Position Summary

OLÉ Managed Client Services is seeking a Senior Program Manager located in Washington State to join our team working with a major public utility in the PNW. This is a hybrid role with 20%-25% fully reimbursed travel to the Columbia River. The successful candidate is both a visionary strategist and a master of delivery mechanics. This role bridges big-picture thinking with disciplined execution, ensuring that bold ideas become tangible, measurable outcomes. The Senior Program Manager blends technical mastery (IQ) with emotional intelligence (EQ), driving strategic alignment, building resilient teams, and will help our client thrive through a complex organizational transformation. This position is about more than program oversight—it is about leading change with heart and discipline, ensuring every program delivers value while empowering people to succeed.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategic Program Leadership (IQ + EQ)

Lead the end-to-end program lifecycle, from vision through benefits realization.
Build and maintain comprehensive project and program roadmaps, including scope, milestones, dependencies, and success measures.
Translate strategic goals into clear, actionable program plans with detailed work breakdown structures (WBS), Gantt charts, and dynamic backlogs.
Leverage program dashboards and data analytics to track delivery health and make informed adjustments.
Inspire resilience and confidence across teams, ensuring alignment and commitment to outcomes.

2. Delivery Mechanics & Execution Excellence (IQ)

Develop and maintain detailed project plans that serve as the single source of truth for scope, schedule, dependencies, and deliverables.
Oversee backlog management, ensuring priorities are transparent, aligned to business goals, and continuously refined in collaboration with stakeholders.
Proactively identify and manage risks, issues, and interdependencies, ensuring mitigation strategies are documented, monitored, and executed.
Partner with technical architects to ensure architecture diagrams and solution designs are integrated into planning, decision-making, and delivery.
Own and manage project and program budgets, including forecasting, cost control, and transparent financial reporting.
Drive contract performance and vendor management, ensuring accountability and value delivery across all external partnerships.

3. Stakeholder Engagement & Communication (EQ)

Act as a trusted advisor to executives, stakeholders, and delivery teams, tailoring communication to meet people where they are.
Deliver clear, compelling updates through written reports, dashboards, presentations, and informal conversations.
Facilitate executive steering committees, stakeholder alignment sessions, and program team stand-ups with clarity and confidence.
Build strong, trust-based relationships across functions, ensuring collaboration and transparency.

4. Organizational Change Management (OCM) (EQ)

Lead the people side of change, ensuring transformations are adopted, embraced, and sustained.
Conduct impact assessments, stakeholder readiness analysis, and adoption planning to prepare the organization for change.
Design and deliver communications, training, and engagement strategies that resonate with diverse audiences.
Build organizational resilience by embedding continuous learning and feedback loops.

5. Governance, Risk, and Financial Stewardship (IQ)

Establish governance structures to ensure accountability, decision clarity, and alignment with organizational priorities.
Anticipate risks with foresight, maintain living risk and issue registers, and ensure mitigation strategies are executed.
Own and steward program budgets, ensuring financial health while maximizing value delivery.
Partner with procurement, finance, and legal to ensure compliance, contract health, and vendor accountability.

6. Continuous Improvement & Mentorship (IQ + EQ)

Define and track KPIs and success metrics that focus on outcomes, not just outputs.
Conduct post-program reviews, embedding lessons learned into future delivery.
Mentor and coach junior program managers and project managers, fostering a culture of growth and excellence.
Continuously evolve program delivery frameworks, tools, and practices to reflect best-in-class standards.

Qualifications & Competencies

Minimum Experience Requirements

7+ years working in the U.S. leading complex, end-to-end (E2E) project and program delivery, successfully guiding initiatives from vision and initiation through to benefits realization and organizational adoption.
Proven track record of translating strategy into actionable roadmaps, aligning cross-functional teams, and delivering measurable business outcomes.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain detailed project plans, manage dependencies, risks, and issues, and ensure delivery excellence across multiple concurrent initiatives.
Experience leading programs through all five phases of delivery—initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control, and closure, while ensuring continuous alignment with strategic objectives.
Consistent history of managing budgets, forecasts, and financial reporting, ensuring investments maximize enterprise value.
Hands-on expertise with tools, frameworks, and methodologies (Agile, Hybrid, PMBOK, Lean Portfolio Management), applying the right approach to fit organizational culture and program needs.
Recognized for developing people as much as delivering projects—coaching, mentoring, and elevating teams to improve capability and confidence in program management practices.
Demonstrated ability to inspire trust and confidence across stakeholders, fostering transparency, collaboration, and shared ownership of results.

Intellectual Mastery (IQ)

Expertise in program and project delivery mechanics:
- Project planning, scheduling, and dependency management.
- Backlog creation, refinement, and prioritization.
- Risk and issue registers, escalation paths, and mitigation frameworks.
- Budget ownership, forecasting, and variance analysis.
- Architecture diagram interpretation and solution integration.
Deep knowledge of methodologies such as PMBOK, Agile/Hybrid, and Lean Portfolio Management.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a track record of delivering results.

Emotional Intelligence & Leadership (EQ)

Inspirational communicator who meets people where they are and adapts to different audiences.
Empathetic leader who fosters psychological safety, trust, and collaboration.
Change champion skilled in guiding people and organizations through complex transformation.
Mentor and role model who develops future leaders by sharing knowledge and building confidence.
Conflict resolver who facilitates alignment and consensus in complex environments.

Impact Statement

The Senior Program Manager is the catalyst that transforms strategy into reality for our team and for our client. By combining disciplined delivery mechanics with human-centered leadership, this role ensures that every program not only achieves its goals but also strengthens the organization’s capacity for future success. Through vision, empathy, and operational excellence, the Senior Program Manager enables our client to adapt, grow, and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

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OLE is looking for a big picture thinker who aligns every step of the program lifecycle with strategic goals. Please share a story about your ability to be a big picture thinker.

Our client needs an expert at uniting diverse teams, tools, and processes, and creating seamless end-to-end workflows. Share with us what makes you a master orchestrator.

OLÉ is looking for someone who thrives in complexity and is adept at navigating challenges. What makes you an agile problem-solver?

We are looking for a collaborative leader who is a champion of open communication and trust. Share with us your leadership philosophy and how it has evolved over time.

Share with us the crown jewel of successful programs you have led what makes your story legendary.

You will be the architect of effective communication and the champion of stakeholder engagement. Share your views on communication strategy when you have had to adapt it.

You will be partnering with OLÉ's PMO leadership and client business units. Share how you have previously supported OCM initiatives and the cultural role you believe you can play.

What is your approach to creating a culture of transparency and accountability in support of risk management?

You will be entrusted with overseeing financial planning, forecasting, and tracking, and resource allocation. What can you share with us about your approach and track record?

Your knowledge, experience, and leadership wisdom will shape the next generation of program managers. Share a story of someone you have mentored and the impact you had.