Financial Technology Program Manager

Join one of the nation’s leading financial services institutions—an industry central to consumer credit, digital payments, and secure banking innovation.

This organization continues to invest heavily in technology modernization, enterprise product development, and scalable platforms that support millions of customers nationwide.

Contract Duration: 12 months

Location: Hybrid in Riverwoods, IL (3 days per week onsite)

Compensation: ~$62/hr

Role Overview

The organization is seeking a highly skilled Financial Technology Program Manager to drive large-scale, product-focused initiatives that span multiple technology and business domains. This role requires a strong blend of program leadership, cross-functional coordination, agile delivery expertise, and strategic communication.

You will operate at the intersection of product, engineering, and architecture—guiding teams through planning, alignment, prioritization, and execution while ensuring transparency, risk management, and enterprise value delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Agile Delivery

• Define and deliver business value for customer-facing and technology-driven initiatives across the full product lifecycle.
• Lead program planning and orchestrate delivery across several product areas simultaneously.
• Build roadmaps, manage schedules, and maintain consistent communication with key stakeholders.
• Identify resourcing needs and track budgets across multiple initiatives within your product area.
• Manage dependencies, risks, and issue escalations across teams to ensure seamless execution.
• Oversee initiatives from inception to implementation, ensuring alignment with long-term enterprise objectives.

Cross-Functional & Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate workflows across engineering, product, architecture, and business partners in a matrixed operating model.
• Partner with product and platform leads to define business cases, refine scope, and align on strategic vision.
• Ensure information flows both upward and downward at the right cadence, with clear, concise communication.
• Identify and remove impediments that slow down team execution or hinder commitments.
• Actively manage and escalate risks and customer-impacting issues to leadership.

Communication, Facilitation & Strategic Support

• Drive collaboration across internal teams and external partners, facilitating seamless alignment on architecture and product initiatives.
• Lead or support communications around strategic programs to build consensus and clarify direction.
• Facilitate decision-making around financials, scope, roadblocks, and inter-team dependencies.
• Provide structure and leadership where organizational ownership is unclear or emerging.
• Support innovation by running brainstorming and research sessions, translating ideas into executable project plans.

Preferred Expertise

• Experience managing large-scale technology or product initiatives within financial services, banking, payments, or credit industries.
• Strong background in agile delivery, portfolio planning, and enterprise product execution.
• Proven ability to drive alignment in matrixed environments with competing priorities.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, planning, and risk management capabilities.
• Comfortable partnering with product, architecture, and engineering leaders to shape vision and drive outcomes.