Program Director – MES Transformation

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the executive leader for the overall MES transformation program.
• Establish credibility and trusted advisor relationships with executive sponsors and senior leadership.
• Provide strategic guidance to the client, implementation partner, and project leadership team.
• Lead executive steering committee meetings and governance forums.
• Drive timely executive decision-making and issue resolution.
• Drive program execution across multiple workstreams.
• Remove organizational roadblocks and facilitate cross-functional collaboration.
• Hold internal teams, client resources, and implementation partners accountable for commitments.
• Monitor critical milestones and dependencies across all project phases.
• Provide concise, executive-level communications regarding program status, accomplishments, risks, financials, and key decisions.
• Manage executive relationships while balancing competing priorities.
• Ensure alignment across business, IT, manufacturing, and operational leadership.
• Oversee program budget, forecasts, resource planning, and financial performance.
• Monitor program risks, assumptions, dependencies, and issue resolution.
• Lead recovery planning when schedule, scope, or budget variances occur.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.
• 15+ years leading large-scale enterprise technology programs.
• 10+ years of program leadership for ERP, SAP, MES, manufacturing, or digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience leading multi-million-dollar technology implementations.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional programs involving multiple vendors.
• Strong executive presence with exceptional presentation and communication skills.
• Experience working directly with C-suite executives and executive steering committees.
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong financial acumen, governance expertise, and risk management experience.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams and multi-site deployments.

Critical Success Factors

• Executive credibility and leadership presence.
• Able to quickly assess program health and drive corrective action.
• Strong decision-making and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strategic thinker with strong operational execution capabilities.
• Able to communicate effectively with executives while remaining engaged with delivery teams.
• Results-oriented with a focus on accountability, transparency, and successful business outcomes.