This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Program Manager based in South Africa.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced program management professional to lead complex, multi-project initiatives within the banking and financial technology sector. In this fully remote role, you will oversee strategic program delivery, ensuring that business objectives, regulatory requirements, and technology initiatives remain aligned. You will establish robust governance frameworks, manage budgets and delivery roadmaps, and drive measurable business outcomes across multiple teams and projects. Working closely with project managers, engineering, quality assurance, cybersecurity, and compliance specialists, you will promote consistent delivery standards and operational excellence. You will also partner with senior executives to balance innovation, risk management, and regulatory obligations in a rapidly evolving financial landscape. This role is ideal for a strategic leader who combines strong governance expertise, cross-functional collaboration, and a commitment to delivering secure, scalable, and high-impact digital finance solutions.
- Define, implement, and oversee program governance structures, including RACI matrices, steering committees, reporting models, decision-making processes, and compliance checkpoints.
- Align multi-project portfolios with organizational strategy, ensuring that initiatives deliver measurable business value and support long-term objectives.
- Develop and maintain program strategies, objectives, roadmaps, budgets, milestones, resource plans, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Oversee multiple concurrent projects, ensuring consistent delivery standards, effective coordination, and alignment across timelines, dependencies, and business priorities.
- Lead, mentor, and support project managers and cross-functional leads across engineering, quality assurance, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
- Establish and enforce best practices for program execution, agile delivery, stakeholder engagement, performance management, and team accountability.
- Ensure adherence to applicable regulatory and compliance frameworks, including PCI DSS, GDPR, PSD2, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and SAMA requirements.
- Identify, assess, and manage program-level risks, inter-project dependencies, delivery challenges, and emerging issues, implementing effective mitigation and escalation strategies.
- Lead executive-level reporting and stakeholder communications, providing transparent updates on program progress, financial performance, risks, compliance, and business outcomes.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, governance, and continuous improvement across distributed teams.
- Partner with C-level executives and senior stakeholders to support strategic decisions that balance innovation, operational efficiency, cybersecurity, and regulatory obligations.
- Monitor program performance against agreed objectives, identifying opportunities to optimize delivery processes, improve resource utilization, and enhance overall outcomes.
- Support the adoption of scalable delivery methodologies and governance frameworks that strengthen consistency and efficiency across the program portfolio.
- Coordinate technology transformation initiatives involving cloud platforms, microservices, API ecosystems, and DevSecOps practices, ensuring alignment with business and compliance requirements.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's or master's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline.
- At least 10 years of professional experience in project or program management, including a minimum of five years delivering programs within banking or financial technology.
- Demonstrated success managing complex, multi-project programs involving regulatory requirements, cross-functional teams, and multiple interdependent workstreams.
- Strong knowledge of program governance, project management office (PMO) models, delivery frameworks, and portfolio management practices.
- Relevant certifications or formal training in program and project management frameworks, such as PRINCE2, PMI PgMP, or SAFe Portfolio Management.
- Extensive experience with scaled agile delivery methodologies, including SAFe, LeSS, or Disciplined Agile Delivery, as well as hybrid delivery approaches.
- Strong understanding of financial services regulations, compliance obligations, risk management, and governance requirements, including PCI DSS, GDPR, PSD2, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and SAMA.
- Familiarity with cloud transformation initiatives across AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- Understanding of modern technology architectures, including microservices, API ecosystems, and DevSecOps integration.
- Proven ability to establish program roadmaps, manage budgets and milestones, define KPIs, and monitor delivery performance across multiple projects.
- Excellent leadership and mentoring skills, with the ability to guide project managers, influence cross-functional teams, and establish clear accountability.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including experience presenting program status, risks, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
- Exceptional analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to manage competing priorities and complex dependencies.
- A strategic and commercially minded approach, with the ability to balance business value, delivery efficiency, technical innovation, and regulatory compliance.
- Ability to work effectively in a remote environment, coordinating distributed teams and maintaining clear communication across stakeholders.
Benefits:
- Fully remote working arrangement.
- Opportunity to lead complex, high-impact programs in the banking and financial technology sector.
- Exposure to digital transformation initiatives involving process automation, advanced analytics, cloud technologies, and modern software architectures.
- Opportunities to collaborate with senior executives and multidisciplinary teams across engineering, cybersecurity, quality assurance, and compliance.
- A strategic leadership role with significant influence over program governance, delivery standards, and organizational performance.
- The opportunity to contribute to secure, scalable, and compliant financial technology solutions.
- Professional growth through exposure to evolving fintech technologies, international regulatory frameworks, and enterprise-level program management practices.
