Program Director, APAC Services

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

NiCE is seeking a Program Director, APAC Services in Sydney for a full‑time onsite role. This senior, individual contributor owns end‑to‑end delivery of programs across APAC Services, spanning contact centre technology and workforce management. You’ll be the escalation point for clients and partners, with governance accountability but without formal people management authority. Success means delivering to scope, schedule and quality, surfacing risk early, and building executive relationships while guiding project managers through standardized practices. To apply, emphasize 10+ years delivering enterprise programs in regulated or public sector contexts, strong governance and vendor management, APAC delivery, and credible executive communication under pressure; include measurable outcomes and examples of leading with influence. Onsite in Sydney, full‑time.

So, what’s the role all about?

The Program Director is the senior delivery owner accountable for the successful execution of large, complex, multi-stream programs across the APAC Services portfolio -spanning contact centre technology, workforce management, and applied AI and automation. This is an elevated individual contributor role: it carries the seniority, authority and executive presence of a leadership position, and full accountability for program outcomes, without formal people-management authority. The person in this role influences delivery quality and Project Manager performance through credibility and standards, not through a reporting line.

The role holds end-to-end delivery and governance accountability for flagship enterprise and public-sector programs, acts as a trusted advisor and business enabler to client executives, and serves as the senior escalation point for clients, implementation partners and third-party platform vendors.

Success in the role means programs delivered to scope, schedule and quality; governance that surfaces risk early rather than at go-live; strong, durable customer relationships at the executive level; and a Project Management function that is consistent, capable and trusted by the business and its customers.

How will you make an impact?   

Program delivery & execution

• End-to-end ownership - carry single-threaded accountability for delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams, partners and dependencies.
• Plan integrity - own the integrated program plan, critical path, release sequencing and cross-stream dependency management.
• Reactive phases - lead through high-pressure go-live and stabilisation windows without losing strategic altitude.
• Escalation ownership - act as the initial point of contact and escalation for the customer, directly accountable for rollout, delivery and production outcomes.

Governance & assurance

• Governance cadence - run steering committees, stage-gates; chair the program-level RAID and decision log.
• Quality & assurance - set and enforce delivery standards, gate criteria and non-functional requirements; 
• Methodology ownership - define and govern project implementation methodology and continuous-improvement practices across delivered programs.

Project Management guidance & capability (matrixed, no line authority)

• Guidance - coach and quality-assure a community of Project Managers through functional guidance and standard-setting, not formal reporting authority; standardise artefacts, reporting and estimation discipline.
• Capability uplift - build PM bench strength, and advise on resourcing priorities across the portfolio.
• Direct support - provide hands-on guidance to Project Managers working on assigned major accounts and flagship programs.

Stakeholder, partner & vendor management

• Executive relationships - act as senior point of contact for client sponsors and internal executives; communicate bottom-line-first, with options and a clear recommendation.
• Trusted advisor - develop and maintain positive working relationships with customers' business and operations leaders; understand their business and technical environment well enough to act as a genuine business enabler.
• Partner accountability - hold implementation partners and third-party platform vendors to contracted commitments, SLAs and joint governance.

Commercial & risk control

• Delivery-focused commercials - support program forecasting and cost discipline as part of delivery accountability; 
• Risk & compliance - manage program risk proactively; ensure delivery meets applicable compliance standards

Have you got what it takes?

• 10+ years delivering large, complex technology programs, including several years at senior program-leadership level overseeing multiple Project Managers.
• Demonstrable track record delivering enterprise software programs in contact centre, CX or workforce management technology (e.g. NiCE, Genesys, Cisco, Avaya) or adjacent SaaS domains.
• Strong command of program governance and partner/vendor management in multi-party delivery environments.
• Experience delivering into regulated or public-sector clients with formal security and data-protection obligations.
• Credible executive communicator; calm and decisive under reactive, high-stakes delivery conditions.
• Experience operating in multi-cultural environments, serving regional and global customers.

You will have an advantage if you also have:

• Cross-cultural delivery experience across APAC markets (e.g. Australia, Japan, the UAE); fluency in adapting style across cultures.
• Familiarity with AI/automation platforms (conversational AI, voice, biometrics) and the assurance questions they raise.
• Background in vendor-side professional services or systems integration delivery.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in IT management or Business.