Senior Project Manager, Special Programs

Purpose of the Role

The Senior Project Manager, Special Programs leads AFS's most complex, cross-functional initiatives from strategy through implementation and ensures measurable business impact. The role provides the structure, governance, and executive-level coordination required to deliver programs such as M&A integrations, platform modernization, enterprise application implementations, and other strategic transformations. This position exists to turn high-priority business objectives into executable plans, align teams around shared outcomes, and ensure AFS realizes the intended value of its investments.

Scope of Responsibility and Authority

This role owns assigned enterprise programs end-to-end, including program definition, integrated planning, governance, execution, risk management, executive reporting, change readiness, and value realization. The Senior Project Manager, Special Programs establishes the operating cadence, drives decisions within approved scope and budget, and holds workstream leaders accountable for commitments while escalating material changes, unresolved cross-functional conflicts, and risks that could affect business outcomes. The role partners closely with executive sponsors and leaders across all enterprise functions. All programs must be delivered in accordance with AFS governance, contractual obligations, security requirements, and applicable regulatory and audit standards.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead complex, enterprise-wide programs from strategy and business case through implementation, adoption, stabilization, and value realization.
• Translate strategic objectives into integrated program roadmaps with clear scope, outcomes, milestones, dependencies, resources, decision points, and success measures.
• Leverage AI and other tooling to build scale in the approach to strategic program execution.
• Establish fit-for-purpose governance, decision rights, workstream structures, operating cadences, and executive reporting that enable timely decisions and transparent accountability.
• Align and coordinate cross-functional workstream leaders, ensuring commitments are understood, dependencies are actively managed, and teams deliver against agreed outcomes.
• Identify, assess, and actively manage program risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies, escalating material concerns with clear options and recommendations.
• Manage program budgets, resource plans, vendor commitments, and delivery forecasts, maintaining visibility into financial performance and capacity constraints.
• Partner with business and functional leaders to define change impacts, stakeholder engagement, communications, training, and adoption plans that embed new capabilities into day-to-day operations.
• Provide concise, decision-oriented updates to executive sponsors and governance forums, clearly communicating progress, tradeoffs, risks, required decisions, and expected business impact.
• Define and track program outcomes, adoption measures, and value-realization indicators, ensuring ownership transitions effectively to the business and benefits are sustained after implementation.

First 12 Months Outcomes: What Success Looks Like

Success in the first year is defined by establishing a trusted enterprise program management capability and delivering measurable progress across AFS's highest-priority transformation initiatives, while maintaining disciplined governance, stakeholder alignment, and operational continuity. A key measure of success will be increased speed of execution and higher fidelity to stated program outcomes.

• Establish an integrated view of assigned enterprise programs within the first 90 days, including scope, milestones, dependencies, resources, risks, decision needs, and expected business outcomes.
• Implement a consistent governance and executive reporting cadence for all assigned programs within the first 90 days, with clear decision rights, accountable owners, and documented escalation paths.
• Deliver committed program milestones on time or through an approved re-baseline, with no material risk or delay reaching executive sponsors without a documented mitigation plan.
• Maintain active risk, issue, dependency, and decision logs for 100% of assigned programs, with material items escalated through the appropriate governance forum before they affect critical-path commitments.
• Achieve clear sponsor and workstream-owner alignment on scope, outcomes, roles, and priorities for each assigned program, with unresolved conflicts elevated promptly and accompanied by actionable recommendations.
• Stand up a concise enterprise program dashboard reviewed on a regular cadence with executive sponsors, providing a clear view of milestones, risks, decisions, ownership, and business impact.
• Complete effective transition plans for implemented capabilities, including business ownership, adoption measures, support expectations, and post-launch value tracking.

Ways of Working

• Operate with clarity and discipline - creates structure in ambiguity, defines ownership, and keeps teams focused on the decisions and outcomes that matter most.
• Lead through influence - earns trust across functions, aligns stakeholders with different priorities, and drives accountability without relying on direct authority.
• Communicate for action - provides concise, transparent updates that clarify progress, tradeoffs, risks, and required decisions for executive and cross-functional audiences.
• Balance urgency with sound judgment - moves work forward quickly while respecting business constraints, customer commitments, compliance obligations, and operational readiness.
• Model a practical, outcome-oriented mindset - focuses on measurable value, removes friction, and helps teams move from discussion to execution.

Profile

The ideal candidate is a practical, trusted program leader who brings order to complex enterprise work without adding unnecessary bureaucracy. This individual is comfortable operating in ambiguity, can move seamlessly between executive strategy and detailed execution, and understands how to align stakeholders around shared outcomes. They lead with credibility, sound judgment, and a strong bias toward measurable business impact.

Qualifications

AFS is looking for a seasoned program leader who can translate strategic priorities into disciplined execution across complex, cross-functional environments. The strongest candidates will bring demonstrated experience delivering enterprise transformation initiatives where stakeholder alignment, governance, change adoption, and measurable business outcomes were essential to success.

• Experience leading large, complex enterprise programs or transformations from concept through implementation, stabilization, and value realization.
• Background working in technology, financial services, fintech, commercial banking, or similarly complex B2B environments with demanding customer, compliance, and operational requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to build integrated plans, governance models, decision frameworks, and executive reporting that improve visibility, accountability, and delivery confidence.
• Strong business and operational judgment, with the ability to understand technical, financial, customer, legal, security, and people-related considerations well enough to drive practical decisions.
• Proven track record of influencing senior leaders and cross-functional teams, resolving ambiguity, managing tradeoffs, and keeping work moving through competing priorities.
• Comfort operating in regulated, audited, or security-conscious environments, with an understanding of governance, documentation, risk management, and control expectations.
• Executive presence and communication skills to advise sponsors, facilitate decisions, and present complex information clearly to leadership audiences.
• High ownership, strong follow-through, and the ability to create forward momentum while maintaining trust, transparency, and partnership across the organization.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

Work is performed primarily in a professional office environment during normal business hours, with occasional flexibility required to support program milestones, executive meetings, customer needs, or time-sensitive business priorities. This role follows AFS's hybrid work schedule and requires frequent use of computer systems, collaboration tools, video conferencing, keyboards, and monitors. Travel may be required periodically to support customer, vendor, or internal business needs.

Position Description Disclaimer

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty listed above satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this role. This position description is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and is not an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills, and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate.

This document does not constitute a contract of employment. AFS reserves the right to modify this position description and assign tasks as business needs require.