Senior Manager, Program Management Office

Telesat · Ottawa, Ontario · Posted 2026-09-22

Position Summary

The Senior Manager, Project Management Office (PMO) reports to the Director of Mission Assurance and Program Integration and is responsible for leading enterprise program governance, integrated schedule and budget planning, program controls, portfolio reporting, and cross-segment coordination for complex telecommunications and space programs.

This role provides the framework, tools, processes, and oversight necessary to enable successful program delivery across multiple organizational segments while ensuring executive leadership has clear visibility into program performance, risks, dependencies, milestones, and strategic objectives.

The Senior Manager, PMO has a staff who serve as the central integrators across engineering, operations, supply chain, finance, mission assurance, product management, and other stakeholder organizations supporting multiple projects. The position does not directly manage segment Program Managers, who remain within their respective organizations and coordinate extensively with the PMO, However, the role establishes program management standards, methodologies, reporting requirements, and governance practices across the enterprise. The successful candidate must be comfortable operating in an evolving environment where not all processes, standards, and organizational interfaces have been fully established, and where success requires building structure, alignment, and operational discipline across multiple stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Program Integration and Enterprise Planning

Lead the development and maintenance of the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) across all program segments.
Manage program-wide integrated budgets and long-term financial plans
Establish and manage cross-functional program dependencies, interfaces, and integration milestones.
Identify and escalate critical path risks, schedule variances, and program execution concerns.
Ensure consistent planning methodologies are applied across all participating organizations.
Coordinate enterprise-level planning activities to support strategic objectives and delivery commitments.
Facilitate integrated program reviews and milestone readiness assessments.

PMO Governance and Program Controls

Develop and maintain PMO governance frameworks, procedures, standards, and operating models.
Establish stage-gate and phase review processes throughout the program lifecycle.
Drive compliance with program management policies, reporting requirements, and governance expectations.
Lead portfolio-level schedule, budget/cost, risk, and performance monitoring activities.
Establish and maintain accurate program health and performance metrics.
Ensure consistency of reporting, forecasting, and program status assessments across all segments.

Executive Reporting and Decision Support

Develop executive dashboards, scorecards, and integrated program performance metrics.
Provide objective analysis of program execution, emerging risks, opportunities, and trends.
Support executive leadership reviews, and governance forums.
Prepare briefing materials, recovery plans, business cases, and strategic recommendations.
Present portfolio status, major issues, and critical decisions to senior leadership.

Portfolio Performance Management

Establish and monitor key performance indicators for program execution.
Consolidate schedule, budget/cost, risk, and resource information
Analyze performance trends and identify corrective actions when required.
Ensure consistent measurement and reporting of program objectives and outcomes.
Lead program health assessments and maturity reviews.

Risk, Dependency, and Change Integration

Oversee segment-level risk and dependency management processes.
Ensure critical cross-segment risks are identified, monitored, and escalated appropriately.
Support the program change management activities and impact assessments.
Facilitate issue resolution among stakeholders with competing priorities and objectives.
Support integrated decision-making across multiple organizations.

Program Management Excellence

Establish and evolve the PMO as an enterprise center of excellence for program and project management, continuously developing frameworks, standards, methodologies, and capabilities aligned with organizational growth and program complexity.
Design, implement, and continuously improve PMO processes, templates, methodologies, governance artifacts, and toolsets, recognizing that many components of the future-state PMO operating model are still under development.
Lead the development and adoption of standardized planning, reporting, governance, and portfolio management practices across diverse stakeholder organizations with varying levels of project management maturity.
Provide guidance, mentorship, and functional leadership to Program Managers across the enterprise.
Promote best practices in planning, scheduling, governance, risk management, and reporting.
Lead PMO process improvement and capability development initiatives.

Team Leadership

Build a high-performing PMO capability by establishing team structure, role definitions, responsibilities, competencies, and development plans aligned to future organizational needs.
Lead and develop PMO personnel, including program analysts, schedulers, program controllers, governance specialists, and reporting analysts.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and execution excellence.
Support workforce planning and capability development within the PMO organization.
Ensure PMO resources effectively support enterprise priorities and delivery objectives.

Qualifications

Education

Required:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, Telecommunications, Aerospace Engineering, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related discipline.

Professional Certifications

Preferred certifications include:

Project Management Professional (PMP)
Program Management Professional (PgMP)
PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
PRINCE2 Practitioner
SAFe or equivalent Agile certification

Experience

12+ years of progressive experience in project, program, portfolio, or PMO leadership roles.
5+ years leading PMO, program controls, governance, program integration, or portfolio management functions.
Demonstrated experience establishing, transforming, or significantly maturing PMO organizations, governance frameworks, operating models, methodologies, and enterprise planning capabilities.
Experience supporting large-scale, complex engineering, aerospace, telecommunications, defense, or technology programs.
Experience working with executive leadership and governance boards.
Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams without direct authority.
Experience with integrated master planning, earned value management, portfolio reporting, and enterprise governance frameworks.
Experience implementing PMO transformations and organizational maturity initiatives

Knowledge and Skills

PMO Transformation and Organizational Design
Process Development and Institutionalization
Organizational Influence without Authority
Building Structure in Ambiguous Environments
Enterprise Program Management
Integrated Master Scheduling
Oracle Primavera Cloud
Executive Reporting and Analytics
Risk and Opportunity Management
Governance Framework Development
Organizational Change Management
Resource and Capacity Planning
Strategic Planning
Stakeholder Management
Systems Thinking
Cross-Functional Leadership
Financial Acumen
Negotiation and Influence
Conflict Resolution
Continuous Improvement

Security & Compliance Requirements

Canadian Reliability Status (Minimum) is required
Eligibility for Controlled Goods Program (CGP) Registration is required
Ability to handle controlled, sensitive, and export-regulated technical data in compliance with Canadian and international regulations

Decision Making & Supervision:

This role has direct reports and will work and interact with multi-disciplinary teams.

Working Conditions:

Working conditions are typical of a downtown Ottawa office environment.
Must be in-office 5x times a week (Monday-Friday)

The successful candidate must be able to work in Canada and obtain Reliability Status.

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About Telesat

Telesat is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions.