Senior Lead or Lead Program Manager Strategic Initiatives (RapidScale)

At RapidScale, exceptional technology is powered by exceptional people. We deliver secure, reliable managed and advisory services across private, public, and hybrid clouds, helping organizations innovate, adapt, and grow. As an Elite Broadcom VMware VCSP Partner and top partner with AWS, Azure, and Google, our solutions focus on business outcomes with embedded cyber resiliency and AI to protect today and enable tomorrow, backed by the strength of the Cox family of companies.
Overview
We are searching for a Senior Lead or Lead Program Manager to oversee multiple overlapping in-flight programs spanning across IT, Operations, and customer facing delivery. This is not a traditional IT program management role - it is a strategic program leadership position requiring executive presence, political acumen, M&A experience, and experience implementing greenfield enterprise platforms and sunsetting complex and highly-integrated existing platforms. You'll be joining a newly formed Strategic Initiatives team comprised of people who are passionate about change and enablement and involved in the most critical enterprise programs. We excel at getting ambiguous objectives and turning them into structured, executable programs. You will help define new ways of working and building relationships along the way.
You will own complex, cross-functional programs that shape the future of the company, including post-merger integration, large-scale business transformations, business process redesigns, and strategic initiatives that span multiple years and business units. In addition to program delivery, you will play a key role in maturing and operationalizing enterprise governance frameworks (portfolio governance, program steering committees, process governance, etc.). In this position, you will engage directly with members of our leadership team to assess their requirements and coordinate efforts across various teams and external vendors to fulfill those objectives.
Key Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end strategic and transformational programs from initiation through closure, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and delivery of targeted business outcomes.

• Oversee enterprise platform decommissions and implementations.

• Serve as a program interface to the Executive Leadership Team; prepare and deliver concise, high-quality updates, decision materials, and risk/mitigation briefings for CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and Board committees.

• Drive post-merger integration workstreams, including synergy tracking, cultural integration, Day-1/Day-100 planning, organizational design, and systems/process harmonization.

• Partner with corporate development, finance, legal, HR, and business unit leaders during due diligence and integration planning phases of M&A transactions.

• Design, implement, and continuously improve enterprise-level program/portfolio governance models (stage-gate processes, steering committees, risk frameworks, benefits realization tracking, etc.).

• Facilitate executive workshops, offsites, and decision-making forums using structured problem-solving and change management techniques.

• Identify, track, and realize strategic benefits (financial, operational, customer, and employee impact) and own benefits realization reporting to executives.

• Coach and mentor junior program/project managers; raise the overall bar for program management maturity across the organization.

• Proactively manage risks, dependencies, and issues across a complex stakeholder landscape that includes external partners, acquired entities, and regulators when applicable.

• Lead visual storytelling and strategic communications, translating complex initiatives into clear and actionable insight.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to our leadership team, providing insights, recommendations, and visibility into execution.

Qualifications:
Minimum:
Lead Project Manager:

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 8 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 6years' experience; or 12 years' experience in a related field with no degree.

Senior Lead Project Manager:

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 10 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 8 years' experience; or 14 years' experience in a related field with no degree.

Additional Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of program and/or portfolio management experience managing large-scale strategic or transformational programs.

• Demonstrated ability to operate at the executive level: preparing Board/ELT materials, facilitating C-suite discussions, and influencing without direct authority.

• Deep expertise in program/portfolio management and governance design, benefits realization, and enterprise PMO design and operations.

• Mastery of multiple delivery methodologies including Agile, waterfall, and hybrid models.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications: PgMP, PfMP, Prosci/ADKAR, SAFe (SPC or RTE), or equivalent.

• Prior management consulting experience (MBB or Tier-2 firms) with focus on M&A, transformation, or operating model design.

• Experience in private equity-backed or publicly traded companies undergoing rapid growth via M&A.

USD 99,000.00 - 165,000.00 per year
Compensation:
Compensation includes a base salary of $99,000.00 - $165,000.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.
Benefits:
The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.