Planning Manager, Intake and Program Operations

About the Role We are looking for a Planning Manager to build and run a centralized intake function for a fast moving operations team. This is a high visibility role for someone who thrives on turning fragmented, ad hoc requests into a clean, well governed process. You will be the single front door for all incoming work, initiatives, and cross functional asks, and you will represent the team when it needs to submit requests into other groups across the business. Much of this work is driven through influence and relationship building rather than formal authority, so you will need to combine strong operational discipline with the credibility to align stakeholders who do not report to you. If you enjoy standing up new processes, bringing order to ambiguity, and giving leadership clear visibility into demand, this role is for you. What You'll Do Own and operate a single, unified intake front door end to end, serving as the one point of entry for all incoming requests, initiative submissions, and cross functional asks. Drive alignment across multiple sub functions to consolidate separate, fragmented intake processes into one unified front door, building trust and demonstrating value along the way. Triage and qualify every inbound submission, flag duplicates and gaps, and package well scoped submissions for hand off to the planning function, serving as the primary feed into planning without owning prioritization or the roadmap. Define and maintain intake standards, SLAs, and qualification criteria so that the front door consistently produces clean, decision ready submissions rather than raw, unscoped requests. Own the outbound submission process into other front doors across the business, submitting, tracking, and following through on the team's asks from request through resolution. Serve as the primary point of contact and relationship owner with the external teams the function regularly depends on, representing its interests and maintaining those relationships over time. Track status and commitments on every outbound ask, escalate stalled requests, and maintain a clear, current view for leadership of what has been asked, of whom, and where it stands. Build and maintain reporting on intake volume, request types, turnaround time, and bottlenecks, giving leadership pattern level visibility into demand. Continuously improve the front door operating model, identifying friction points in how work enters and exits the function and evolving the process as the team's footprint grows. Qualifications Proven experience owning intake, program operations, or business operations processes end to end in a fast paced, high growth environment. A track record of consolidating fragmented or ad hoc processes into a single, well governed system. Strong ability to drive alignment and influence outcomes across cross functional teams without relying on formal authority. Excellent triage and prioritization judgment, with the ability to scope and qualify requests quickly and accurately. Experience defining and enforcing standards, SLAs, and qualification criteria. Comfort operating in ambiguity, building structure where little exists, and iterating on process as needs evolve. Strong reporting and analytical skills, including the ability to turn operational data into clear, pattern level insight for leadership. Excellent written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills. Preferred Qualifications Experience in trust and safety, risk, or a similar operations function. Background at a marketplace, platform, or other high growth technology company. Familiarity with intake or workflow management tools and reporting or dashboarding tools. Experience serving as a relationship owner or single point of contact across dependent teams. Key Details Start Date: August 2026 Contract Duration: Approximately a 6 month contract running through March 1, 2027, with possibility of extension Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week Location: Remote, aligned to Pacific Time. Compensation: $85-$110 per hour (W2)