Senior Manager, Athene Programme

Are you a people leader with a strong programme and project management background? Do you excel at creating momentum, leading experienced project managers, and delivering complex transformation initiatives in a high-stakes environment?

As Senior Manager, Programme Management, you will join the leadership team of the Athene Progra

mme and take ownership of a portfolio of strategic transformation initiatives across Supply Chain Management and Data Platform. You will lead a team of experienced project managers and play a key role in ensuring that projects are delivered successfully, while building a strong delivery culture and developing the people behind the delivery.

You will be expected to challenge stakeholders, create clarity in complexity, make decisions, remove obstacles, and help the organisation move forward. Success requires both strong leadership and strong execution capabilities.

What success will look like?

As Senior Manager, Programme Management, you will be responsible for delivering business-critical transformation initiatives through others. Success is measured not only by project outcomes, but by your ability to build a high-performing team, create alignment across stakeholders, and drive execution in a complex international environment.

During your first 6 months, we expect you to:

• Establish ownership of your project portfolio across the Supply Chain Management and Data Platform value streams.
• Build strong relationships with project managers, business leaders, IT stakeholders, and programme leadership.
• Create clarity around priorities, governance, delivery plans, risks, and dependencies.
• Put effective leadership and follow-up routines in place for the project managers reporting to you.
• Become a trusted sparring partner to the Programme Director and wider leadership team.

Within your first year, you will have:

• Delivered key programme commitments according to agreed timelines and objectives.
• Built a motivated and high-performing team of project managers with clear accountability and ownership.
• Strengthened collaboration across Business Transformation, IT, and the business organisation.
• Established a strong delivery culture focused on transparency, execution, and shared accountability.
• Successfully supported major programme implementations and business readiness activities.

In the longer term, you will:

• Build a project management capability that continues to create value beyond the Athene programme.
• Create an environment where talented project managers grow, develop, and choose to stay.
• Help strengthen STARK Group's overall transformation and delivery capabilities.
• Be recognised as a leader who turns complexity into tangible business results while bringing people along on the journey.

The role includes approximately 30-50 travel days annually across the Nordics.

Team, Reporting Line & Collaboration

You will report to Tommas Bjørnbak Tygesen, Programme Director and Vice President, and become part of the Athene Programme Leadership Team.

You will have direct people management responsibility for a team of experienced project managers, both internal and external, working across the Data Platform and Supply Chain Management value streams. Together, they are responsible for delivering some of the most important components of the Athene programme.

In your daily work, you will collaborate closely with Business Transformation, PMO, IT Delivery, value stream leads, business owners, and senior stakeholders across the Nordic organisation.

Who are we looking for?

You have likely built your career within project and programme management and are now motivated by leading people and creating results through others.

You know how to create structure without creating bureaucracy. You are comfortable making decisions, handling competing priorities, and maintaining momentum when things become complex. At the same time, you are a leader who builds trust. You challenge constructively, communicate clearly, and create accountability without creating fear. You are calm under pressure, pragmatic in your approach, and able to bring people together around a common goal.

It will be an advantage if you have experience with:

• Leading large-scale transformation programmes, ERP implementations, or business-critical change initiatives.
• Managing a portfolio of projects in an international matrix organisation.
• People leadership and development of project managers or similar delivery roles.
• Working across both business and IT environments.
• Programme governance, risk management, planning, and financial follow-up.
• Motivated by engaging with stakeholders in a value-driven and decentralised organisation
• Agile, waterfall, or hybrid delivery approaches.
• Relevant certifications such as PRINCE2, PMP, MSP, PgMP, SAFe, or similar.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who combines strong leadership with strong execution. Someone who can create clarity when complexity increases, make decisions when needed, and build a team that succeeds together.

Welcome to the Athene Programme

Athene is one of STARK Group's largest transformation programmes and plays a central role in building the future technology and business platform for the entire group.

You will join a leadership team characterised by trust, openness, and a strong sense of shared responsibility. Decisions are often made through collaboration, relationships, and influence rather than hierarchy, making this an exciting opportunity for leaders who thrive in decentralised environments.

The pace is high, ambitions are significant, and change is constant. At the same time, you will join a team that genuinely supports one another and believes that long-term success is created together.

Want to know more and apply?

We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the position and your opportunities at STARK Group. For questions regarding the role, please contact Tommas Bjørnbak Tygesen, Programme Director and Vice President, at [email protected]

We are looking for someone to join as soon as possible and will conduct interviews on an ongoing basis until the right candidate has been found.

STARK Group 

STARK Group is a growing private equity-owned company with a strong legacy. STARK Group was first established in Denmark in 1896 and has today evolved into a leading European retailer and distributor of heavy building materials with net sales of approx. EUR 9 billion. With a dedicated team of more than 20,000 employees and +1,150 branches and distribution centres across the Nordics, Greenland, Germany, Austria and the UK, we live and breathe to serve professional craftsmen with heavy building materials all the way from the Austrian Alps to Tromsø, close to the Arctic circle and everywhere in between.

STARK Group is committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050 across the entire business, is a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and works within fully 2030 validated science-based targets to keep global warming below 1.5°C At STARK Group IT, we believe in the richness diversity brings. We invite individuals of all backgrounds to join us in creating and inclusive and welcoming environment. We believe in a workplace where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. 

Agency Policy 

STARK Group IT appreciates the interest of all candidates. However, we prefer to directly engage with individuals seeking employment opportunities. Therefore, we kindly request recruitment agencies, headhunters, and third-party staffing services to refrain from contacting us regarding this job posting. All applications should be submitted directly by the candidates through our official application process. We value direct communication and look forward to reviewing your application.