Position Summary

The Director, Strategic Program Delivery is accountable for establishing SJI’s strategic delivery engine and leading execution of the enterprise transformation and strategic initiative portfolio across capital and O&M work. The role integrates end-to-end program execution, delivery governance, financial controls, benefits realization, and change enablement into a disciplined function that converts enterprise priorities into sustained business value and NAV impact.
The Director establishes and enforces delivery governance, stage gates, decision rights, and program discipline across the portfolio; partners with Finance/Strategy on strategy, funding, and reporting inputs; and works closely with the Change Enablement CoE to embed adoption health, change saturation, and workforce readiness into delivery decisions. As the primary point of accountability for execution, the Director builds enterprise-wide program delivery capability while ensuring transparent oversight of risks, interdependencies, capacity constraints, and outcomes.

*Ideal candidate will have flexibility to report to Union, Mt. Laurel, Folsom and additional locations as needed*

Essential Functions:

Strategic Initiative Delivery

• Oversee end-to-end execution of all initiatives within the enterprise portfolio; set delivery expectations, establish accountability structures, and ensure the teams are aligned and resourced to deliver against portfolio commitments.
• Clarify bright-line accountability between strategy/portfolio prioritization and execution delivery by defining sponsor obligations, delivery team accountabilities, escalation paths, and handoffs to business owners.
• Ensure development and maintenance of integrated program plans, schedules, resource plans, change plans, and RACI matrices across the portfolio; review and approve plans for completeness and strategic alignment.
• Monitor milestone achievement, schedule adherence, scope integrity, and change readiness across the portfolio; escalate material variances and direct corrective action.
• Manage cross-portfolio interdependencies; partner on delivery sequencing and change load management and heatmap analysis to protect workforce capacity.
• Provide oversight of risk identification, mitigation planning, and issue resolution; make or escalate portfolio-level risk decisions that cannot be resolved at the program or change enablement level.
• Lead execution-readiness planning for incoming strategic initiatives by validating feasibility, resource requirements, sequencing, business ownership, financial assumptions, and change readiness before committing delivery capacity.

• Financial & Benefit Realization Oversight

• Provide oversight of program budgeting, capital allocation, and O&M forecasting across the portfolio; drive accountability for actuals-to-plan performance and escalate material variances to Finance and executive leadership.
• Track and report KPI performance and benefit realization relative to approved business cases; provide execution, financial, and benefits inputs that support executive, Board, investor, and Finance/Strategic Programs reporting requirements.
• Implement and enforce financial controls, variance reporting mechanisms, and stage-gate budget review processes across all portfolio programs.
• Partner with Finance to ensure disciplined cost management, accurate forecasts, and timely close processes; ensure financial reporting meets enterprise standards.

Governance & Standards

• Develop, maintain, and enforce program governance frameworks including stage gates, milestone reviews, decision rights, and escalation protocols across the portfolio.
• Establish a portfolio operating cadence that integrates prioritization, resource allocation, execution governance, financial controls, change readiness, and benefits realization into a single management rhythm.
• Standardize delivery templates, tools, reporting dashboards, and documentation requirements; ensure the change enablement toolkit and the program delivery templates are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
• Ensure compliance with enterprise governance methodology across all programs and projects in the portfolio.

Team & Capability Leadership

• Lead, develop, and performance-manage program and change enablement activities; establish clear accountabilities, coaching cadences, and performance standards for both roles.
• Build scalable project management capability with appropriate training resources aligned to enterprise demand.
• Assess workload distribution and resource allocation across the portfolio; use the enterprise change heatmap and program delivery data to make informed decisions about sequencing, staffing, and contracted resource deployment.
• Drive continuous improvement within both program delivery and change enablement practices; partner with others to align portfolio priorities with enterprise improvement initiatives and available execution capacity.
• Serve as the primary executive point of accountability to leadership and program sponsors for portfolio delivery outcomes, program health, strategic initiative status, and coordinated reporting inputs for Finance/Strategic Programs.

Required Skills:

• Experience managing an enterprise program portfolio spanning multiple concurrent programs and projects across business functions, with accountability for integrated delivery outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver initiatives exceeding $10M in total budget responsibility; experience managing both capital and O&M budgets with investor-grade reporting standards.
• Experience building or scaling a program delivery function, including establishing PMO/delivery standards, governance frameworks, and change enablement capabilities that serve an enterprise portfolio.
• Demonstrated ability to stand up or reposition a PMO/transformation office from project controls toward a strategic delivery engine that supports cross-functional transformation outcomes.

• Deep expertise in program and project lifecycle management methodologies (waterfall, agile, hybrid); ability to govern and guide stakeholders in selecting and applying appropriate delivery approaches.
• Proficiency in portfolio and project management systems and reporting tools (e.g., ServiceNow ITBM, Power BI, Microsoft Project); ability to interpret and act on portfolio-level data.
• Strong financial management capability including capital and O&M budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and investor-level reporting.
• Advanced risk management and mitigation planning at the portfolio level; ability to distinguish project-level risks from portfolio-level exposures and respond accordingly.
• Vendor and contract management experience, including oversight of contracted program delivery and change management resources; familiarity with procurement processes and contract governance.
• Executive communication and presentation skills; experience preparing and delivering portfolio health updates to C-suite leadership and Board-level stakeholders, and partnering with Finance/Strategic Programs on investor-facing inputs.

Preferred Skills:

• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification strongly preferred. Change management certification (Prosci, CCMP, or ACMP) a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field; Master’s degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in program and project management, with a track record of delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives in regulated or capital-intensive industries.
• 8+ years leading teams that include both program/project management and change management functions; demonstrated ability to set direction, manage performance, and develop capability across a multi-disciplinary delivery team.
• 5+ years of direct involvement in enterprise transformation programs, including integration of program delivery, change enablement, adoption planning, and benefit realization.
• Equivalent experience may be considered in lieu of degree

Compensation Range:

$142,800 - $214,200

We are committed to pay transparency and ensuring equitability compensation for all employees. The pay range for this position reflects the base salary only and does not include benefits, bonuses, or other forms of compensation that might be part of the total compensation package. The specific salary offered will be based on a candidate’s qualifications, education, and experience.

Benefits Package Overview

SJI offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

The SJI “Total Rewards” Benefits Package include:

• Flexible vacation, Paid Time Off, and Sick Leave package
• Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance
• 401(k), with generous company match
• Employee Resource Groups to encourage employee engagement, nurture professional development, and foster an inclusive environment.