Authority Partners is seeking an Associate Principal to join our dynamic, global team as part of the PMO. This is a senior delivery leadership role with an embedded product management dimension, responsible for governing and coordinating programs and projects of small to medium complexity while also shaping and stewarding product direction within those engagements.

In this role, you will combine strong operational delivery governance with tactical product ownership, ensuring that what gets built is the right thing, built the right way, and delivered on time. You will align client expectations with real organizational capacity, maintain delivery predictability, and actively contribute to product discovery, roadmap refinement, and backlog integrity — acting as the connective tissue between business stakeholders, product teams, and delivery execution.

We are seeking an experienced leader who is equally comfortable running a program governance cadence and facilitating a product discovery session, and who leads by example in building collaborative, accountable, high-performing teams.

Key Responsibilities

Program & Project Governance

• Plan, lead, and coordinate programs and projects of small to medium complexity, ensuring objectives are met within defined scope, budget, timelines, and quality standards
• Actively monitor and manage risks, dependencies, and escalations to ensure delivery stability and continuity across engagements
• Recognize complex delivery challenges early and proactively initiate corrective actions, minimizing impact on outcomes
• Ensure consistent application of PMO methodologies, standards, and tools, providing clear guidance to teams for consistent and predictable delivery
• Contribute to strategic resource and capacity planning, supporting efficient allocation across engagements
• Participate in the development and implementation of PMO policies, procedures, and best practices

Product Management

• Own or co-own the product backlog within governed programs, ensuring it is well-maintained, clearly prioritized, and reflects current business and stakeholder needs
• Collaborate with Business Analysts, engineers, and designers to refine requirements, define user stories, and translate business goals into actionable delivery scope
• Prioritize roadmap initiatives by balancing business value, user needs, technical feasibility, and delivery capacity
• Communicate product roadmap direction clearly to both delivery teams and client stakeholders, ensuring shared understanding of goals and priorities
• Apply product management frameworks and best practices to support product-focused teams within governed programs
• Collect and incorporate customer and stakeholder feedback to drive roadmap improvements and backlog prioritization
• Support definition of product success metrics and contribute to their measurement and reporting

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Lead communication and coordination with key clients and internal project stakeholders across both delivery and product dimensions
• Prepare and present structured progress reports, roadmap updates, risk summaries, and decision-ready recommendations at program level
• Balance client expectations with real organizational capabilities, protecting delivery quality and long-term client satisfaction
• Manage complex situations constructively, providing clearly defined options, recommendations, and next steps
• Ensure regular reporting aligned with internal hierarchy, keeping relevant parties informed of program status, key risks, and required decisions

Sales & Pre-Sales Support

• Actively contribute to defining solutions, scope, and delivery plans in the early stages of client engagements
• Participate in developing cost, resource, and timeline estimates, ensuring proposed solutions are feasible, sustainable, and deliverable
• Identify business opportunities, potential risks, and engagement benefits, contributing to their timely resolution

People Leadership & Development

• Mentor and guide employees through operational, project, and product activities, ensuring delivery quality and professional growth
• Actively monitor team engagement and performance, identify improvement opportunities, and initiate corrective measures where needed
• Promote a culture of quality, accountability, and collaboration, setting the standard for constructive communication and collective problem-solving
• Contribute to building team competencies through knowledge transfer, structured feedback, and hands-on coaching

What You Bring

• 5+ years of experience leading IT programs, projects, or product initiatives
• Proven experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder engagements in international client environments
• Solid understanding of product management practices, including backlog management, roadmap prioritization, and stakeholder alignment
• Strong knowledge of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) and the software development life cycle
• Excellent client-facing and stakeholder communication skills, with the ability to present confidently at senior levels
• Strong budgeting, reporting, and analytical skills
• Hands-on experience with JIRA, Azure DevOps, or equivalent tools
• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field

Preferred Qualifications

• PMP, PMI-ACP, PSM, CSM, PSPO, or similar relevant certifications
• Experience in a technical role (Software Developer, QA, or Technical Consultant)
• Familiarity with product discovery techniques, user research, or UX collaboration
• Experience contributing to PMO practice development or process improvement initiatives

Why Join Us?

• Work with top-tier professionals in a globally distributed environment
• Opportunity to influence both delivery governance and product direction at a senior level
• Competitive remuneration – we recognize and reward excellence
• Collaborative, open, and learning-focused culture

About Authority Partners: Authority Partners is a leading global IT services company with over 25 years of experience, serving clients within the financial, healthcare, insurance, mortgage, and technology sectors, among many others. We are committed to building relationships with IT professionals who possess integrity, dedication, teamwork, and the desire to learn and grow with us. We specialize in placement for long-term contracts and permanent opportunities, helping our consultants achieve career success.

Authority Partners is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from all types of discrimination, abusive behavior, and harassment.