Program Manager
Systango
Systango is an NSE-listed technology company delivering digital transformation and technology solutions across Generative AI, AI/ML, Data Engineering, Analytics, Blockchain/Web3, Cloud and FinTech. We partner with global clients to design, build and scale technology-led solutions.
About The Role
Systango is looking for an experienced Programme Manager to lead multiple concurrent client programmes, ensure predictable delivery, strengthen client relationships and identify opportunities to grow existing accounts.
In this role, you will act as Systango’s delivery leader within an international client environment, working across Systango, the client organisation and, where applicable, the client’s own customers. You will coordinate cross-functional teams spanning Engineering, Data, QA, Product, DevOps and Managed Services.
You will own programme planning, delivery governance, stakeholder communication, commercial discipline and continuous improvement. You will also drive practical automation and responsible AI adoption to improve delivery efficiency, reporting and quality.
Beyond managing delivery, you will contribute to building Systango’s programme management practice by coaching teams, mentoring Programme Managers and Business Analysts, and establishing scalable delivery standards.
Key Responsibilities
- Programme Delivery and Planning
- Own end-to-end planning and execution across multiple concurrent programmes, from initiation and scope definition through delivery, UAT, go-live and hypercare.
- Translate client requirements and leadership priorities into actionable plans with clear milestones, owners, dependencies, acceptance criteria and delivery timelines.
- Maintain programme plans, critical paths, RAID logs and change-control processes.
- Identify delivery risks, dependencies and potential slippage early, driving mitigation plans and timely escalations.
- Coordinate cross-functional and distributed teams to ensure delivery commitments remain aligned with client expectations.
- Client and Account Management
- Build trusted relationships with client leadership and stakeholders across Product, Engineering, DevOps, Managed Services and Finance.
- Act as a primary escalation point for delivery concerns, resource issues, offboarding escalations and client expectations.
- Monitor account health and delivery performance, ensuring consistent communication and reliable execution.
- Identify opportunities for account expansion through new projects, enhancements, additional scope, new onboardings and pre-sales support.
- Support periodic account reviews and demonstrate the value delivered through Systango's engagement.
- End-Client and Stakeholder Management
- Manage communication with the client’s customers, including project updates, status reports, UAT checkpoints and escalations.
- Set clear expectations regarding scope, priorities, timelines and change requests in alignment with Product and Engineering stakeholders.
- Facilitate stakeholder meetings and ensure decisions, action items, owners and timelines are documented and followed through.
- Maintain effective daily, weekly, sprint-level and monthly communication cadences.
- Agile, Lean and Cross-Functional Delivery
- Coordinate cross-squad activities, dependencies and sequencing across multiple workstreams.
- Facilitate Scrum, Kanban and programme-level coordination ceremonies, including stand-ups, sprint planning, backlog refinement, retrospectives and Scrum of Scrums.
- Apply appropriate Agile and Lean practices based on team and programme needs.
- Improve backlog hygiene, acceptance criteria, work-in-progress management and delivery predictability.
- Influence teams and stakeholders without direct reporting authority, driving accountability and continuous improvement.
- Delivery Governance, Compliance and Quality
- Establish and maintain programme governance frameworks, including stage gates, RAID logs, steering forums, decision registers and change control.
- Ensure deliverables meet agreed acceptance criteria, quality standards and applicable data checks before client release.
- Monitor compliance with delivery processes, worklog requirements and timesheet submission.
- Review timesheets and billing inputs for accuracy before client invoicing.
- Ensure delivery issues, quality concerns and commercial risks are documented, managed and escalated appropriately.
- Reporting, KPIs and Executive Communication
- Build and maintain programme dashboards using Jira, Power BI or equivalent reporting tools.
- Track relevant delivery metrics, including schedule and cost variance, cycle time, lead time, throughput, predictability, burn-up and defect leakage.
- Prepare concise executive reports, portfolio RAG status, risk summaries, decision requests and steering committee updates.
- Conduct periodic programme and account reviews with client and Systango leadership.
- Connect delivery outputs with measurable business outcomes and improvement targets.
- Jira Administration and Process Improvement
- Manage Jira projects, boards, workflows, components, custom fields, filters, dashboards and reporting configurations.
- Create and maintain advanced JQL queries and Jira Automation rules to streamline work allocation, notifications, field updates and SLA tracking.
- Identify bottlenecks, facilitate retrospectives and maintain a measurable process-improvement backlog.
- Develop reusable playbooks, templates, delivery standards and operating procedures.
- Improve programme efficiency by reducing manual reporting, unnecessary hand-offs and coordination overhead.
- AI Adoption and Governance
- Identify practical opportunities to use AI for programme planning, status reporting, documentation, worklogs, timesheets, billing reports and leadership updates.
- Govern AI usage within client projects, including use-case selection, data privacy, client consent, approved tools and access controls.
- Establish appropriate human-review processes before AI-generated outputs are shared with clients or used in operational systems.
- Track the impact of AI initiatives on productivity, delivery quality and operational efficiency.
- Scale or discontinue AI use cases based on measurable results and risk assessments.
- People Development and Practice Building
- Mentor Programme Managers and Business Analysts on planning, governance, critical-path management, stakeholder communication and escalation.
- Participate in hiring, onboarding, shadowing and knowledge transfer for programme and project management team members.
- Coach teams and stakeholders on Agile, Lean and delivery best practices.
- Contribute to the development of Systango’s programme management playbooks, standards and internal knowledge-sharing practices.
- Proven experience managing cross-functional client programmes in digital, technology, product-led or SaaS environments.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent programmes, complex dependencies and distributed onshore/offshore teams.
- Strong understanding of software delivery lifecycles and hands-on collaboration with Engineering, Product, Data, QA and DevOps teams.
- Practical expertise in Scrum, Kanban and SAFe, with the ability to adapt delivery approaches to different teams and workstreams.
- Strong hands-on Jira administration skills, including workflows, custom fields, advanced JQL, dashboards and automation rules.
- Experience with programme governance, critical-path planning, RAID management, change control, stage gates and early escalation.
- Ability to develop KPI dashboards and executive reports using Jira, Power BI or similar tools.
- Strong client-facing communication, stakeholder management, conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
- Experience managing end-client expectations and contributing to account retention, expansion or pre-sales activities.
- Understanding of commercial delivery operations, including timesheets, worklogs, billing inputs and compliance.
- Demonstrated ability to improve delivery processes and establish operating models where structure is limited.
- Practical familiarity with AI tools and sound judgement regarding data privacy, quality controls and human oversight.
- Experience mentoring team members or supporting the development and onboarding of other project or programme managers.
- Excellent written and spoken English for international client engagements.
- Programme/Project Management: PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2 or MSP.
- Agile and Scaled Agile: SAFe Agilist, Release Train Engineer (RTE), SPC, CSM, PSM or PMI-ACP.
- Lean and Process Improvement: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or above.
- Tooling: Atlassian/Jira administration certification.