Chief Program Officer (CPO) - Insurance & Investments

About the role

The Chief Program Officer oversees the organization's strategic programs, enterprise-wide initiatives and complex, multi-project portfolios across its insurance and investment businesses. The role ensures programs are aligned, resourced, governed and delivered within approved timelines and budgets, working closely with the CEO, Board and executive leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and run the enterprise program management strategy, prioritizing programs and managing interdependencies
• Lead programs covering life insurance, general insurance, reinsurance, investment management, wealth management and financial services, including product development, underwriting modernization, claims transformation and digital transformation
• Set up program governance, charters, risk registers, dashboards and reporting, working with the PMO
• Manage program budgets, resource plans and financial forecasts, and oversee external consultants, vendors and contractors
• Lead digital, automation, AI, cloud and enterprise system programs, working with CIO, CTO and CDO
• Identify and mitigate program risks and ensure compliance with insurance, investment and corporate governance requirements
• Collaborate with the CEO, Board and business unit heads, and report progress, risks and ROI to senior management
• Build and develop program directors, managers and delivery teams

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree; MBA or Master's in program management, business strategy or finance preferred
• 12-15+ years in program management, project portfolio management or enterprise transformation, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role
• Experience in insurance, reinsurance, banking, investment or wealth management preferred
• Proven track record of delivering complex, cross-functional programs
• Preferred certifications: PgMP, PMP, PfMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile or Scrum

Required skills

• Program governance, budgeting, risk management and resource planning
• Agile, Waterfall, PRINCE2, PMI and hybrid delivery methodologies
• Leadership, strategic planning, stakeholder management and problem solving