Program Manager | Full-time | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |

Xlysi LLC.; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm is seeking a Program Manager in Kuala Lumpur to lead multi-project IT programs in financial technology and insurance domains. The ideal candidate will have over 15 years in IT project management, strong leadership skills, and experience with Agile methodologies. Responsibilities include strategic planning, risk management, and stakeholder engagement. This full-time position offers the chance to thrive in a dynamic environment while ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.

Benefits

Health insurance

Professional development opportunities

Flexible working hours

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in IT project/program management, specifically in insurance domains.
• Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies (Agile, Scrum).
• PMP or Agile certifications preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-project programs managing several concurrent IT projects.
• Develop and maintain program plans, monitor progress and manage risks.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder Engagement

Problem Solving

Agile Methodologies

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology

Tools

SCRUM

MS Project

Job description

Position Title

Program Manager

Location

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Employment Type

Full-Time

Key Responsibilities

• Program Leadership & Governance
  • Lead a multi-project program consisting of several concurrent IT projects within insurance, or financial technology domains.
  • Provide direction, support, and performance management to assigned Project Managers.
  • Establish program governance frameworks, reporting structures, and delivery standards.
  • Ensure compliance with financial services regulatory requirements (e.g., AML, PCI-DSS, MAS/BNM guidelines depending on region).
• Planning & Delivery Management
  • Develop and maintain integrated program plans covering timelines, dependencies, resources, risks, and budgets.
  • Monitor project progress and drive corrective actions to address issues, delays, or deviations.
  • Coordinate cross-functional delivery teams including business analysts, developers, QA, infrastructure, security, and vendor partners.
  • Facilitate decision-making across stakeholders and elevate critical issues as needed.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for senior leadership and business sponsors.
  • Present program status, dashboards, financial updates and risk assessments.
  • Build strong relationships with business units, operations, compliance, technology leads and external vendors.
• Risk, Compliance & Quality Assurance
  • Identify, assess and manage program-level risks, dependencies and constraints.
  • Ensure project deliverables adhere to internal policies, cybersecurity standards and regulatory expectations.
  • Conduct program reviews, retrospectives and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Financial & Resource Management
  • Own program budget planning, forecasting and cost control.
  • Optimize resource allocation across multiple projects.
  • Support procurement and vendor management activities, including contract negotiation and performance evaluation.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education & Experience
  • Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business or related field; Master’s degree is a plus.
  • 15+ years of experience in IT project/program management, 5 years in General and/or Motor Insurance domains with at least 3 years managing Project Managers.
  • Experience in the financial services industry (banking, insurance, fintech, payments) is required.
• Technical & Domain Skills
  • Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Hybrid).
  • Knowledge of financial systems such as core banking, digital channels, risk management systems or payment platforms.
  • Familiarity with regulatory frameworks and cybersecurity standards in financial services.
• Certifications (Preferred)
  • PMP, PgMP or PRINCE2
  • Agile certifications (CSM, SAFe, PMI-ACP)
  • ITIL Foundation
• Soft Skills
  • Excellent leadership and people management skills.
  • Strong communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
  • High level of analytical, problem solving and decision making capability.
  • Ability to thrive in a demanding, fast paced environment.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Program delivery on time, within budget, and aligned to scope.
  • Stakeholder satisfaction and business value realization.
  • Regulatory and audit compliance metrics.
  • Team performance and engagement.
  • Effective risk mitigation and issue resolution.
• Added Advantage
  • Modern Architecture & Engineering Concepts: microservices architecture, APIs and integration patterns.
  • Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) migration strategies.
  • Containerization & orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift).
  • DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure as code (IaC).
  • Application performance, scalability and resilience concepts.
  • Modern programming frameworks and legacy stacks.
• Legacy Systems & Transformation Challenges
  • Understanding of monolithic architectures and technical debt.
  • Experience with data migration, schema changes and modernization of integration layers.
  • Work with SMEs to define modernization paths and phased migrations.
• Strategic Planning for Modernization
  • Define multi year modernization roadmaps.
  • Lead large scale application modernization or digital transformation programs involving multiple application teams and parallel release streams.
  • Manage dependencies, sequencing workloads and plan phased rollouts.
  • Risk management around legacy instability, cutover planning, downtime avoidance.
  • Facilitate cross squad coordination through Scrum of Scrums ceremonies, dependency mapping and synchronized sprint planning.