communication, and follow-through skills in fast-paced, high-performance environments.
• Experience working in elite sport or high-performance settings, preferably within soccer.
• Strategic, detail-oriented, and proactive, with sound judgment and discretion.
• Comfortable operating across multiple departments and senior stakeholders.
• Must be able to connect "micro" details to the "macro" vision and mission.
• Experience with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, Airtable, Asana, Smartsheet, Notion or similar).
• Strong alignment with women's sport and athlete-centered, female-specific performance environments.
• Able and willing to travel up to 50% and work non-traditional hours as required.

Desired Qualifications

• Strong passion for and understanding of women's soccer.
• Strong understanding of elite football operations and camp environments, gained through professional experience.
• International soccer experience, including exposure to major tournaments, as a player and/or staff member.
• Strong soccer IQ, with understanding of competition calendars, camp demands, and international football environments.
• Experience working within U.S. Soccer, NWSL, USOPC, or comparable national governing bodies preferred.
• Background in sport strategy, performance operations, or high-performance program management.
• Experience working in women's high-performance environments, ideally through a female-athlete lens.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership.
• Experience building and maintaining systems and processes that scale across multi-year cycles.
• Familiarity with project management and tracking systems.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish or other languages) a plus.

U.S. Soccer offers a comprehensive compensation package, casual work environment, an inclusive culture, and an atmosphere for professional development.

U.S. Soccer is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, military status, political belief, or any other characteristic protected under the law. This policy applies to all our employment practices within our organization. We strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBTQIA, veterans, parents, and persons with disabilities to apply.