Senior Programme Manager

Senior Programme Manager

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is hiring a Senior Programme Manager within the General Secretariat Office.

Application deadline: Please note that the deadline for applications is 07 October 2026 at the end of day.

Please note that this role is offered as a 3-Year fixed term contract.

This role is based in Basel, Switzerland; however, thanks to our status as an international organisation, we can hire globally and welcome applications from candidates of all nationalities and located anywhere in the world. Relocation support is available for the successful candidate and their dependent family members.

Purpose of the job:

The Senior Programme Manager will lead and manage the life-cycle of complex, bank-wide programmes and initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, driving execution excellence, and embedding a culture of disciplined project and change delivery. This role involves managing the portfolio of strategic programmes, providing governance leadership, and delivering measurable outcomes. The Senior Programme Manager acts as a key partner to senior management, offering strategic direction, transparency, and accountability across initiatives.

Principal Responsibilities:

Programme Management & Governance

• Design, implement, and lead the Bank-wide PMO structure, tools, and processes.
• Establish and maintain governance frameworks, project standards, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms.
• Oversee and support the prioritisation of the strategic programme portfolio across business units and functions, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, available resources and delivery capacity.
• Ensure effective planning, resource allocation, risk management, and benefits realization for programs.
• Drive accountability for programme timelines, budgets, financial controls and deliverables across major or multiple programmes.

Program Delivery & Oversight

• Provide strategic direction, coordination, and support for major enterprise-wide programmes.
• Lead flagship, multi-year, and cross-functional programmes with significant strategic impact.
• Manage complex inter-dependencies, risks, and resource requirements across programmes.
• Oversee program closeout activities, ensuring effective transition to business-as-usual operations and capturing lessons learned.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a key point of contact for senior leadership, relevant Board or Board-level committees, steering committees and programme leads.
• Facilitate effective communication, reporting, and decision-making across all levels of the organisation.
• Build and manage strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment and collaboration.

Capability Building & Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of project managers and PMO analysts.
• Promote project management excellence, including agile, waterfall, and hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Develop and deliver training, coaching, and change management programs to uplift organisational project delivery maturity.

Strategic Contribution

• Collaborate with senior leadership to prioritise initiatives aligned with business strategy.
• Monitor market trends and internal performance to refine delivery approaches and anticipate challenges.
• Support innovation, digital transformation, and regulatory readiness programs across the organisation.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in business, finance, information systems, or another related field is required. Candidates with a master’s degree would be preferred.
• Extensive experience in programme/project management (minimum 10 years of experience), ideally within banking or financial services.
• Proven track record of leading enterprise-wide PMO functions or large-scale transformation programmes.
• Experience managing multi-year, cross-functional programmes with significant business impact
• Demonstrates strong leadership presence, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence stakeholders and drive negotiations and strategic outcomes.
• Demonstrates strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with senior leaders, project sponsors, and external stakeholders.
• Proficient in designing and maintaining complex programme governance frameworks, tools, and processes.
• Expertise in leading large-scale change initiatives and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrates the ability to develop, coach, and support a high-performing team of project managers and PMO analysts.
• Advanced knowledge of program and project management methodologies (such as MSP, PRINCE2, PMP, SAFe).
• Expertise in governance tools and reporting dashboards (e.g., JIRA, MS Project, Power BI).
• Strong financial acumen, including budget planning, resource allocation, benefits realization, investment and portfolio prioritization.
• Proficiency in risk management, dependency tracking, and benefit realization frameworks.
• Demonstrates a strong ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively to diverse audiences.
• Identifies creative solutions to complex challenges and fosters a culture of innovation.
• Accountable and results-driven, with a consistent ability to deliver outcomes even in challenging circumstances.
• Relevant professional certifications, such as MSP Advanced Practitioner, PMP, PgMP, or SAFe, would be considered an advantage.

Please note that the BIS's corporate language is English, which is used for all internal and external communication.

Who we are:

Internationalism is at the core of our identity and the best representation of this is our workforce. With employees from over 66 countries and offices in nine locations, the BIS is a global organisation with a truly international workforce. By joining us, you will work in a unique, highly rewarding, and international work environment. We are committed to equal opportunities at the BIS and aim to build a workforce that reflects our global membership. We strive to attract the best talent and foster an inclusive environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, including those with a breadth of professional experience. You can discover more about our inclusive working environment here. 

What the BIS offers:

We want your time at BIS to be a rewarding and career-enriching experience. We offer an agile and flexible working environment with hybrid working opportunities including home office and working from abroad days. To support our international applicants, we offer relocation support that extends to your dependent family members. In addition, we offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, including support for working families including childcare and education allowances (where applicable). Finally, we offer a genuinely unique international working environment, which will give you exposure to the global financial system and the opportunity to collaborate with passionate experts from all over the world.