Agile Program Management - Director - Financial Services
Publicis Groupe · Dubai
Company descriptionPublicis Sapient is a digital transformation partner helping established organizations get to their future, digitally enabled state, both in the way they work and the way they serve their customers. We help unlock value through a start-up mindset and modern methods, fusing strategy, consulting, and customer experience with agile engineering and problem-solving creativity. United by our core values and our purpose of helping people thrive in the brave pursuit of next, our 20,000+ people in 72 offices around the world combine experience across technology, data sciences, consulting, and customer obsession to accelerate our clients’ businesses through designing the products and services their customers truly value.
Overview
Director Agile Program Management
As a Director Agile Program Management, you will operate across our Financial Services business, running large and complex transformation programs or delivering across a portfolio of accounts.
You are a strategy to execution leader, responsible for shaping opportunities at pitch and owning delivery through to execution and value realisation. You will execute and refine digital strategy to ensure client outcomes and commercial success, while leading programs across banking, payments, and insurance sectors. You will bring together multi-disciplinary teams to deliver exceptional work. The role goes beyond managing delivery; you shape it, own it, and drive it, combining strategic advisory with hands-on program leadership.
Responsibilities
Your Impact
- Structure and manage integrated, multi-track transformation programs across Financial Services clients
- Shape and win work at pitch, translating client problems into executable programs and ensuring successful mobilisation
- Lead programs end-to-end from day one, governance, cadence, team setup, and value tracking
- Develop and oversee delivery artefacts including estimation, planning, risks, and change management processes
- Define and implement Agile delivery approaches at scale (SAFe, Scrum or equivalent) across complex programs
- Own commercials end-to-end, including P&L, margin, scope management, and change request negotiations
- Build and scale multi-disciplinary teams (20+ people), including defining operating models and staffing programs from early stages
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and C-suite, leading value-based conversations and managing difficult trade-offs
- Balance hands-on delivery with program oversight, knowing when to deep dive and when to lead at program level
- Drive a data and insight-driven approach to delivery, monitoring program health, risks, and value realisation
Qualifications
Skills & Experience
- Extensive experience delivering enterprise-scale technology and transformation programs
- Proven strategy-to-execution experience, both shaping deals and delivering them end-to-end
- Strong commercial ownership, experience managing P&L, margin, or program-level revenue outcomes
- Deep expertise or strong exposure to Financial Services (banking, payments, insurance)
- Experience leading complex, multi-stream Agile programs at scale
- Demonstrated experience building and scaling teams from scratch, not just managing inherited structures
- Strong client-facing experience at senior / C-suite level, including negotiation and stakeholder management
- Experience delivering across globally distributed teams and enterprise platforms
- Strong problem-solving ability with a data-driven and structured approach to delivery
- Ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced environments and proactively manage risk
Additional information
Set Yourself Apart With
- SAFe Program Consultant (SPC), ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP-ACC, ICP-ATF), or PMI-ACP certification.
- Experience in Agile budgeting, Lean Portfolio Management, and value stream optimization.
- Background in digital transformation and enterprise Agile coaching.
- Strong knowledge of DevOps, CI/CD, and Agile engineering practices.
Your Impact
- Structure and manage integrated, multi-track transformation programs across Financial Services clients
- Shape and win work at pitch, translating client problems into executable programs and ensuring successful mobilisation
- Lead programs end-to-end from day one, governance, cadence, team setup, and value tracking
- Develop and oversee delivery artefacts including estimation, planning, risks, and change management processes
- Define and implement Agile delivery approaches at scale (SAFe, Scrum or equivalent) across complex programs
- Own commercials end-to-end, including P&L, margin, scope management, and change request negotiations
- Build and scale multi-disciplinary teams (20+ people), including defining operating models and staffing programs from early stages
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and C-suite, leading value-based conversations and managing difficult trade-offs
- Balance hands-on delivery with program oversight, knowing when to deep dive and when to lead at program level
- Drive a data and insight-driven approach to delivery, monitoring program health, risks, and value realisation
Skills & Experience
- Extensive experience delivering enterprise-scale technology and transformation programs
- Proven strategy-to-execution experience, both shaping deals and delivering them end-to-end
- Strong commercial ownership, experience managing P&L, margin, or program-level revenue outcomes
- Deep expertise or strong exposure to Financial Services (banking, payments, insurance)
- Experience leading complex, multi-stream Agile programs at scale
- Demonstrated experience building and scaling teams from scratch, not just managing inherited structures
- Strong client-facing experience at senior / C-suite level, including negotiation and stakeholder management
- Experience delivering across globally distributed teams and enterprise platforms
- Strong problem-solving ability with a data-driven and structured approach to delivery
- Ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced environments and proactively manage risk