Our client is looking for an Interim Program Manager
Context
For the Asset & General Applications department at our headquarters in Brussels, we are looking for an interim Program Manager. Asset & General Applications (AGA) is a department within ICT responsible for the delivery, maintenance, and evolution of a diverse portfolio of business applications supporting asset management and corporate functions. Following a recent organizational reorganization, AGA has simplified its management structure and redistributed responsibilities across leadership roles. To support the implementation of the new operating model, AGA is seeking an Interim Program Manager to establish the governance, reporting, portfolio management, and financial follow-up capabilities required by the organization. The assignment is primarily focused on designing, implementing, and institutionalizing processes and governance mechanisms, while supporting their adoption across the department.
Mission
The primary objective of the assignment is to establish a sustainable governance and portfolio management framework for the AGA department.
The Interim Program Manager will define and implement the processes, reporting structures, portfolio oversight mechanisms, and financial follow-up practices required to provide management with a consolidated and reliable view of project delivery, priorities, risks, dependencies, and budget consumption.
The role acts as a transversal coordination and facilitation function across all teams, supporting management decision-making and organizational effectiveness. Team Leads remain accountable for the delivery of their respective application domains, projects, and initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
1. Program Management & Support to Team Leads
Design, implement, and operate a consistent project and portfolio governance framework across the department.
Responsibilities
- Define and standardize governance, reporting, and follow-up processes for projects and initiatives.
- Establish common templates, reporting practices, and portfolio management mechanisms across teams.
- Consolidate project and initiative information provided by Team Leads into a department-wide view.
- Facilitate periodic portfolio reviews and governance meetings.
- Maintain visibility on:
- Project and initiative status
- Progress against plans and milestones
- Risks and mitigation actions
- Cross-team dependencies
- Major issues and key deviations
- Portfolio-level delivery indicators
- Coordinate the identification and escalation of cross-team risks and dependencies.
- Support Team Leads in governance, planning, and reporting activities.
- Prepare consolidated project and initiative overviews for management.
Guiding Principle
- The Program Manager defines, facilitates, and consolidates governance and reporting activities.
- Team Leads remain accountable for delivery within their respective scope.
2. Management Reporting & Support to the Head of AGA
Provide management visibility, portfolio insight, and decision-support capabilities. Responsibilities
- Design and maintain a consolidated reporting framework for the AGA organization.
- Develop department-wide portfolio dashboards and management reporting.
- Provide portfolio analysis on delivery performance, trends, risks, bottlenecks, and resource constraints.
- Establish management visibility on budget consumption and forecast evolution.
- Support the preparation of management reviews, Steering Committees, and Executive Committee communications.
- Identify issues requiring escalation and management attention.
- Ensure consistency, transparency, and reliability of information communicated to stakeholders.
- Produce regular executive-level portfolio summaries and recommendations.
3. Purchase Management & Budget Support
Establish and support financial governance processes across the department. Responsibilities
- Centralize and coordinate Purchase Order (PO) management across AGA.
- Implement and maintain processes for purchase tracking and financial follow-up.
- Monitor purchase requests, approvals, invoices, and payments.
- Maintain a consolidated view of software, services, and project-related expenditures.
- Support annual budget preparation, forecasting, and budget monitoring activities.
- Provide regular financial visibility and budget reporting to management.
- Identify budget deviations, financial risks, and optimization opportunities.
- Support financial planning and decision-making processes.
Expected Deliverables
By the end of the assignment, the Program Manager will have:
- Implemented a standardized governance framework across all teams.
- Established a consolidated portfolio reporting process and dashboard.
- Defined and operationalized project follow-up, escalation, and dependency management processes.
- Implemented management reporting practices supporting leadership and ExCo communication.
- Established financial governance and budget follow-up mechanisms.
- Improved visibility on project delivery, risks, dependencies, priorities, and budget consumption across the department.
- Ensured the adoption of the new governance model within the AGA organization.
Profile
- Proven experience in Program Management, PMO leadership, or Portfolio Management.
- Strong experience in governance design and implementation within complex IT organizations.
- Ability to structure and deploy processes, reporting frameworks, and management dashboards.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Experience supporting senior management and executive reporting.
- Good understanding of project portfolio management, financial management, budgeting, and procurement processes.
- Ability to drive change and facilitate adoption of new ways of working across multiple teams.