Senior Program Lead

Perficient•Creve Coeur, MO

22h•$133,600 - $173,600•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Senior Program Lead to oversee the successful delivery of complex, large-scale, and fixed-fee programs across our core service lines and industry verticals. This leader will be accountable for end-to-end program execution, financial performance, governance, stakeholder engagement, risk management, and achievement of strategic business outcomes while ensuring contractual commitments are consistently met. The ideal candidate combines strong commercial acumen, delivery excellence, and deep expertise in one or more of our strategic service offerings or industries. They will be comfortable engaging senior client executives, leading large-scale transformation initiatives, and leveraging AI-enabled delivery practices to drive efficiency, quality, innovation, and measurable business value.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive experience in program and project management, including successful delivery of large-scale, complex, and fixed-fee engagements.
Proven experience managing multi-million-dollar programs and portfolios with distributed, cross-functional teams.
Strong expertise in program governance, delivery management, financial management, risk management, and stakeholder engagement.
Demonstrated success building and managing executive-level client relationships within complex organizational environments.
Strong technical background and expertise in Data Platforms & Engineering, Analytics & AI, or a related technology domain.
Ability to engage credibly with CTOs, Product Leaders, Marketing Leaders, Architects, and other senior business and technology stakeholders on strategy, execution, and business outcomes.
Strong understanding of AI-enabled delivery models, with practical experience leveraging Generative AI, Copilots, automation, analytics, and intelligent workflows to improve program performance.
Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and executive stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

Lead the planning, execution, governance, and successful delivery of complex, fixed-fee programs across multiple workstreams, teams, and geographies.
Own program performance, including scope, schedule, budget, quality, delivery milestones, customer satisfaction, and business outcomes.
Manage program financials, including revenue forecasting, margin optimization, cost control, and overall profitability.
Establish and drive effective governance frameworks, executive reporting, and program review processes.
Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate delivery, commercial, operational, and technical risks.
Build and maintain trusted relationships with client executives, business sponsors, and key stakeholders.
Drive resource planning, staffing, and capacity management to support successful program execution.
Manage contractual obligations, scope changes, assumptions, dependencies, and change requests to ensure alignment and protect program value.
Promote delivery excellence through the adoption of best practices, standardized methodologies, quality controls, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Partner closely with solution architects, engineering leaders, product owners, and business stakeholders to align technology solutions with strategic business objectives.
Leverage AI-enabled delivery approaches, automation, Copilots, and Generative AI capabilities to improve productivity, quality, speed, and innovation.
Mentor and develop project managers, delivery managers, and technical leaders, fostering high-performing teams and future leadership talent.