Role: Senior IT Program Director – Provider Transition & Transformation (Datacenter, Network, Printing) Engagement Type: External Mandate / Interim Executive Duration: 2027 until the completion of the Hypercare phase Reports to: CIO Languages: Business fluent in German and English; French is a plus
Position Summary
Our client are reorganizing their IT infrastructure services across Datacenter, Network, and Printing. This initiative consists of three distinct sourcing projects and one overarching transformation program. That is why we are seeking an experienced executive to take end-to-end responsibility for the provider switch. This responsibility spans from the initial tender and the exit of the current provider, all the way to a stable handover into regular operations.
Your Mandate (Program Phases)
01 Mobilize: Define the program assignment, establish governance, and set the budget baseline.
02 Tender: Define the service scope, requirements, and specific security and backup needs.
03 Select: Conduct due diligence, provide contract inputs, and define RACI matrices.
04 Transition: Create the master plan, steer the cutover, and manage readiness gates.
05 Stabilize: Oversee the Hypercare phase, verify SLAs, and ensure operational acceptance.
Core Responsibilities
Program Management: Manage overall planning, governance, budget, and resources while tracking costs and benefits against the business case.
Sourcing & Tendering: Lead provider selection and due diligence, ensuring that service scopes, exit obligations, and security proofs are contractually secured.
Transition Management: Execute integrated planning and steering of all three streams using a unified master plan.
Stakeholder Management: Effectively manage relationships with the CIO, procurement, business units, IT, as well as the previous and new providers.
Operational Readiness: Ensure operational readiness, formal acceptance, and Hypercare.
Security & Compliance: Prove backup/restore capabilities and security requirements in collaboration with business owners.
Vendor Relations: Manage difficult situations with the current provider professionally, legally, and constructively to prevent any unplanned service interruptions.
Program Scope
Datacenter: Housing remains as-is, operations will be re-awarded to a new provider, and backups will be handled separately.
Network: Tender for SASE and Managed LAN, while insourcing critical services.
Printing: Completely re-tender print services.
Cross-Sectional: Manage overarching governance, dependencies, risks, finances, resources, and communication.
Qualifications & Ideal Profile
Experience Level: 10 to 15+ years of experience in IT, sourcing, and transformation.
Track Record: Proven personal bottom-line responsibility for 2 to 3+ provider transition programs.
Seniority: Director-level presence, capable of confidently engaging with the CIO, procurement teams, and provider management.
Proven Domain Expertise:
Multiple instances of overall program leadership during a provider switch.
At least one complex Datacenter transition.
Network transition experience, including managing security dependencies.
Experience with Printing outsourcing or service transitions.
Execution Skills:
Managing multi-stream programs with parallel dependencies.
Executing controlled Provider Exits (handling contracts, knowledge transfer, and asset offboarding).
Leading Service Transitions (Cutover, Hypercare, regular operations).
Managing Multi-Sourcing environments (SIAM, complex provider contracts, ITIL/ITSM).
Personality & Leadership Traits
Strategic & Hands-on: Makes decisions at the program level but is willing to intervene operationally if risks escalate.
Structured: Steers the program using a master plan with clear responsibilities and distinct decision points.
Strong Negotiator: Successfully aligns commercial, contractual, and technical interests.
Crisis-Resistant: Maintains strong leadership under time pressure, during conflicts, and amidst cutover disruptions.
Strong Communicator: Capable of translating complex issues appropriately for the CIO, procurement, and operational teams.
Technical Acumen: Able to challenge technical experts effectively without needing to be a specialist in all three domains.
This Role is NOT a Fit If:
You only have classic project management experience.
You have only led individual infrastructure projects.
You have never taken personal bottom-line responsibility for a provider transition.
Your experience is purely conceptual, lacking hands-on transition execution.
You are unfamiliar with navigating complex provider configurations.
You have only managed a single technical stream in the past.