Senior Manager, AI Program Management

Ford Motor•Dearborn, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, AI Program Management owns the operating system for Ford’s AI Big Bet portfolio, ensuring portfolio status, ownership, value, and risks are visible and managed before they become surprises. The role builds and runs an automated governance dashboard, establishes consistent reporting standards, manages the portfolio review cadence, and tracks validated value realization in partnership with Finance. It also monitors adoption and changes in ways of working, manages dependencies and blockers across bets, and develops recovery plans for at-risk initiatives. The position works directly with directors and VPs across functions and may lead a small team of program analysts. This is a hybrid role requiring onsite work four or more days per week.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
At least 7 years of experience in program management, PMO, or transformation roles in a large organization.
Direct experience leading technology, digital, or AI-driven transformation programs from planning through delivery.
Experience tracking value realization with Finance, including defending or challenging reported value.
Hands-on experience operating a cadence for a multi-workstream portfolio, including recurring reviews, status reporting, and executive materials.
Experience applying stage-gate or governance criteria across multiple programs and holding teams to them.
Experience aligning cross-functional stakeholders, including Finance, HR, Legal, and technical teams, around shared decisions.
Experience identifying at-risk programs early and developing recovery plans with program owners.
Strong written communication skills, with the ability to write concise, plain-language materials for executive audiences.
Hands-on experience building automated dashboards and connecting them to source systems, such as Power BI or similar, SharePoint, and Jira or equivalent, including defining KPIs with the teams that own the data.
Legally authorized to work in the United States; employment eligibility verification is required at hire.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automotive, technology, or another large enterprise with a complex, matrixed operating structure.
Experience in a PMO, governance office, or transformation office for a technology or innovation portfolio.
Firsthand understanding of how AI or agentic initiatives stall or fail and how to recover them.
Familiarity with the roles of legal, data governance, and risk functions such as GDIA in technology program decisions.
Experience preparing portfolio materials for a CEO, Board, or ELT-level audience.
Experience leading or mentoring program analysts.

Responsibilities

Build and operate the AI Governance Dashboard, defining KPIs with bet teams and establishing automated data feeds from their source systems.
Set consistent standards for bet-team reporting and resolve inconsistent tracking across teams.
Own the weekly portfolio activity report, including scope, DRIs, and 1-week, 30-day, and 90-day milestones; ensure accountable owners provide updates on a fixed cadence.
Apply and improve portfolio governance standards and stage-gate criteria across Enterprise and Functional AI Bets.
Own the AI Portfolio review calendar and prepare materials for the CEO, Board, and ELT.
Track portfolio value realization with Finance, reconcile reported and validated value, maintain the benefits tracker, and challenge unsupported figures.
Track adoption and changed ways of working across bets in addition to delivery milestones.
Manage cross-bet dependencies and blockers, resolving them where possible and escalating unresolved matters with supporting facts and recommendations.
Identify at-risk bets early using agreed G/Y/R criteria and develop and track recovery plans with bet owners.
Coordinate the working-level network of bet program leads and DRIs; may lead a small team of program analysts.

Benefits

Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.
Flexible family care days and paid parental leave.
New parent ramp-up programs and subsidized backup child care.
Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement and fertility treatments.
Vehicle discount program for employees and family members, and management leases.
Tuition assistance.
Established and active employee resource groups.
Paid time off for individual and team community service.
Paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.