Senior Program Manager - Computer Science

UPES - School of Computer Science operates in a rapidly evolving educational and industry landscape. To succeed globally and lead in innovation, execution excellence must be non-negotiable. The Program Manager ensures:

• Strategic initiatives are delivered with impact
• Resources and risks are managed with discipline
• Leadership sees the true health of the Schools initiatives
• SoCS stays ahead in accreditation, labs, rankings, and industry relevance

Education

• Masters degree required; MBA, Project Management, Technology Management, or related postgraduate credentials preferred.
• Preferred - PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile certifications (PMI-ACP / ScrumMaster) or equivalent

Role Summary:

The concerned person will be responsible for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, and governance of all key school initiatives spanning new labs, accreditation cycles, rankings strategy, academic innovations, and transformation programs. This role ensures the health of the schools portfolio of initiatives, driving outcomes, impact, and ROI, and reporting directly to the Dean with clear, real-time insights into initiative status and organizational performance.

This isnt a traditional administrative role its the chief orchestrator of School of Computer Sciences strategic delivery engine.

Key Responsibility:

Strategic Program Leadership & Portfolio Governance

• Own the PMO charter for the school, defining governance frameworks, delivery standards, and reporting cadences.
• Oversee the entire portfolio of strategic initiatives, including but not limited to:
• New lab and infrastructure setups
• Accreditation preparation and cycles
• Global rankings strategy and execution
• Strategic academic programs and global partnerships
• Research & innovation impact projects
• Prioritize initiatives based on strategic impact, resources, and risk profile.

Performance Monitoring & ROI Accountability

• Develop, maintain, and socialise portfolio dashboards reporting on:
• Milestones, budgets, risks, and dependencies
• Outcomes and KPIs for each strategic initiative
• School-wide execution health metrics
• Evaluate ROI, impact, and sustainability of initiatives through quantitative and qualitative measures.
• Drive continuous improvement ensuring lessons learned feed back into planning cycles.

Delivery & Quality Assurance

• Standardize project delivery methods, templates, governance, and quality reviews aligned to global PMO best practices (e.g., PMI, Agile frameworks where applicable).
• Champion high standards of documentation, change control, risk mitigation, and stakeholder alignment.
• Coordinate cross-functional working groups to ensure cohesive execution across academic, operational, and external domains.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Alignment

• Serve as the connective tissue across SoCS leadership Associate Deans, Directors, Faculty, Industry Partners, and institutional units.
• Act as a trusted advisor to initiative sponsors, ensuring clarity of objectives, scope, and performance measures.
• Facilitate executive decision points and escalate issues with clear recommendations.

Reporting & Strategic Insight Communication

• Provide the Dean and academic leadership with concise, insight-driven updates beyond status to implications and recommendations.
• Translate complex project data into executive-ready narratives and visual dashboards.
• Maintain transparency and confidence across stakeholders through predictable, high-quality reporting cycles.

Change Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead organizational change management for transformation initiatives.
• Build internal PMO capabilities (training, tools, playbooks) to elevate execution maturity in the school.
• Promote a culture of accountability, results, and proactive risk management.

Core Competencies:

1. Strategic Thinking : Anticipates trends and aligns initiatives with long-term academic and organizational goals
2. Operational Excellence: Excellent command of project and portfolio management disciplines and tools
3. Data Fluency & Insight Communication: Translates data into decisions, risks into actions
4. Collaborative Leadership: Influences without authority, fosters alignment across academic and operational functions
5. Change Management: Drives adoption and resilience during transitions and transformations