Senior Program Manager

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager based in Spain to lead the end-to-end core-banking IT transformation program. This encompasses core banking platform, payments, channels, data, security, and cloud infrastructure — delivered under the supervision of Spanish and European banking regulators.  

The Program Manager will own the delivery plan from design through build, testing, migration readiness, and go-live, coordinating internal teams, technology vendors, and system integrators while ensuring regulatory milestones are met.  

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end programme delivery of the bank's IT set-up: core banking platform implementation, payments (SEPA/ISO 20022), digital channels, data platforms, integration layer, and supporting infrastructure.  

• Own a delivery plan sequenced backwards from the authorisation decision, with regulatory dry-runs, the supervisory evidence pack and authorisation readiness scheduled as gates   

• Build and manage the integrated programme plan — scope, milestones, dependencies, budget, and resourcing — across multiple parallel workstreams and vendors.  

• Lead vendor and system-integrator governance: contracts and SoW delivery, RAID management, change control, and commercial milestone tracking.  

• Coordinate delivery against regulatory requirements and timelines, including banking-licence conditions, and readiness evidence for supervisors (e.g., Banco de España / ECB expectations, DORA operational resilience, GDPR).  

• Direct environment strategy, testing (SIT/UAT), cutover planning, dress rehearsals, and go-live for the core banking stack.  

• Run programme governance: steering committees, executive status reporting, risk and issue escalation, and decision logs for both technical and senior business audiences.  

• Manage interdependencies between technology delivery and bank-build workstreams (operations, compliance, risk, product, people).  

• Ensure quality gates, architecture and security signoffs, and audit-ready documentation throughout the lifecycle.  

• Manage external certification dependencies for e.g. l SWIFT, TARGET2 / TIPS, STEP2 / RT1 and Iberpay and Own cutover: a rehearsed plan with proven rollback, a go / no-go decision taken by the bank's board against evidenced criteria, and hypercare   

• Manage interdependencies between technology delivery and the bank-built workstreams: operations, compliance, risk, finance, product, premises and people.  

Key objectives 

• The IT landscape is delivered on time, on budget, and accepted by regulators as a condition of launch.  

• Core banking go-live is executed with no critical incidents/ open items and a clean transition to steady-state operations.  

• Vendors and internal teams operate under a single, transparent governance and reporting rhythm.  

Skill Requirements

• 10+ years in IT programme/project management, with 5+ years leading large-scale banking technology programmes.  

• Proven, hands-on experience delivering at least one core banking transformation or implementation end to end, ideally including a go-live.  

• At least one end-to-end core banking implementation taken through go-live, with personal accountability for the cutover and all the relevant certifications.   

• Fluent Spanish and English (written and spoken); able to operate with Spanish regulators, local teams, and international vendors.  

• Based in Madrid or willing to relocate; right to work in Spain / the EU.  

• Strong track record of multi-vendor delivery governance in regulated financial services environments.  

• Working knowledge of the Spanish/EU banking regulatory landscape (Banco de España, ECB/SSM, DORA, EBA outsourcing guidelines, GDPR).  

• Experience with cloud-based banking platforms (AWS and/or Azure) and modern delivery practices (agile-at-scale, DevOps/IaC-enabled delivery).  

• Strong commercial and financial management skills: budgets, fixed-price delivery, milestone-based payment structures.  

• Direct experience of working with Spain or European banking supervisor and Experience of respondent bank relationships, nostro and vostro operations  

Other Requirements

• PMP, PRINCE2, MSP certification.  

• Temenos platform delivery experience — Transact, Payments, Trade Finance, Financial Crime Mitigation.  

• Prior exposure to DORA implementation or to EBA outsourcing compliance in a live supervisory context.  

Location: Madrid, Spain (on-site / hybrid, with presence at programme and client locations as required)  

Languages: Spanish (fluent, business/professional level) and English (fluent)  

Employment type: Full-time  

Reports to: Chief Transformation Officer