Program Manager - Finance Technology & AI Delivery

SUMMARY

We need an experienced Program Manager, engaged on a contract basis, to drive delivery across a portfolio of Finance technology and AI programs. Each program requires tight coordination across Finance business stakeholders, Finance systems teams (ERP, close/consolidation, planning), data platform teams, and infrastructure/engineering all running in parallel with competing priorities and no single point of accountability today.

This is a delivery role, not a tracking role. You sit at the center of all enabling functions, own outcomes end-to-end, run cross-functional working sessions, remove blockers, and escalate decisively up to VP when teams can’t deliver so build teams stay focused on building. You are expected to operate with full autonomy from day one: no ramp-up hand-holding, no waiting to be told what’s next.

Key Responsibilities:

Full Program Lifecycle Across Multiple Parallel Tracks

o Own end-to-end delivery of multiple Finance technology/AI programs simultaneously, each with its own teams, timeline, and dependencies.

o Maintain structured visibility status, risks, blockers, milestones across every track, and prioritize ruthlessly across competing demands.

Discovery & Requirements Orchestration

o Design and run ‘Art of Possible’ sessions mapping business feasibility, system dependencies, and Finance data availability before build begins.

o Own the requirements freeze: align business, systems, and delivery teams on scenarios, flows, edge cases, and validation rules, with formal sign-off before build.

Cross-Team Dependency Management

o Coordinate 6 8 enabling teams per program Finance systems, data platforms, infrastructure, business SMEs none of whom report to you.

o Convert sequential dependency chains into parallel workstreams; set SLAs with each team/system owner and hold them to it.

Data & System Readiness Pre-Development Gate

o Own the pre-build readiness gate: required Finance data identified, validated, and available in target environments before development starts.

o Run data/gap discovery with systems teams, and drive access, environment, and infra setup in parallel with requirements never sequentially.

Stakeholder Management & Leadership Escalation

o Set expectations with every team up front roles, timelines, consequences of delay and build relationships that make teams want to deliver for you.

o Escalate proactively when teams stall: bring Director/VP leadership into the room and walk out with a commitment. No-surprises status reporting.

UAT & Go-Live Coordination

o Coordinate UAT across business and technical teams scenarios, data, and sign-off on schedule.

o Own go-live readiness across all teams so deployment is a planned event, not a scramble.

Challenges You Will Navigate:

o No direct authority over the teams you depend on delivery hinges entirely on your credibility and ability to build trust fast.

o Teams run on their own priorities getting consistent delivery for your programs takes relationship-building and follow-through, not org-chart leverage.

o Programs move fast and requirements evolve you hold structure and governance without becoming the bottleneck.

o Multiple live programs at once constant context-switching, with senior stakeholders expecting confident, honest answers on status and risk.

o Dependencies across Finance systems and teams are often complex and partly unknown at the outset surfacing and resolving the unknown early is your job.

Required Skills & Experience:

Must Have:

o Experience 8 12 years in Program Management or PMO roles within complex, multi-team technology delivery environments.

o End-to-End Ownership Owning program delivery end-to-end actively unblocking and driving outcomes, not just tracking and reporting.

o Cross-Team Influence Coordinating 6+ teams with no direct authority influence and credibility are your primary tools.

o Executive Stakeholder Management Navigating and engaging Director/VP-level stakeholders setting agendas and securing commitments.

o Program Fundamentals Requirements management, dependency mapping, risk tracking, milestone governance, UAT and go-live planning.

o Workshop Facilitation Designing and independently facilitating discovery, alignment, and dependency-mapping workshops.

o Communication Exceptional written/verbal communication translating technical and system complexity into clear stakeholder language.

o Ownership Mindset If something isn’t moving, you find out why and fix it you don’…