Program Manager

Job Details

Job no: 538390
Work type: Full Time
Location: Sydney, NSW
Categories: Information Technology

Full time role, 24 month fixed term, within UNSW IT as a Program Manager - IT
Kensington, Sydney location, 2-3 days in the office, Hybrid working

About UNSW:

UNSW isn’t like other places you’ve worked. Yes, we’re a large organisation with a diverse and talented community; a community doing extraordinary things. Together, we are driven to be thoughtful, practical, and purposeful in all we do. Taking this combined approach is what makes our work matter. It’s the reason we’re one of the top 20 universities in the world (QS top 20) and a member of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight. If you want a career where you can thrive, be challenged and do meaningful work, you’re in the right place.

Role Overview

The Program Manager will be responsible for delivering modernized IT infrastructure aligned with UNSW’s Technology Strategy and engineering standards. The role ensures strategic alignment, enables capability, transforms operations, and realizes program benefits. This role will draw on their extensive industry experience and technical knowledge to contribute to communications infrastructure design, ensuring cost effective delivery of high-quality IT infrastructure to time and to budget for all major capital works and large-scale refurbishment initiatives. This role works under broad direction, is self-initiated, and performs an extensive range and variety of complex work activities. The Program Manager will utilise strong stakeholder engagement to work in consultation with internal teams within UNSW IT and external customers to specify and manage infrastructure projects involving network, critical infrastructure and the deployment of desktop, print and AV services. The Program Manager will maintain collaboration with the IT PPMO to ensure adherence to the defined project delivery framework and is aligned to project processes and lifecycle governance.

The IT Infrastructure Portfolio provides ICT enablement for the Estate Master Development Plan and Estate Improvement Plan. As the key interface between UNSW IT and Estate Management, the Program Manager is the central point of coordination for major capital works, ensuring ICT scope, requirements, dependencies, and delivery schedules are integrated into estate planning and construction activities. The role provides a single point of contact for ICT planning and delivery across the portfolio, facilitating timely decisions, managing escalations, and ensuring governance, standards, and stakeholder expectations are met throughout design and delivery.

Specific accountabilities for this role include:

• Provide strategic leadership and advice around the delivery of complex programs to achieve the business objectives, business benefits & business value. This includes the ongoing management of scope, budget risks and issues, control, monitor and report end to end program status.
• Lead various IT project teams to deliver multiple projects in a cost-effective manner with high customer focus.
• Act as the single point of contact and point of escalation for all our stakeholders and other business units.
• Act as the senior technology authority within the program, ensuring all design and delivery decisions align with UNSW Technology’s strategic vision and intended outcomes.
• Own workstream planning, scheduling, scope, risks and issues, dependency mapping, and delivery performance, while aligning to IT infrastructure office standards, division specific frameworks, and reporting requirements. Drive a strong delivery culture built on accountability, adaptability, and collaboration.
• Hold accountability for the development and management of large, complex project budgets, including financial forecasting, variance analysis, and ensuring ongoing alignment with approved funding.
• Manage project resources within budget and maintain financial forecasting for IT PPMO and UPO monthly reporting purposes.
• Actively engage, influence, and collaborate with academic and professional leaders. Ensure their perspectives are reflected in plans, risks, and treatments, and build consensus on delivery approaches, sequencing, and issue resolution.
• Direct and inspire multidisciplinary teams across UNSW and vendor partners. Model purpose-driven leadership and create an environment where delivery excellence, resilience, and trust are standard.
• Set and manage the performance of IT systems integrators and technology vendors. Hold partners accountable for scope, deliverables, and quality, ensuring alignment with UNSW’s values, commercial arrangements, and program governance and outcomes.
• Negotiate the coordination of resources from areas within UNSWIT and business areas to engage in the development and delivery of the IT infrastructure
• Define IT specific program benefits and outcomes; establish baseline measures and track progress to ensure that business value is achieved and sustained.
• Lead the development and delivery of a program of work with large infrastructure projects on time and within budget. Manage dependencies with UNSW colleagues to ensure Technology outcomes are seamlessly embedded into the UNSW ecosystem.
• Bring deep IT workforce transformation expertise to anticipate risks, navigate uncertainty, and influence program direction with foresight and pragmatism.
• Provide mentorship to project members, offering strategic coaching, professional development guidance, and day-to-day leadership support
• Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values.
• Ensure hazards and risks psychosocial and physical are identified and controlled for tasks, projects, and activities that pose a health and safety risk within your area of responsibility.

Who you are:

• Extensive, demonstrable and recent experience leading the end-to-end delivery of large-scale IT project management with senior accountability for outcomes in highly federated, complex, and multi-stakeholder environments.
• Experience in senior transformation leadership roles with direct C-suite reporting and proven success delivering high-value, enterprise-wide solutions in large organisations.
• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline, combined with substantial professional experience, or equivalent capability gained through a mix of education, executive training, and hands-on IT program leadership.
• Extensive experience and knowledge of project management methodologies and technique
• Deep expertise business process transformation, operating model design, and lifecycle management, with a track record of delivering key IT Management capabilities; higher education or similarly federated sector experience is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated capability to establish, lead, and inspire high-performing, cross-functional teams spanning business, technology and partner domains.
• High level organisational skills with a demonstrated ability to manage the competing demands of multiple, simultaneous projects.
• Sound financial literacy skills, including the ability to forecast and manage budgets.
• Strong analytical skills, effective business planning and budgeting skills with demonstrated experience in strategic and operational planning.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to engage credibly with senior executives, governance committees, and diverse communities of interest.
• A proven ability to navigate complexity, manage dependencies, trade-offs, and risks across multiple streams under conditions of ambiguity and scrutiny.
• Significant experience managing major vendors and delivery partners, including systems integrators, to ensure performance accountability, scope discipline, and alignment with organisational outcomes.
• A comprehensive understanding of transformation delivery disciplines, including program governance, benefits realisation, user-centred design, and organisational change management, with the ability to apply these to achieve measurable adoption and value.
• Exceptional communication skills with a record of producing executive-level briefings, business cases, reports, and presentations that distil complex information into actionable insights.
• Advanced industry certifications including Prince2 and/or PMBOK or equivalent, is desirable.
• An understanding of and commitment to UNSW’s aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines.
• Knowledge of health & safety (psychosocial and physical) responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training.

Benefits and Culture

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc)
• Career development opportunities
• 17% Superannuation contributions and additional leave loading payments
• Additional 3 days of leave over Christmas period
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness)

For further details on the benefits, please visit https://www.jobs.unsw.edu.au/lifestyle-benefits

How to Apply:

please apply through the portal, we would like you to submit a full application including resume and addressing the who you are section.

Applications close: Sunday 12th of April

Pre-Employment Checks

Aligned with UNSW’s focus on cultivating a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for. [...]

Get in Touch:

Jen MacLachlan
j.maclachlan@unsw.edu.au
Talent Acquisition Partner – UNSW IT

Please apply through the application portal and not via the contact above.

UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. [...]

Position Description

Advertised: 02 Apr 2026 AUS Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: 12 Apr 2026 AUS Eastern Standard Time