Lead Program Manager

Role Summary

Serves as the end-to-end program lead for large, complex, and strategic initiatives with high business value. Drives benefit achievement by leading program initiation, planning, and solution design and build and by measuring key performance indicators and solution adoption. Engages other colleagues/resources and assigns appropriate responsibilities to support achievement of program road map and project plan(s). Independently applies expert knowledge of advanced methodologies, selecting and applying high-level project management tools to conduct analyses, reporting, and related activities for assigned projects. Contributes to the development of internal protocols and processes used to carry out program management work. Responsible for program management activities, including contingency/dependency tracking, status reporting, issue/risk identification and tracking, scope management, estimation, and internal/external stakeholder management. Provides oversight to workstream/task leads within the program; resolves any escalated project risks, issues, and dependencies. Manages the overall scope and timing of the program, ensuring delivery is on time and within budget.

Responsibilities

Program delivery & integrated execution:

• Oversees end-to-end project management for large, complex, strategic initiatives with high business value across the full project life cycle. Manages the progress and contributions of workstream leads or subordinate project managers to deliver expected value within committed time frames and budget. Manages contingencies across multiple projects and monitors interdependencies and synergies, including visibility and coordination across platforms, systems, and the overall project portfolio (e.g., ensuring Semarchy / MDM dependencies remain in scope and actively managed).

Planning, scoping & resourcing:

• Builds and synthesizes detailed project plans, budgeting and forecasting models, and resource plans requiring significant stakeholder management and interpretation of diverse information. Develops statements of work, stakeholder management plans, guiding principles, project goals, risks, resource allocation, and roles and responsibilities for assigned projects. Monitors market changes and stakeholder needs; recommends plan adjustments to optimize costs, benefits, and speed of delivery.

Governance, decisions & stakeholder communications:

• Establishes program governance (e.g., sponsors, approvers, stakeholders) and drives decision-making cadence. Captures, documents, and distributes meeting decisions, action items, and key milestones; tracks follow-ups to ensure accountable owners provide required inputs and deliverables on time. Owns preparation and delivery of recurring program communications and reporting (e.g., quarterly updates, newsletters, sponsor updates, and monthly business update decks) and coordinates distribution to ensure messaging, timelines, and artifacts are aligned across audiences and leadership levels.

Leadership, risk & issue management:

• Secures, leads, motivates, and inspires internal and external resources required to deliver the program; may participate in evaluation, selection, and management of external resources or vendors. Provides transparency into progress and proactively anticipates, mitigates, and resolves risks and issues across the project life cycle, ensuring remediation plans are defined, owned, and tracked to closure. Exercises sound judgment, balancing risks and making prompt decisions in ambiguous or difficult situations; discusses and resolves issues with management at a detailed functional level.

Standards, enablement & continuous improvement:

• Works with all required functions and groups to plan and execute programs, coordinating resources across organizational boundaries as needed. Trains and coaches teams in execution methodologies, promotes adoption of best practices, and ensures delivery conforms to company methodologies and standards. Develops and maintains project playbooks and standard operating artifacts outlining required steps, roles, and handoffs, including repeatable engagement models (e.g., steps to connect one system to another); recommends improvements and changes as necessary. Considered a specialist in this space.

Financials, performance & adoption:

• Evaluates program costs and benefits, including actual results and forecasts versus baseline plans, and updates plans with accurate, up-to-date information in a timely manner. Reports financial information and status to required management. Ensures program solutions meet quality and reliability requirements and that launch approaches meet or exceed adoption targets. Monitors results for significant deviations, evaluates