Associate Program Director – Program Management

Location: Bengaluru

Experience: 14 - 16 Years

About the Role

We are seeking a highly experienced Associate Program Director to lead large-scale programs and strategic customer engagements. The ideal candidate will have a robust background in program delivery, stakeholder management, Agile execution, and operational governance, along with the ability to drive business outcomes across complex and distributed teams.

This role requires a seasoned leader who can own end-to-end program delivery, manage customer relationships, ensure operational excellence, and drive continuous improvement while maintaining high standards of quality, predictability, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Delivery Leadership

- Lead and manage large-scale, multi-project programs with complete ownership of delivery, quality, timelines, and customer satisfaction.
- Drive successful execution of complex programs across distributed and cross-functional teams.
- Oversee end-to-end Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) activities, from planning and estimation to deployment and support.
- Establish delivery governance, project tracking mechanisms, and performance monitoring frameworks.
- Ensure programs are delivered within scope, budget, and agreed timelines.

Stakeholder Management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, business leaders, and internal stakeholders.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for program governance, escalations, delivery reviews, and strategic discussions.
- Collaborate with stakeholders on project requirements, staffing plans, financials, contracts, and resource management.
- Provide regular status updates, executive-level reporting, and actionable insights to customers and leadership teams.

Risk & Escalation Management
- Proactively identify project and program risks and implement mitigation strategies.




- Manage critical issues and escalations effectively while minimizing business impact.
- Drive decision-making and resolution of complex delivery challenges.
- Ensure delivery predictability through effective planning, governance, and risk management practices.

Agile Program Management
- Champion Agile delivery practices and drive adoption of Scrum, Kanban, and modern project management methodologies.
- Facilitate program planning, sprint governance, release management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Coach teams and stakeholders on Agile principles and best practices.

Technical & Operational Leadership
- Leverage prior software development experience to guide technical teams and delivery decisions.
- Work closely with engineering and architecture teams to ensure scalable, high-quality solution delivery.
- Manage programs involving SaaS platforms, cloud-based solutions, and enterprise digital transformation initiatives.
- Promote automation, operational efficiency, and engineering best practices across projects.

People Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop project managers, Scrum Masters, and delivery teams.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
- Support talent development, succession planning, and capability-building initiatives.

Required Skills & Qualifications
- 18+ years of overall IT experience with at least 5-6 years in Program Management or Delivery Leadership roles.
- Proven experience managing and delivering large-scale projects and programs as a Project Manager, Program Manager,



or Delivery Leader.
- Strong expertise in Agile methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, and scaled Agile practices.
- Excellent stakeholder management and customer relationship management skills.
- Strong understanding of project financials, resource planning, contracts, and delivery governance.
- Experience managing distributed teams across multiple locations and functions.
- Hands-on software development background with a strong understanding of application development and deployment lifecycles.
- Experience managing SaaS-based products or platforms.
- Strong knowledge of delivery metrics, reporting, governance, and operational excellence.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in digital transformation, cloud, and enterprise application programs.
- Strong understanding of automation, DevOps, CI/CD, and modern software engineering practices.
- Exposure to AI-enabled software development and delivery environments.
- Experience working with global customers and multicultural teams.

Good to Have AI Literacy & Emerging Technologies
- Practical experience using AI-powered tools to improve productivity, delivery efficiency, and decision-making.
- Understanding of AI-assisted Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Agentic AI concepts, and AI-driven development frameworks.
- Experience working on projects leveraging AI for software development, testing, deployment, support, or operational automation.
- Exposure to Generative AI, AI governance, and enterprise AI adoption initiatives.

Ideal Candidate Profile: A strategic delivery leader with strong business acumen, technical depth, customer-facing experience, and a proven track record of successfully managing large-scale programs while driving operational excellence and business growth.

📌 Associate Program Director (.NET / Java) (Bengaluru)
🏢 Happiest Minds Technologies
📍 Bengaluru