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 School’s initiatives
• SoCS stays ahead in accreditation, labs, rankings, and industry relevance

Education

• Master’s 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 school’s 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 isn’t a traditional administrative role — it’s the chief orchestrator of School of Computer Science's 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