Technical Program Manager

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to join our team! Our client is an Azerbaijani telecommunications company, the largest mobile network operator in Azerbaijan. The main products are: Fixed telephony, Mobile telephony, Internet services, Wireless broadband, and Value-added services. The primary goal is to accelerate the client’s Data & AI initiatives via a secure, hybrid cloud foundation while systematically modernizing the IT estate as part of the cloud migration. Key Project Objectives include: Cloud Foundation & Landing Zone: Deploy target hybrid network architectures, establishing a secure Landing Zone and hybrid Data/AI platforms on AWS. Security, Compliance & Governance: Operationalize on-prem tokenization (achieving zero raw PII in the cloud), resolve policy blockers to include AWS in the ISMS, and establish a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) to govern Cloud adoption. AI Chatbot & Voicebot Design & Implementation: Develop and operationalize a flagship Customer Care Chatbot and Voicebot as the first hybrid-setup consumer. Responsibilities: Drive complex program initiation and execution using Scrum of Scrums or SAFe frameworks, coordinating multiple cross-functional teams. Oversee AI/ML projects and data migration initiatives within the program portfolio. Define and manage project scope, requirements, WBS, schedules, estimates, budgets, and forecasts, ensuring timely corrective actions and stakeholder approvals. Monitor overall program/project progress, risks, dependencies, and changes, implementing mitigation and corrective actions where needed. Lead project staffing, onboarding, team building, and performance management, ensuring team motivation, engagement, and effective conflict resolution. Manage project financials, including budgets, forecasts, invoices, working hours, and cost overruns. Establish and drive project governance, communication, quality, and reporting processes across all relevant stakeholders. Ensure adherence to company project management standards, configuration management, and quality processes, driving continuous improvement and resolving audit findings. Lead project knowledge management and ensure proper project/phase closure and handover. Act as the single point of contact for the program, maintaining effective communication and escalation paths with stakeholders. Manage project documentation, tools, repositories, and team availability planning, ensuring secure and structured project information. Contribute to pre-sales and account growth activities, identifying opportunities for expanding client engagement. Requirements: 5+ years of proven experience in IT project/program management, with hands-on ownership of at least two complex projects/programs from initiation to delivery. Proven experience in complex program initiation and setup, including establishing project processes from scratch, ideally in a Scrum of Scrums or SAFe environment. Proven experience delivering AI/ML projects, including data migration initiatives. Strong experience managing solution-based, fixed-scope, and fixed-price projects, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and financial reconciliation. Proven experience managing cross-cultural, cross-functional, and distributed teams of 20+ people across multiple projects or 30+ within a single project. Strong knowledge of project management methodologies and SDLC models, including Agile, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, Scrum of Scrums, Waterfall, and V-Model. Good understanding of pricing, billing, and delivery models, including Fixed Price, T&M, team augmentation, managed teams, and solution-based delivery. Experience in Engagement / Pre-sales activities, including contributing to client proposals and SOW development, is nice to have. Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with excellent problem-solving, decision-making, conflict management, critical thinking, and the ability to build and motivate high-performing teams. Upper-Intermediate+ English with excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills. We offer*: Flexible working format - remote, office-based or flexible A competitive salary and good compensation package Personalized career growth Professional development tools (mentorship program, tech talks and trainings, centers of excellence, and more) Active tech communities with regular knowledge sharing Education reimbursement Memorable anniversary presents Corporate events and team buildings Other location-specific benefits *not applicable for freelancers