Associate Director - Program Management (Insurance)
Location: Jaipur
Experience: 15-20 Years
About the Role
Happiest Minds is looking for a highly experienced Associate Director - Program Management with a strong background in the Insurance domain and proven expertise in managing large-scale .NET application development, modernization, and digital transformation programs. The ideal candidate will lead strategic customer engagements, oversee multiple programs, ensure delivery excellence, drive business outcomes, and manage cross-functional teams across global delivery environments.
This role requires a strong blend of program leadership, customer relationship management, financial governance, delivery management, and technology understanding to successfully execute complex enterprise initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end delivery of multiple projects and programs for global customers.
- Define program governance frameworks, execution strategies, delivery roadmaps, and success metrics.
- Drive project planning, effort estimation, budgeting, forecasting, and financial governance.
- Ensure timely, high-quality, and cost-effective delivery aligned with customer expectations and business objectives.
- Monitor program performance through KPIs, dashboards, periodic reviews, and governance meetings.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate program risks, dependencies, and issues across multiple workstreams.
- Build and manage strong customer relationships, serving as the primary escalation and engagement point.
- Collaborate with Engineering, QA, Product Management, Infrastructure, Business, and Operations teams to ensure seamless delivery.
- Drive workforce planning, resource allocation, utilization management, and talent development.
- Establish and maintain delivery excellence through process compliance, quality frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support pre-sales activities including solution reviews, effort estimation, proposal development, and Statement of Work (SOW) preparation.
- Present program updates to executive leadership, steering committees, and customer stakeholders.
- Ensure successful execution of transformation initiatives involving cloud adoption, application modernization, and enterprise platforms.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related discipline.
- 15+ years of overall IT experience with a minimum of 5+ years in Program Management roles.
- Proven track record in managing large-scale application development, modernization, digital transformation, or cloud programs.
- Hands-on experience managing Microsoft technology-based application development and support programs, particularly in .NET ecosystems.
- Strong Insurance domain expertise with experience delivering technology solutions across:Policy Administration
- Claims Management
- Underwriting
- Billing & Payments
- Distribution Channels
- Agent/Broker Portals
- Customer Digital Platforms
- Experience leading InsurTech transformation initiatives while partnering closely with business stakeholders and insurance customers.
- Strong knowledge of Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, and Hybrid delivery models.
- Experience managing geographically distributed teams and global delivery engagements.
- Excellent stakeholder management, customer engagement, and vendor management capabilities.
- Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, revenue, profitability, and delivery margins.
Technical & Functional Skills
- Program & Portfolio Management
- Insurance Domain Expertise
- Large-Scale .NET Application Delivery
- Application Modernization & Digital Transformation
- Agile/Scrum Program Delivery
- Enterprise Application Management
- Cloud Transformation Programs
- Risk & Dependency Management
- Resource & Capacity Planning
- Financial Governance & P&L Management
- Client Relationship Management
- Contract, Commercial & SOW Management
- Executive Reporting & Governance
- Delivery Excellence & Quality Management
