Program Manager

This position is accountable for leading transformation product management initiatives across enterprise-wide business and technology capabilities. The role manages a portfolio of complex, high-visibility transformation efforts that may include multiple product workstreams, capability roadmaps, process modernization initiatives, stakeholder adoption plans, and tiered execution efforts with aggressive timelines and significant cross-functional dependencies. Within Transformation Product Management organization, this role acts as a trusted advisor, product strategist, and delivery leader. The position partners with business, technology, finance, operations, and executive stakeholders to define product outcomes, prioritize demand, translate strategy into roadmaps, and deliver measurable business value. The role requires strong product management discipline, enterprise transformation experience, business and technical fluency, and the ability to drive alignment across teams with competing priorities. This role is focused on product-led transformation rather than traditional project administration alone. Work may include initiatives with defined start and end dates, but success is measured by business outcomes, capability maturity, roadmap execution, adoption, customer and employee experience improvements, operational readiness, and sustainable value realization. The Transformation Product Management team supports enterprise transformation by connecting strategy, execution, and adoption across the following areas: Transformation strategy and roadmap management: Shape and maintain capability roadmaps that align leadership priorities, business objectives, technology dependencies, and measurable outcomes. Product intake, prioritization, and governance: Partner with stakeholders to evaluate demand, clarify problem statements, size business value, prioritize work, and support governance decision‑making. Business capability and process modernization: Support initiatives that improve ways of working, simplify processes, enhance operational effectiveness, and enable scalable business capabilities. Cross‑functional product execution: Lead multi‑team workstreams across business, technology, operations, finance, procurement, change management, communications, and vendor partners. Outcome tracking and value realization: Define success metrics, monitor progress against commitments, communicate risks and trade‑offs, and ensure delivered capabilities produce expected business value. Adoption, readiness, and change enablement: Coordinate readiness activities, stakeholder communications, release planning, training inputs, and sustained adoption for transformation capabilities. Leadership, communications, and stakeholder alignment Own and direct the creation of product, program, and transformation communications, including executive updates, roadmap narratives, decision materials, release communications, and stakeholder readouts. Facilitate product reviews, steering discussions, prioritization forums, workshops, working sessions, and cross‑functional team meetings. Translate complex business, technical, and operational topics into clear, decision‑ready messages for senior leadership and executive audiences. Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders by understanding what matters to each business area while protecting the overall transformation objectives and enterprise priorities. Product strategy, roadmap ownership, and scope definition Define the scope of transformation products, capabilities, and initiatives by connecting strategic objectives to clear problem statements, business outcomes, user needs, and measurable success criteria. Build, maintain, and communicate product roadmaps that reflect leadership priorities, capability dependencies, funding constraints, delivery sequencing, adoption needs, and operational readiness. Incorporate strategic factors into recommendations, including enterprise simplification, customer and employee experience, process efficiency, technology enablement, risk reduction, and value realization. Influence and manage change drivers, scope evolution, and competing priorities; help stakeholders understand trade‑offs, impacts, and legitimate scope shifts. Risk, issue, and dependency management Identify risks, issues, decisions, and dependencies across broad portfolios of transformation work, product workstreams, and related project efforts. Establish proactive communications, mitigation plans, escalation paths, and decision options to address delivery, adoption, funding, resourcing, vendor, and operational risks. Communicate risks and options in both business and technical terms, including clear recommendations for senior leadership and executive‑level decision‑making. Maintain a forward‑looking view of transformation impacts, ensuring stakeholder interests are considered while keeping the enterprise objective and roadmap commitments on track. Planning, sequencing, and execution management Create and guide others in developing integrated plans that include needed activities, sequencing, resourcing, milestones, dependencies, readiness activities, and decision points. Use roadmaps, schedules, RAID logs, and delivery plans as active communication and management tools to keep teams aligned and work progressing. Negotiate timelines, scope, resources, and trade‑offs with cross‑functional teams; identify creative ways to meet business commitments while maintaining product quality and adoption readiness. Adjust plans as needed to address exceptions, dependency shifts, business priority changes, and delivery constraints while continuously improving execution efficiency. Financial planning and business case support Lead cross‑functional efforts to define budget requirements for transformation initiatives, product capabilities, and related program work. Provide thought leadership into initial financial estimates and partner with finance and business owners to develop business cases and funding requests. Support funding processes at the product, initiative, or program level, including forecast collection, actuals review, variance analysis, and proactive reporting. Identify drivers of potential budget variance early and hold functional partners accountable for delivery within approved allocations. Quality, readiness, and delivery assurance Plan, identify, and document quality standards for transformation deliverables, product requirements, business process changes, documentation, readiness plans, and release outputs. Set expectations with stakeholders and project teams to ensure deliverables align to business needs, roadmap objectives, operational requirements, and adoption goals. Establish go/no‑go decision points, quality control checkpoints, acceptance criteria, and readiness gates with stakeholders. Proactively anticipate and mitigate issues through validation, testing, business readiness reviews, user acceptance practices, and operational impact assessment. Use sound judgment to make informed decisions on acceptable trade‑offs while clearly communicating design gaps, constraints, and delivery implications. Vendor, procurement, and partner management Partner with procurement, legal, functional managers, technology teams, and business owners in the creation of SOWs, RFIs, RFPs, and vendor engagement materials. Ensure appropriate legal and contractual protections are in place, including NDA, MSA, scope, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and budgetary terms. Manage vendors and partners against contract commitments to ensure quality deliverables, accurate budget impacts, and readiness for payment authorization. Provide proactive feedback to vendor management and ensure vendor work aligns with company standards, values, and transformation objectives. Continuous improvement and operating model effectiveness Identify opportunities to reduce bureaucracy, streamline governance, improve prioritization, simplify handoffs, and strengthen the Transformation Product Management operating model. Recommend and implement improvements to standard processes, tools, intake mechanisms, reporting routines, and delivery practices. Promote product management discipline across transformation efforts by encouraging outcome orientation, customer‑back thinking, data‑informed decisions, and iterative delivery practices. Qualifications Proven experience leading enterprise transformation, product management, program management, or complex business technology initiatives with high visibility and cross‑functional impact. Product and transformation discipline: Ability to define product outcomes, translate strategy into roadmaps, prioritize work, manage scope, and drive adoption across business and technology teams. Business and technical fluency: Broad understanding of business operations, technology delivery, data, process design, change management, and enterprise governance. Executive communication: Demonstrated ability to create executive‑level materials, influence senior stakeholders, communicate risks and trade‑offs, and guide decision‑making. Financial and vendor management: Experience supporting business cases, budget forecasting, procurement activities, vendor deliverables, and contract‑based execution. Leadership approach: Strong facilitation, negotiation, problem‑solving, accountability, and relationship‑building skills; able to lead through ambiguity and competing priorities. At least 10 years relevant experience required. Experience in requirement gathering and translating business needs into execution plans. Benefits Healthcare Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees and their dependents healthcare coverage through BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full‑time employment with Synectics. Premiums are subsidized by Synectics. Dental Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees and their dependents a dental plan through MetLife. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full‑time employment with Synectics. Vision Insurance: Synectics offers eligible employees vision insurance through VSP. Eligibility begins on the 1st day of the calendar month following 60 days of continuous full‑time employment with Synectics. 401(k) Plan: The Synectics Inc. Investment Savings Retirement Plan. Synectics offers all employees who are 21 years of age or older the opportunity to invest in the 401(k) Plan on the first of the month following at least 1 calendar year after employment begins. Synectics is an equal opportunity employer. #J-18808-Ljbffr