The Senior IT Programme Manager will serve as the single accountable executive for a flagship European Commission programme in the domains of Dataspace and Artificial Intelligence. The role carries ultimate responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and stakeholder satisfaction across a multi-partner consortium delivering digital infrastructure for Europe.
This highly visible position requires deep EU institutional knowledge, technical credibility in Dataspace and AI, and executive presence to lead complex negotiations with the European Commission and 27 Member State administrations.
Key Responsibilities
- Programme Leadership & Governance: Establish and chair the Programme Governance Board, own the integrated programme master plan, drive execution through operational handover, manage a €100M+ budget baseline, apply PM² and Agile-at-scale methodologies, and manage programme risks and escalations.
- Consortium Leadership & Partner Management: Lead a four-organisation consortium, oversee subcontractors and contractual compliance, chair governance committees, monitor KPIs, enforce SLAs, resolve conflicts, and foster a collaborative consortium culture.
- EU Institutional Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary executive contact for European Commission counterparts, build relationships with Commission sponsors and senior management, coordinate national rollout activities across 27 Member States, and represent the programme in high-level reviews and briefings.
- Dataspace & AI Programme Delivery: Oversee Dataspace architecture delivery, drive AI workstreams aligned with the EU AI Act and Commission strategies, ensure interoperability and standards compliance, and collaborate with architects, engineers, developers, testers, and AI specialists.
- Financial Management: Manage the €100M+ programme budget, including forecasting, earned value management, variance reporting, procurement, financial reports, and auditability of expenditure.
- Quality, Compliance & Reporting: Maintain the Quality Management Plan, ensure compliance with GDPR, NIS2, the EU AI Act, and Commission security policies, and produce executive dashboards, milestone reports, and presentations.
Qualifications
- At least 15 years of IT programme or project management experience, including 8 years in senior or lead programme management or director roles.
- Experience delivering EU Commission IT programmes at scale, ideally with a €50M+ budget.
- Experience leading multi-partner consortia as a prime contractor in EU public procurement contexts.
- Knowledge of EU procurement frameworks, EU Financial Regulations, and PM² or an equivalent methodology.
- Experience with EU Member State government stakeholders and national administrations.
- Technical exposure to Dataspace architectures and/or AI programme delivery in public-sector or regulated environments.
- Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
- PgMP, MSP, or PM² Advanced certification required; PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL 4, Scrum@Scale, or SAFe certifications are desirable.
What Sopra Steria Offers
- A strategically pivotal role shaping Europe's digital infrastructure.
- Direct engagement with senior European Commission and EU Member State stakeholders.
- Leadership of a complex, high-profile EU IT programme.
- Competitive executive compensation benchmarked to the Brussels senior IT programme management market.
- Access to a high-calibre consortium team and continuous professional development.
Sopra Steria is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive and respectful work environment.