Senior Program Manager (100% Remote)

Our Customer is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investment advisory services, financial planning trust and private client services, estate planning and business planning. Its products include life insurance, permanent life insurance, disability income, and long-term care insurance; annuities; investments; and investment advisory products and services.

Our customer is looking for a Senior Program Manager on a contract basis to own the execution of either individual large, sophisticated, cross-functional projects (generally, 1-year duration, $1M budget, impacting multiple business areas) or multiple medium-sized, moderately sophisticated projects.

Providing project management expertise to the Investment Products and Services (IPS) business area and related enterprise areas in accordance with Company-approved methodologies, you will assist clients in defining and managing scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk mitigation, and implementation strategies. You will assign, lead, and supervise complex resources, regrouping as priorities and objectives necessitate, to achieve key achievements and accomplish efficient project results. Above all, you are a strategic problem solver who takes ownership of issues, moving between diverse tasks with tact, cooperation, and persistence, motivating and bringing out the best in those around you.

This role is 100% remote.

Responsibilities:

• Lead program management activities for large cross-functional testing transformation initiatives
• Organize and facilitate quarterly PI-planning events to ensure seamless execution
• Drive teams to achieve deliverables within established timelines while maintaining accountability
• Assist the Lead Program Manager with reporting, risk tracking, and communication strategies
• Manage vendor relationships, including contract oversight and metric analysis
• Execute large, sophisticated cross-functional projects or multiple medium-sized projects
• Provide project management expertise within the Investment Products and Services business area and related enterprise functions
• Assist clients in defining and managing project scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk mitigation, and implementation strategies
• Assign, lead, and supervise complex resources, adjusting team structure as priorities shift
• Drive clarity and transparency across teams, leadership, and partners on objectives, priorities, and measurements
• Maintain continuous communication between engineering teams and program leadership
• Identify and manage interdependencies across teams and workstreams
• Coordinate integration environments to enable dependency testing
• Supervise dependent feature progress throughout the CI/CD process
• Help lead and refine the technology-focused backlog
• Closely manage risks and cross-team dependencies, escalating issues to leadership as needed
• Identify and mitigate program risks and remove impediments and blockers for teams
• Support product owners and product managers in defining and delivering continuous business value
• Champion the adoption of Agile methodologies and provide mentoring to teams and leaders
• Develop comprehensive delivery plans and share them with clients and internal stakeholders
• Manage scope and schedule changes as they arise
• Fulfill status reporting requirements
• Perform additional duties as assigned, including supporting strategic planning

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of 6 years of project management experience within technology functions
• Experience with Agile project management methodologies
• Working understanding of project management and Agile tools
• Strong organizational skills and ability to operate in complex multi-stakeholder environments
• Proven ability to communicate effectively across diverse teams and leadership levels
• Experience managing vendor relationships and analyzing performance metrics
• Experience with JIRA and/or JIRA Align preferred
• Experience working with distributed teams preferred

We offer a competitive salary range for this position. Most candidates who join our team are hired at the median of this range, ensuring fair and equitable compensation based on experience and qualifications.

Contractor benefits are available through our 3rd Party Employer of Record (Available upon completion of waiting period for eligible engagements) Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.