Overview:
Join Cognizant as a delivery leader within the Program & Project Management community. This role is responsible and accountable for project and program management activities within large-scale, complex offshore delivery programs (e.g., GCC). Successful candidates combine strong delivery execution with a consulting and transformation mindset — understanding client strategy, contributing to solutioning, and leveraging AI-enabled PMO practices to drive efficiency and outcomes. They will ensure client satisfaction, maintain strong stakeholder relationships, and actively contribute to Cognizant's program management practice growth.
Key Responsibilities:
Project & Program Delivery
- Manages project planning, scope management, resource allocation, and budget oversight across 3+ teams with cross-functional dependencies
- Establishes and oversees program governance including stakeholder management, communication ceremonies, change management, and scope control
- Ensures tracking and measurement against established metrics (e.g., bid vs did, SLA, operational and contractual measures)
- Provides insights on improvements while ensuring adherence to operational best practices
Strategy, Transformation & Consulting
- Applies a consulting and transformation mindset to delivery — connecting project activities to client business outcomes and proactively advising stakeholders on risks, priorities, and value creation opportunities
- Leads client-facing programs by defining outcomes, governance, and business value while supporting solutioning and proposals
- Drives end-to-end program delivery using AI-enabled tools and modern PMO practices to improve execution, reporting, and decision-making
- Contributes to practice growth through best practice development, knowledge sharing, and mentoring teams on AI-enabled program management
- Supports program directors and managers in shaping transformation roadmaps and aligning project delivery to strategic program goals
Client & Stakeholder Engagement
- Manages client stakeholders at senior levels across IT, VMO, and business functions
- Supports pursuits, deal solutioning, and proposal activities as required, contributing to program strategy and risk identification
- Collaborates with Commercial/Account Team to identify and define business value opportunities for the client
Leadership & Community
- Leads teams of 4–12 direct reports; guides career growth, well-being, diversity, and inclusion
- Mentors junior project managers and coordinators on modern PMO practices, AI-enabled delivery tools, and consulting-oriented engagement approaches
- Contributes to the continuous improvement of the program management community (best practices, standards, training, tools)
- Supports 1 or more PPM CoE OKR initiatives
Required Qualifications:
- 10-12 years in strategy, operations, process consulting, stakeholder management, project/program delivery within legacy modernization or digital transformations
- Demonstrated consulting and transformation mindset — ability to frame business problems, contribute to solutioning, and articulate program value to client stakeholders
- Agile certification required; Project/Program certifications (PMI/SAFe 5.0/Prince II) strongly preferred; PL2 (Practitioner) proficiency across Project and Program Management, Consultative and Commercial, Industry/Archetype Specialization, Leadership, and AI Fluency
- Experience in delivering complex projects/programs with 3+ teams and cross-functional dependencies in offshore or multi-geo environments
- Experience supporting deal solutioning activities and identifying program risks from a delivery standpoint
- Experience managing client stakeholders across IT, VMO, and business — including client-facing escalation and relationship management
- Adept with multicultural, multi-geo working teams and stakeholders
- Practical experience with AI-enabled PMO tools, reporting automation, and data-informed decision-making
- Experience in delivering Transformational commitments, productivity goals, and offshoring commitments
- Science/Engineering or relevant degree required
Required Education:
Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field required; MBA or Master's degree preferred
Work Authorization:
Must be legally authorized to work in India without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.
