Senior Programme Manager – IT Outsourcing & Cloud Transformation

Summary of Role

We are seeking a highly experienced and commercially astute Senior Programme Manager to lead a strategic technology transformation programme involving vendor due diligence, outsourcing, cloud migration, and operational service integration.

This role requires a proven "heavy hitter" who is comfortable operating at executive and board level, driving complex decision-making processes, and coordinating multiple workstreams across technical, operational, commercial, and vendor stakeholders.

The successful candidate will not be expected to be a deep technical specialist but must possess sufficient technical knowledge to confidently challenge vendors, facilitate decision-making, and govern programme delivery.

Responsibilities

Programme Leadership

• Lead and govern large-scale transformation programmes from strategy through execution.

• Establish and maintain a consolidated programme plan across multiple delivery streams.

• Drive executive-level reporting, governance forums, and steering committee engagement.

• Ensure programme objectives, timelines, risks, dependencies, and outcomes are effectively managed.

Vendor Due Diligence & Outsourcing

• Lead outsourcing assessments and vendor selection processes.

• Conduct vendor due diligence and commercial evaluations.

• Develop and negotiate service agreements, SLAs, OLAs, and contractual performance measures.

• Manage relationships across internal stakeholders and third-party service providers.

Cloud & Infrastructure Transformation

• Oversee cloud migration initiatives, including cloud-to-cloud transitions (e.g., AWS to OCI or similar environments).

• Coordinate technical, operational, security, and commercial workstreams throughout migration programmes.

• Ensure transition plans align with business continuity and operational requirements.

Service Integration & Operational Readiness

• Drive integration of services into ITSM environments, including ServiceNow and related platforms.

• Establish governance and service management frameworks.

• Ensure operational acceptance criteria, support models, and service transition activities are completed successfully.

Stakeholder & Change Management

• Act as the central convenor across business, technology, operations, and vendor teams.

• Influence and align stakeholders in politically sensitive environments.

• Contract delivery commitments from individual stream owners and integrate them into a single executable programme plan.

• Manage communications across senior leadership, affected internal teams, and external partners.

Offshore Team Coordination

• Lead and coordinate offshore delivery teams and vendors, particularly India-based service providers.

• Ensure accountability, performance management, and effective collaboration across distributed teams.

Experience

• 10+ years' experience in programme or project management within enterprise technology environments.

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale outsourcing, managed services, or vendor transition programmes.

• Proven track record performing vendor due diligence and managing complex third-party relationships.

• Experience delivering cloud transformation and cloud-to-cloud migration programmes (e.g., AWS, OCI, Azure, GCP).

• Experience developing and managing SLAs, service contracts, and operational governance frameworks.

• Experience integrating operational services into ITSM platforms, preferably ServiceNow.

• Experience managing offshore delivery teams and global vendors.

• Proven ability to engage and influence executives, senior leadership teams, and board-level stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Matric and Degree in Information Technology, Engineering, Commerce, or related discipline.

• PMP, Prince2, MSP, Agile, or equivalent programme management certification.

• ITIL certification advantageous.

• Experience within large enterprise or regulated environments preferred.