Program Manager

Ascendum Solutions; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascendum Solutions is seeking a Senior Program Manager to stabilize and recover a high‑visibility enterprise transformation involving ERP modernization to SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce enhancements, and analytics initiatives. You will lead governance, financials, and multi‑vendor delivery to ensure on‑time go‑live and business value realization.

The role requires executive presence, deep experience with large SAP programs, and the ability to drive cross‑functional teams across ERP, CRM, and data

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive program management leadership experience at director level or equivalent.
• Proven success leading large enterprise transformations valued at $50M+.
• Strong understanding of SAP implementation methodologies (SAP Activate, ASAP).
• Experience recovering and stabilizing complex, high‑risk programs.
• Deep knowledge of testing management, cutover planning, and hypercare operations.
• Experience managing large system integration partners and outsourced delivery teams.
• Excellent executive communication with VP/C-suite audiences.

Responsibilities

• Stabilize and recover a high‑profile enterprise transformation program.
• Assess program health, testing readiness, design risks, and deployment readiness.
• Develop and execute recovery strategies addressing schedule, delivery, and quality.
• Establish ownership, escalation paths, and decision rights across workstreams.
• Lead SAP S/4HANA deployment activities, testing, cutover, and hypercare.
• Manage program budgets, forecasting, vendor spend, and variance reporting.
• Provide concise executive reporting on health, risks, and readiness.

Skills

Executive communication

Stakeholder alignment

Leadership

Delivery oversight

Risk management

Vendor management

Financial management

Tools

SAP S/4HANA

SAP Activate

Salesforce

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead the recovery and delivery of a highly visible enterprise transformation program involving a legacy ERP modernization to SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce platform enhancements, and an enterprise data analytics initiative. This is a senior leadership role requiring executive presence, strong program governance capabilities, financial management expertise, and extensive experience leading large-scale SAP transformations.

The program is currently facing significant execution challenges, including testing delays, design-related risks, and schedule pressures. The successful candidate will be expected to quickly assess the current state, establish accountability, develop a recovery strategy, and lead the organization through testing, cutover, deployment, and hypercare.

This is not a traditional project management position. The ideal candidate is a seasoned transformation leader with experience stabilizing complex, high-risk programs and driving alignment across executive stakeholders, business teams, technology organizations, and external delivery partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Assume leadership of a high-profile enterprise transformation program requiring immediate stabilization and recovery planning.
• Rapidly evaluate program health, testing readiness, design risks, governance processes, and deployment readiness.
• Develop and execute program recovery strategies to address schedule, delivery, and quality concerns.
• Establish clear ownership, accountability, escalation paths, and decision-making processes across all workstreams.
• Drive program execution through final testing phases, cutover preparation, deployment, and post-go-live support.

SAP Transformation & Delivery Management

• Lead complex SAP S/4HANA transformation activities, including testing, mock conversions, cutover planning, deployment readiness, and hypercare.
• Assess and mitigate the impact of identified design issues and implementation risks.
• Guide program teams through execution milestones while maintaining focus on business outcomes and deployment success.
• Ensure readiness for critical deployment activities, including late November and planned go-live activities in early December.
• Manage and hold system integration partners accountable for staffing, quality, deliverables, testing execution, issue resolution, and timeline commitments.
• Partner with technology leaders, business stakeholders, and executive sponsors to align priorities and resolve escalated issues.
• Facilitate governance forums, executive steering committee meetings, and leadership communications.
• Proactively identify and escalate risks, dependencies, and decisions requiring executive attention.
• Manage program financials, including budgets, forecasts, vendor spend, labor costs, software licensing, commitments, and variance reporting.
• Deliver concise executive-level reporting on program health, risks, financial performance, and readiness metrics.
• Coordinate activities across multiple project managers, analysts, and functional leads supporting the program.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead coordination across ERP, Salesforce, data, business, and technology workstreams.
• Drive collaboration among program teams to ensure issues are surfaced and resolved quickly.
• Provide hands-on leadership during critical testing cycles, mock execution activities, cutover planning, deployment events, and hypercare.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive program management leadership experience, including director-level or equivalent responsibilities.
• Proven success leading large-scale enterprise transformation initiatives valued at $50M+.
• Strong understanding of SAP implementation methodologies, including SAP Activate, ASAP, or equivalent frameworks.
• Demonstrated success recovering and stabilizing complex, high-risk, or underperforming programs.
• Deep knowledge of testing management, mock conversions, deployment readiness, cutover planning, go-live execution, and hypercare operations.
• Experience managing large system integration partners, consulting firms, and outsourced delivery organizations.
• Strong financial management experience, including program budgeting, forecasting, vendor management, and variance analysis.
• Excellent executive communication skills with experience presenting to VP-level and C-suite stakeholders.
• Ability to quickly assess complex situations, establish structure, and drive decisive action.
• Calm and credible under pressure, highly organized, decisive, and execution-focused.
• Comfortable challenging vendors and senior leaders when necessary.
• Skilled at converting risks and issues into actionable recovery plans.
• Effective at balancing strategic leadership with hands-on delivery oversight.
• Comfortable working with strong personalities and demanding stakeholder groups.
• Able to establish trust while maintaining accountability across teams and vendors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading SAP S/4HANA implementations in highly regulated or large enterprise environments.
• Experience managing multi-vendor transformation programs with ERP, CRM, and analytics platform workstreams.
• Strong understanding of organizational change management and business transformation initiatives.
• Experience supporting large-scale deployment and cutover events requiring substantial executive oversight.

This role is primarily remote; however, travel and onsite participation will be required during key delivery milestones, including:

• Testing activities and readiness reviews, mock execution planning and execution events, cutover planning and readiness assessments
• Hypercare and stabilization activities, as needed
• Candidates must be able to travel with limited notice during critical program periods. Onsite presence will be especially important during late November and early December 2026 as the organization prepares for deployment and validates overall program readiness.

This role offers the opportunity to step into a highly visible transformation initiative at a pivotal moment and make an immediate impact. The successful candidate will play a key leadership role in stabilizing program execution, guiding executive decision-making, and driving a critical enterprise transformation through successful deployment and business adoption.