Senior IT Program Manager

Senior IT Program Manager

Sopra Steria Group

Machelen, Belgium

Job Description

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. Operating at the intersection of cutting-edge technology policy and large-scale public-sector delivery, this individual will bear ultimate responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and stakeholder satisfaction across a multi-partner consortium delivering transformative digital infrastructure for Europe.

This is a highly visible, strategically critical position requiring a rare combination of deep EU institutional knowledge, technical credibility in Dataspace and AI, and the executive presence to lead complex negotiations at the highest levels of the European Commission and across 27 Member State administrations.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Leadership & Governance

• Establish and chair the Programme Governance Board, ensuring alignment with European Commission priorities and contractual obligations.
• Define and own the integrated programme master plan (IMP), managing interdependencies across all workstreams and consortium partners.
• Drive end-to-end programme execution from inception through deployment and operational handover, maintaining a €100M+ budget baseline.
• Apply and adapt EU programme management frameworks (e.g., PM²) and Agile-at-scale methodologies as appropriate.
• Own programme-level risk register, issue log, and escalation procedures; proactively identify and mitigate threats to delivery.

Consortium Leadership & Partner Management

• Lead the operational governance of a consortium comprising four partner organisations, including sub-contractor oversight and contractual compliance.
• Chair and facilitate Consortium Management Committees, Technical Steering Committees, and Joint Programme Boards.
• Manage partner performance, monitor KPIs, and enforce SLAs and contractual obligations under the prime contract.
• Resolve cross-partner conflicts, resource contention, and scope boundary disputes with authority and diplomacy.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance consortium culture aligned with shared programme objectives.

EU Institutional Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner and executive point of contact for European Commission DG counterparts.
• Build and sustain trusted advisory relationships with Commission programme sponsors, IT Steering Committees, and EC senior management.
• Engage proactively with EU country stakeholders across 27 Member States, coordinating national rollout activities and managing country-level expectations.
• Represent the programme in high-level review meetings, governance forums, and political-level briefings.
• Navigate the EU institutional landscape with sensitivity to political dynamics, procurement regulations, and EU financial regulations.

Dataspace & AI Programme Delivery

• Oversee technical delivery of Dataspace architecture components.
• Drive AI programme workstreams in alignment with the EU AI Act, the AI Office, and Commission AI strategies.
• Ensure technical solutions are interoperable, standards-compliant (EUCS, ETSI, W3C, ISO), and aligned with EU security requirements.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architects, Data Engineers, Developers, testers and AI specialists to validate technical direction and manage delivery risk.

Financial Management

• Own and manage the full programme budget (€100M+), including baseline, forecast, earned value management (EVM), and variance reporting.
• Oversee procurement activities under EU Financial Regulations and applicable framework contracts.
• Prepare and defend financial reports, Monthly Progress Reports (MPR), and Quarterly Management Reviews for the Commission.
• Ensure auditability of programme expenditure in accordance with EC Internal Audit Service (IAS) standards.

Quality, Compliance & Reporting

• Implement and maintain the Quality Management Plan (QMP) in accordance with ISO 9001 and EC quality standards.
• Ensure compliance with GDPR, NIS2, EU AI Act, and relevant Commission security policies (ITSM, ISMS).
• Produce executive-level programme dashboards, milestone reports, and presentations for senior EC stakeholders.
• Manage lessons learned, continuous improvement, and knowledge transfer processes throughout the programme lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of IT programme/project management experience, with at least 8 years in senior/lead programme management/director roles.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully delivering EU Commission IT programmes at scale (€50M+ budget), ideally with DGs like DIGIT, TAXUD, CONNECT, or equivalent.
• Proven experience managing and leading multi-partner consortia as prime contractor in EU public procurement contexts.
• Deep operational knowledge of EU procurement frameworks, framework contracts, and EU Financial Regulations.
• Hands-on experience with EU programme management methodology PM² or equivalent, including governance, reporting, and documentation standards.
• Experience engaging with EU Member State government stakeholders and national administrations across multiple countries.
• Substantial technical exposure to Dataspace architectures and/or AI programme delivery in a public sector or regulated environment.

Highly Desirable

• Direct experience on EU Dataspace programmes (e.g., GAIA-X, IDSA-aligned, European Health Data Space, Mobility Data Space, or similar).
• Knowledge of EU AI initiatives including the EU AI Act implementation, the European AI Office, and AI regulatory compliance frameworks.
• Familiarity with EC digital infrastructure programmes such as CEF Digital, the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), or Horizon Europe ICT projects.
• Experience with EC interoperability frameworks (EIF) and the ISA²/Interoperable Europe Act.
• Understanding of cloud sovereign requirements under EUCS and European cloud initiatives.

Education & Certifications

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Programme/Project Management: PgMP (PMI), MSP (AXELOS), or PM² Advanced certification required.
• Desirable: PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, ITIL 4 Foundation, Scrum@Scale, or SAFe certification.
• EU institutional training or EPSO-related qualifications are an advantage.