Sr. Manager - Program Management

What does the IT - Shipboard Newbuild Team do?

The IT Team at Royal Caribbean Group supports the technology infrastructure, systems, and services that enable secure and reliable business operations. The team manages platforms, applications, networks, end-user support, data, and security capabilities, partnering with business and operational teams to improve productivity, strengthen reliability, protect information, and deliver technology solutions that support employees, guests, ships, and destinations.

How you can make an impact:

The Senior Manager, Program Management - Private Destination leads the program and project management team that delivers technology for Royal Caribbean Group's land-based hospitality products: hotels, resorts, waterparks and beach clubs.

The role is accountable for end-to-end delivery of the Private Destination GET construction portfolio, on schedule, within budget and to quality. It owns schedule performance, budget, risk management, program oversight, execution planning and the full delivery function, from intake and requirements through build, integration, testing, go-live and handover to operations.

The Senior Manager partners with Product, Private Destination, Product Construction and Design, Architecture, Engineering, Logistics and GET Finance, and with external construction, design and technology partners. The role presents portfolio status, risks and decisions to Vice President level and above.

What your day-to-day will look like:

Own end-to-end delivery of the GET construction portfolio for hotels, resorts, waterparks and beach clubs, ensuring projects are completed on time, within scope, within budget and to quality.

Own the full delivery lifecycle: intake, planning, design and integration, build, testing, readiness, go-live and handover to operations.

Lead capability requirements for each site's business model and integration needs with product owners, architects and operations.

Lead design and integration activities between GET and RCG's internal and external partners, including construction contractors, MEP engineers, turnkey suppliers and outfitters.

Set and maintain integrated master schedules for each site, aligned to construction milestones and opening dates.

Track critical path, dependencies and handoffs between IT, construction, product and operations; escalate and recover slippage early.

Define go-live and operational readiness criteria and confirm they are met before opening.

Manage the annual budget across multiple programs and projects (budget responsibility of $2M-$30M), including expenditures, spend analysis, variance reporting and forecasts.

Develop controls and metrics that keep projects on budget, and report performance against budget KPIs.

Partner with GET Finance on labor forecasting, capital and expense treatment, and reporting.

Define optimization opportunities to manage cost and realize anticipated benefits.

Establish and run risk, issue, dependency and change-control processes across the portfolio.

Identify delivery, vendor, schedule, cost, security and compliance risks early; define mitigation and contingency plans.

Escalate risks and decisions to steering committees and executive sponsors with clear recommendations.

Support project intake through the governance process, covering GET projects and broader RCG initiatives.

Manage portfolio artifacts, decisions, communications, metrics and reporting, including executive portfolio views.

Develop and deploy a program and project auditing strategy that gives visibility into trends, risk and steering committee communication.

Ensure adherence to GET policies, procedures, standards and the GET Delivery Team methodology.

Work with Product teams, Site Architects and construction partners to set delivery goals and execution strategies for each project.

Lead resource demand planning and capacity management, and engage and onboard internal and vendor resources to implement scope.

Plan the project pipeline with portfolio stakeholders, aligning initiatives to strategy and managing change.

Support product integration across RCG sites and assets, applying lessons learned across the portfolio.

Lead, coach and develop Program Managers, Project Managers and Business/Project Analysts; set expectations, review delivery and confirm methodology adherence.

Develop and deliver project management training to improve consistency and quality of delivery.

Support the development and adoption of project management best practices, tools and ways of working that drive efficiency, reduce cost and add value.

Build strong relationships across RCG to understand business challenges and opportunities.

Provide timely, actionable updates that remove roadblocks and reduce risk.

How to achieve success:

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of experience in GET program or project management, product management or operations, with at least 5 years leading managers or project teams.

Proven record delivering large, complex GET programs on schedule and within budget, with budget responsibility of up to $30M.

Experience delivering technology for hospitality, resort, waterpark, theme park or amusement park environments is preferred.

Experience executing GET infrastructure and systems projects in a construction environment is strongly preferred.

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or a related field.

Master's degree preferred.

Skills and Abilities:

Strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to build, coach and hold accountable a team of program and project managers.

Proven ability to manage multiple large, concurrent projects and programs across several sites.

Deep knowledge of program and project management methodologies (waterfall, agile and hybrid) and tools.

Strong schedule, budget, risk and change management discipline, including critical path analysis and earned value or equivalent controls.

Solid understanding of GET estimation and of accounting rules for expense and capital activities.

Able to present direct, concise information to Vice President level and above, and to drive decisions in steering committees.

Experience working with hospitality systems (such as property management, point of sale, reservations, ticketing, access control, and guest-facing and operational technology) is preferred.

Experience executing heavy GET infrastructure projects (network, data center, wireless, security, audio-visual) in a construction environment.

Ability to manage vendors and contractors, including contract, performance and commercial oversight.

Excellent communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills.

Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders, internal and external.

Strong problem-solving, analytical and decision-making abilities, with creativity in resolving constraints.

Ability to adapt to shifting priorities and align activities to organizational goals.

Knowledge of industry trends and best practices in GET project and program management.

Certifications:

PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2 or an equivalent project or program management certification is preferred.

Agile or scaled delivery certification (for example SAFe or CSM) is a plus.

Agency and Third-Party Submissions: Please note this is a direct search by the Company, and applications through agencies and other third parties will not be accepted, nor will fees be paid for unsolicited resumes. Any unsolicited resumes will be considered the Company's property.

We know there's a lot to consider. As you go through the application process, our recruiters will be glad to provide guidance, and more relevant details to answer any additional questions. Thank you again for your interest in Royal Caribbean Group. We hope to see you onboard soon! 

It is the policy of the Company to ensure equal employment and promotion opportunity to qualified candidates without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and related medical conditions), age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity or expression, marital status, citizenship or immigration status, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Royal Caribbean Group and each of its subsidiaries prohibit and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to support candidates with disabilities during our hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at hraccess@rccl.com. This email is for disability-related accommodation requests only.