Senior Program Manager

Our client, a Fortune 500 utility company, is seeking a Senior Project/Program Manager to drive coordination across value streams, technology teams, and external partners to ensure testing readiness, execution, and delivery remain aligned. This role will proactively manage cross-team dependencies, resolve blockers, monitor risks and defects, and ensure teams and partners meet their commitments. The ideal candidate brings strong SAFe/Agile experience, proficiency with Azure DevOps, and exposure to AI initiatives within complex enterprise technology environments.

Duration: 12 months with extensions, possible conversion

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate across multiple value streams, cross-functional technology teams, and external partners to establish clear ownership, aligned timelines, and accountability.
• Drive end-to-end test readiness by confirming required test data, environments, dependencies, resources, and partner participation are in place before execution begins.
• Coordinate end-to-end testing across multiple systems and teams, ensuring execution stays on schedule and avoidable delays are addressed proactively.
• Identify, track, and manage cross-team and cross-system dependencies to prevent blockers and minimize delivery risks.
• Oversee defect tracking and resolution across teams, ensuring issues are documented, assigned to the appropriate owners, resolved, and retested promptly.
• Proactively identify and escalate risks, blockers, missed commitments, and readiness gaps before they affect testing or delivery timelines.
• Coordinate with external partners to confirm testing schedules, readiness, participation, and adherence to agreed-upon commitments.
• Maintain accurate visibility into test readiness, dependencies, defects, risks, and milestones, providing clear status updates and reporting to leadership.
• Participate in planning activities across value streams to align capacity, resources, testing schedules, and delivery commitments.
• Leverage Agile delivery practices and tools such as Azure DevOps to support work tracking, dependency management, defect resolution, and delivery visibility.
• Support coordination and execution across AI-related initiatives and enterprise technology programs as needed.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in senior project management, program management, or cross-functional technology delivery coordination.
• Experience working within SAFe, Agile, or other structured Agile delivery environments.
• Experience using Azure DevOps for work tracking, project coordination, defect management, or delivery reporting.
• Experience coordinating testing, release readiness, dependencies, and issue resolution across multiple teams or integrated systems.
• Strong understanding of risk and issue management, escalation practices, milestone tracking, and stakeholder communication.
• Experience working with external vendors, technology partners, or third-party delivery teams.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple workstreams.