Program Director – Large-Scale Transformation

Role overview

This position is for an experienced transformation leader to steer a long-running, large-scale change initiative in the travel and airline sector. The focus is on sales and distribution, along with improving the customer and passenger journey and engagement.

The role calls for end-to-end ownership of the program, including strategic direction, delivery coordination across onshore and offshore teams, and active engagement with senior executives. The ideal background combines large program leadership, product and platform rollout experience, strong governance over risks and dependencies, and solid understanding of airline distribution and retail transformation.

Key responsibilities

Program leadership and governance

• Direct and deliver multi-year transformation initiatives with budgets in the multi-million-dollar range across business and technology areas.
• Set up and run the program governance structure, operating rhythm, KPIs, and reporting schedule.
• Keep the program aligned with enterprise priorities, business goals, and customer impact targets.
• Lead the Transformation Office and manage program managers, delivery leads, and business and technology architects supporting the change effort.
• Coordinate vendor partners, product teams, and internal business and technology groups to ensure delivery stays aligned to objectives and timelines.

Offer & Order transformation

• Own the rollout of Offer & Order platforms, including NDC, ONE Order, and modern retailing capabilities.
• Guide the move away from legacy PSS toward next-generation airline retail systems.
• Work with product, architecture, and vendor teams to build solutions that are scalable and future-ready.

Onshore and offshore delivery

• Manage distributed delivery teams across onshore and offshore locations.
• Define effective delivery structures, service-level agreements, and working frameworks for collaboration.
• Improve delivery outcomes through agile, hybrid, and scaled execution approaches.

Stakeholder and customer engagement

• Serve as the main contact for CXO-level stakeholders.
• Communicate program progress, risks, and outcomes clearly and transparently.
• Develop strong working relationships with business teams, technology teams, and external partners.

Risk and issue management

• Identify, evaluate, and address program risks and interdependencies before they escalate.
• Run governance meetings to resolve issues and manage escalations.
• Ensure the program follows regulatory, operational, and organizational requirements.

Product and platform implementation

• Oversee full lifecycle delivery of enterprise platforms and products.
• Ensure solutions remain aligned with architecture standards, integration approaches, and data strategy.
• Promote modern engineering methods and DevSecOps adoption.

Financial and commercial management

• Manage budgets, forecasts, and financial outcomes for the program.
• Improve cost efficiency and value realization across the delivery lifecycle.
• Oversee vendor agreements, commercial negotiations, and performance tracking.

Required experience and qualifications

• At least 20 years of experience in IT services or consulting, including 8–10 years in Program Director positions.
• Proven success delivering very large transformation programs valued at more than USD 50 million.
• Mandatory background in the travel or airline industry.
• Hands-on exposure to Passenger Service Systems modernization.
• Experience upgrading and modernizing passenger engagement systems.
• Strong track record in onshore-offshore delivery models.
• Deep knowledge of program delivery methods such as Agile, SAFe, and hybrid Waterfall approaches.
• Ability to manage senior executives and distributed global teams.

Preferred background

• Experience with major airline platforms.
• Exposure to modern airline retailing ecosystems and processes.
• PMP, PgMP, SAFe, or similar certifications are preferred.

Additional information

This is a full-time position based in Sydney, Australia. The role requires an onsite presence and is intended for a highly resilient leader who can operate effectively in ambiguous and complex transformation environments.