Senior Program Manager, Technology
WestJet Senior Program Manager, Technology
Overview of role:
Reporting to the Director of IT Portfolio & Planning, the Senior Program Manager is a full-time role responsible for the delivery of high-profile technology transformation initiatives, spanning numerous product and service delivery teams across the IT organization and relevant stakeholder groups.
Key Responsibilities:
Program Governance – Establish program governance for complex technology transformation programs requiring various technology and stakeholder teams to work together to drive program success.
Delivery Planning – Establish delivery plans for key initiatives, balancing objectives and competing priorities across multiple product teams. Work across technology teams and stakeholders provide resourcing plans as required.
Delivery Management – Lead key programs from inception to completion through the management and orchestration of sub-projects spanning multiple teams working within product development cycles.
Sequencing & Dependency Management – Manage dependencies of varying complexity at program level, potentially informing and feeding into larger portfolios.
Communications – Responsible for all proactive and reactive communications for program sponsors and stakeholders.
Escalation Management – Act as the initial singular escalation point for multifaceted program deliveries, proposing mitigation strategies and corrective action.
Fiscal Governance – Effective budget management within the constraints of enterprise-wide programs and their constituent projects, contributing to establishing the appropriate level or monitoring and control mechanisms required.
Commercial Management – Identify, propose and deploy appropriate frameworks and purchasing strategies in collaboration with internal commercial colleagues.
Strategic Alignment – Liaise with both the Enterprise Architecture and Digital Steering teams to ensure that key initiatives continue to adhere to technology strategies and enterprise priorities respectively.
Other responsibilities as assigned and consistent with the role.
Education/Certification:
Post-secondary education within an Information Technology or Engineering Field.
Project and/or Program level certification of any framework (i.e. PMP, PRINCE2) is advantageous but not mandatory.
Any Agile and Product Management related certification is advantageous but not mandatory.
Experience:
7+ years of experience delivering large, complex technology initiatives with exposure across multiple technology domains, including Applications, Software Development, Data & Analytics, Infrastructure, Platforms, Cybersecurity, Digital Products, and Technology Operations.
Demonstrated experience leading business transformation initiatives enabled by technology, with measurable organizational, operational, or customer outcomes.
Experience delivering within one or more technology disciplines such as software engineering, data and analytics, technology operations, resilience, cybersecurity, risk management, enterprise architecture, or digital transformation.
Experience partnering with executive stakeholders and communicating effectively with sponsors, senior leadership teams, and operational teams.
Experience working in large enterprise environments, collaborating across technology, security, data, product, communications, and business functions.
Knowledge of technology governance, risk, security, compliance, and industry frameworks such as NIST, ISO, COBIT, SOC, or similar standards.
Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and change management capabilities, with the ability to influence outcomes across diverse teams and priorities.
Experience within the airline, travel, tourism, hospitality, or tour operator industry is considered an asset.
Skills & Attributes:
Technical Competency – A technical background or exposure to complex technical deliveries that yields critical thinking and the ability to challenge technical feasibility.
Communications – The ability to communicate across organizational, technical, and political boundaries, distilling down complex technical information to a format consumable and understood by non-technical audiences and stakeholders.
Agile & Lean – Ability to lead on a range of Agile and Lean tools and techniques, providing coaching and mentorship outside of the immediate team.
Lifecycle Perspective - Exposure to and experience within; product delivery, service management, and project execution operations working in cohesion.
Planning – The ability to lead a continual planning process in a very complex environment, whilst co-ordinating and coaching other delivery teams as a central point of expertise.
Self-Direction – The ability to work independently, establish relationships, and maintain context of multiple project deliveries simultaneously.