Program Director, APAC Services

So, what’s the role all about?

The Program Director is the senior delivery owner accountable for the successful execution of large, complex, multi-stream programs across the APAC Services portfolio -spanning contact centre technology, workforce management, and applied AI and automation. This is an elevated individual contributor role: it carries the seniority, authority and executive presence of a leadership position, and full accountability for program outcomes, without formal people-management authority. The person in this role influences delivery quality and Project Manager performance through credibility and standards, not through a reporting line.

The role holds end-to-end delivery and governance accountability for flagship enterprise and public-sector programs, acts as a trusted advisor and business enabler to client executives, and serves as the senior escalation point for clients, implementation partners and third-party platform vendors.

Success in the role means programs delivered to scope, schedule and quality; governance that surfaces risk early rather than at go-live; strong, durable customer relationships at the executive level; and a Project Management function that is consistent, capable and trusted by the business and its customers.

How will you make an impact?   

Program delivery & execution

• End-to-end ownership - carry single-threaded accountability for delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams, partners and dependencies.
• Plan integrity - own the integrated program plan, critical path, release sequencing and cross-stream dependency management.
• Reactive phases - lead through high-pressure go-live and stabilisation windows without losing strategic altitude.
• Escalation ownership - act as the initial point of contact and escalation for the customer, directly accountable for rollout, delivery and production outcomes.

Governance & assurance

• Governance cadence - run steering committees, stage-gates; chair the program-level RAID and decision log.
• Quality & assurance - set and enforce delivery standards, gate criteria and non-functional requirements; 
• Methodology ownership - define and govern project implementation methodology and continuous-improvement practices across delivered programs.

Project Management guidance & capability (matrixed, no line authority)

• Guidance - coach and quality-assure a community of Project Managers through functional guidance and standard-setting, not formal reporting authority; standardise artefacts, reporting and estimation discipline.
• Capability uplift - build PM bench strength, and advise on resourcing priorities across the portfolio.
• Direct support - provide hands-on guidance to Project Managers working on assigned major accounts and flagship programs.

Stakeholder, partner & vendor management

• Executive relationships - act as senior point of contact for client sponsors and internal executives; communicate bottom-line-first, with options and a clear recommendation.
• Trusted advisor - develop and maintain positive working relationships with customers' business and operations leaders; understand their business and technical environment well enough to act as a genuine business enabler.
• Partner accountability - hold implementation partners and third-party platform vendors to contracted commitments, SLAs and joint governance.

Commercial & risk control

• Delivery-focused commercials - support program forecasting and cost discipline as part of delivery accountability; 
• Risk & compliance - manage program risk proactively; ensure delivery meets applicable compliance standards

Have you got what it takes?

• 10+ years delivering large, complex technology programs, including several years at senior program-leadership level overseeing multiple Project Managers.
• Demonstrable track record delivering enterprise software programs in contact centre, CX or workforce management technology (e.g. NiCE, Genesys, Cisco, Avaya) or adjacent SaaS domains.
• Strong command of program governance and partner/vendor management in multi-party delivery environments.
• Experience delivering into regulated or public-sector clients with formal security and data-protection obligations.
• Credible executive communicator; calm and decisive under reactive, high-stakes delivery conditions.
• Experience operating in multi-cultural environments, serving regional and global customers.

You will have an advantage if you also have:

• Cross-cultural delivery experience across APAC markets (e.g. Australia, Japan, the UAE); fluency in adapting style across cultures.
• Familiarity with AI/automation platforms (conversational AI, voice, biometrics) and the assurance questions they raise.
• Background in vendor-side professional services or systems integration delivery.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in IT management or Business.