Program Manager - AI [207896]

Aquent; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital staffing agency is seeking an AI Program Manager responsible for overseeing the governance and execution of transformative digital and AI initiatives. This role requires strong skills in strategic alignment, stakeholder management, and Agile methodologies. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in program management and a proven track record in facilitating executive governance boards. This position plays a vital role in ensuring that AI initiatives align with business strategy while fostering stakeholder engagement for successful project delivery.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in digital transformation or IT program management.
• Proven experience facilitating executive-level governance boards.
• Excellent communication skills and strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Drive governance and strategic alignment with AI initiatives.
• Coordinate annual planning cycles and business case presentations.
• Manage governance calendars and track portfolio-level progress.

Skills

Agile methodologies

Stakeholder management

Digital transformation

Process implementation

AI technologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in information systems or related field

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Capital planning tools

Value tracking tools

Job description

The AI Program Manager will be responsible for orchestrating the governance and execution of strategic digital and AI transformation initiatives. This role is pivotal in facilitating key advisory and steering committees, ensuring alignment of AI and platform portfolios with business strategy and capital constraints, and driving value capture through agile delivery and stakeholder engagement. In addition to facilitating governance forums, the AI Program Manager will collaborate closely with product teams to ensure that AI and platform initiatives are both strategically aligned and operationally executable.

Key Responsibilities

• Governance & Strategic Alignment
• Support the AI Program Leader in cascading Digital Advisory Board (DAB) decisions to portfolio governance teams, ensuring alignment of AI and digital platform evolution with business strategy.
• Coordinate annual planning cycles by working with AI product owners to prepare and present business cases to the DAB.
• Assist the AI Program Leader in aligning value capture and cost allocation with functional, finance, and P&L leaders, ensuring timely inputs and documentation
• Portfolio & Program Management
• Create and manage the governance calendar for AI/Digital portfolio steering committees, ensuring timely, high-quality updates and decision-making.
• Track and report portfolio-level progress, including progress toward Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), to stakeholders on a regular cadence.
• Maintain and update a portfolio-level risk tracker; support product teams in executing mitigation plans effectively.
• Support the AI Value Stream Leader in tracking and optimizing capital (CapEx) and operational (OpEx) expenditures.
• Agile Delivery & Stakeholder Engagement
• Facilitate cross-functional stakeholder engagement for SAFe-related ceremonies and agile delivery milestones.
• Collaborate with product owners and scrum masters to ensure delivery roadmaps are realistic, resourced, and aligned with strategic goals.
• Identify and remove delivery roadblocks by escalating issues and coordinating across teams.
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Monitor industry trends and internal performance metrics to identify opportunities for continuous improvement in AI program delivery.
• Recommend enhancements to governance processes, tools, and frameworks to improve efficiency and value realization.

Skills And Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Computer Science, or related field (master’s preferred)
• 8+ years of experience in digital transformation or IT program management
• Proven experience facilitating executive-level governance boards
• Strong understanding of agile methodologies, digital platforms, and AI technologies
• Highly organized individual that enjoys driving standardization and process implementation across complex projects
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Strategic thinker with a hands‑on delivery mindset
• Experience with capital planning and value tracking tools
• Familiarity with enterprise-level AI and data analytics products is a plus
• Experience with Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a plus