[Remote] Senior Program Manager

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Ascenteum is partnering with a global financial services organization to bring in a Senior Program Manager for a large, multi-track delivery program. This role involves hands-on leadership focused on execution, managing integrated plans, and ensuring smooth coordination across teams in the US and India.ResponsibilitiesOwn the integrated program plan across all active and sequenced tracks, keeping the schedule, dependency map, and critical path accurate and visibleRun iteration planning, execution tracking, and completion reviews for each two-week cycle, and make sure work only enters an iteration once it has met the agreed readiness criteriaHold the program to the structured iterative delivery model, with its phases, gates, and change control, and stop it slipping back into ad hoc executionLead the re-baselining effort by setting velocity baselines from the first two or three iterations, testing the integrated schedule against actual throughput, and recommending any date changes with the data to back them upManage track sequencing so that no track enters build until the tracks it depends on have met their exit criteriaOwn change control, making sure any mid-build requirement change is documented, impact assessed, and approved before it goes into the next iterationRun the weekly cross-track sync to find and resolve dependencies, resource clashes, and scheduling risks between tracksKeep an integrated dependency map across all tracks and raise conflicts early, before they turn into blockersWork with the Solution Architects and Lead Developers to sequence technical dependencies such as shared components, APIs, and data flows in the right orderKeep the business-side and technology-side PMs aligned on planning, communication, and status reportingOwn the SteerCo process from end to end: building the agenda, sending the pre-read 48 hours ahead, running the meeting, capturing decisions, and tracking the follow-ups. The SteerCo is a decision forum, not a status reviewPrepare and present at the bi-weekly Delivery Leadership Review, covering program health, velocity trends, quality metrics, risks, and resourcingOwn the program-level risk, issue, and action log, making sure risks are caught early, escalated with an impact assessment and a recommendation, and driven through to resolutionSet and enforce clear escalation paths, moving from track level to program level, then to delivery leadership and the SteerCo, with timelines and owners at each stepManage the operating rhythm across the US-based and India-based teams and keep the guided execution model working, with the US leading the complex work and India delivering well-defined tasks under that leadMake sure the daily handoffs between the US and India teams run smoothly, including morning standups, clearing blockers, and chasing code review follow-upsKeep an eye on the quality and throughput of offshore delivery and work with the Lead Developers and Solution Architects to match work to each team's strengthsPick up on the usual friction in distributed teams, such as communication gaps, timezone lag, and unclear ownership, and sort it out before it hits deliveryAct as the main point of contact for delivery status across both business and technology stakeholdersPartner with the Business Sponsor, who is acting as Product Owner, to make sure decisions are made, written down, and turned into stable requirementsProduce weekly and bi-weekly status reports that are clear, concise, and ready for an executive audienceWork with the Business PM on business readiness, UAT coordination, and stakeholder communicationBuild and maintain program dashboards covering velocity, quality, risk, and milestone trackingSkillsA strong track record running large, multi-track delivery programs as a hands-on program manager rather than in a purely advisory capacityPractical command of structured iterative or Agile delivery, including iteration planning, phase gates, change control, and velocity-based re-baseliningExperience owning program governance from end to end, including running a steering committee as a decision forum and producing executive-ready reportingA solid grip on dependency and critical path management across parallel and sequenced workstreamsExperience managing distributed delivery across US and offshore India teams, including making daily handoffs and a guided execution model work in practiceConfident risk, issue, and action management, with the habit of surfacing problems early and escalating with a recommendationClear, credible communication with both technical teams and senior stakeholdersComfortable working US Pacific hours within a remote, distributed teamBackground in financial services or a similarly regulated, complex delivery environmentFamiliarity with program tooling for planning, dependency mapping, and dashboard reportingCompany OverviewAscenteum is a London based consulting firm specializing in capital markets and technology solutions. It was founded in 2010, and is headquartered in London, England, GBR, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is https://ascenteum.co.uk/.