Sr. Technical Program Manager in Durham, North Carolina at Aspida Financial Services LLC

Company Description:

Aspida is a tech-driven, nimble insurance carrier. Backed by Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative asset manager, we offer simple and secure retirement solutions and annuity products with speed and precision. More than that, we’re in the business of protecting dreams; those of our partners, our producers, and especially our clients. Our suite of products, available through our elegant and intuitive digital platform, focuses on secure, stable retirement solutions with attractive features and downside protection. A subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) acts as the dedicated investment manager, capital solutions and corporate development partner to Aspida. For more information, please visit www.aspida.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

Who We Are:

Sometimes, a group of people come together and create something amazing. They don’t let egos get in the way. They don’t settle for the status quo, and they don’t complain when things get tough. Instead, they see a common vision for the future and each person makes an unspoken commitment to building that future together. That’s the culture, the moxie, and the story of Aspida.

Our business focuses on annuities and life insurance. At first, it might not sound flashy, but that’s why we’re doing things differently than everyone else in our industry. We’re dedicated to developing data-driven tech solutions, providing amazing customer experiences, and applying an entrepreneurial spirit to everything we do. Our work ethic is built on three main tenets: Get $#!+ Done, Do It with Moxie, and Have Fun. If this sounds like the place for you, read on, and then apply at aspida.com/careers.

What We Are Looking For:

The Senior Technical Program Manager will serve as an execution-focused “portfolio management partner” to Aspida’s IT organization, supporting our product-aligned delivery model.

Working in close collaboration with Product Operations and aligned with IT and Product leadership, this role reinforces delivery discipline, transparency, and accountability across multiple “product squads” (cross-discipline product delivery teams) by maintaining clear visibility into progress against committed initiatives; ensuring strong alignment & change management; proactively managing risks, issues, and dependencies; and collaborating to standardize metrics for predictability, speed, and quality. The role exists to strengthen alignment between (and across) delivery teams and stakeholders through consistent, trusted reporting and early surfacing of execution risks—while preserving clear ownership of outcomes within IT and ensuring a single, aligned narrative to business stakeholders and senior leadership.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned delivery leader who bridges the gap between complex technical execution and executive-level strategy. You will serve as a disciplined orchestrator who excels at portfolio-level management while applying appropriate project/program/portfolio management best practices across both agile and hybrid/waterfall initiatives. You possess extremely high relational & negotiation capabilities, and the independence to provide objective, data-backed accountability (surfacing truth to IT leadership to accelerate solutioning) and the stakeholder-first posture required to ensure there are no surprises for senior business leadership. You are outcome-focused, strategic, collaborative, and someone who comes to serve & support our organization in increasing execution discipline. This role reports to the Senior Director, PMO and is required to be onsite 3 days a week at our Durham, NC office.

What You Will Do:

• Enable Portfolio Strategic Alignment
• Facilitate quarterly executive portfolio alignment & prioritization, collaborating closely with and partnering with the Product Management team and IT leadership.
• Work across IT delivery teams to ensure availability of executive-ready capacity and effort estimates to drive informed trade-off discussions, and document all decisions.
• Ensure technical initiatives are linked to company strategic goals and the enterprise project portfolio.
• Drive Delivery Discipline & Transparency
• Facilitate monthly IT leadership execution reviews to track progress against committed initiatives and identify course corrections.
• Partner with Product Ops to standardize and review portfolio reporting/scorecards including metrics on predictability, speed and quality.
• Maintain a single, visible view of risks & issues for all initiatives to provide early visibility on trouble spots and proactive mitigation.
• Enhance Change Management & Accountability
• Operationalize a lean change management framework that balances agility with executive alignment – accelerating time-to-decision with clear roles & responsibilities for business stakeholders, product squad leaders, and executive sponsors.
• Support product squad leaders in exercising ownership & accountability, engaging stakeholders & sponsors directly on tactical shifts to maintain flow and decision velocity.
• Drive the organization towards a single "source of truth" for all stakeholders, ensuring expectations and status are clear.
• Ensure material risks and executive-facing updates are aligned with IT and Product leadership prior to broader stakeholder communication.
• Improve Delivery Outcomes
• Engage where needed on at-risk initiatives, in partnership with product and IT leadership, to diagnose root causes—like alignment, requirements, dependencies, or resource/capacity—and engage with appropriate leaders to resolve bottlenecks.
• Establish a "system-level" roadmap view (for key systems/technologies) and understanding of resource capacity to support proper sequencing of work across teams.
• Monitor the discovery phase to identify bottlenecks early and ensure a steady stream of ready-to-build work.
• Partner with business units to standardize and elevate User Acceptance Testing (UAT) processes.
• Provide extra project management support to IT project leaders where there is an especially strong need for cross-functional or cross-team coordination.

What We Provide:

• Salaried, DOE
• Long-Term Incentive Plan
• Full-Time
• Full Benefits Package Available

What We Believe:

Not sure if you meet every qualification? We still encourage you to apply! We value inclusivity, welcoming candidates from diverse backgrounds, including non-traditional paths. Unique experiences enrich our team, and the willingness to dream big makes you an exceptional candidate!

At Aspida Financial Services, LLC, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As such, Aspida does not and will not discriminate in employment and personnel practices on the basis of race, sex, age, handicap, religion, national origin or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. Hiring, transferring and promotion practices are performed without regard to the above listed items.

What We Require:

• 8+ years project management experience, and 3+ years of experience leading complex technical programs or portfolios consisting of multiple projects/initiatives spanning multiple teams.
• Proven ability to translate technical team velocity and complex software development lifecycle (SDLC) data into clear business insights, risks, and trade-offs for executive stakeholders.
• Significant experience working within software development environments, with a career trajectory that has shifted toward business-side strategy, portfolio management, and operational excellence.
• Exceptional relational capabilities with the ability to influence senior leadership and the diplomacy to partner with technical squads without overstepping ownership boundaries.
• Fluency in Agile/Scrum frameworks combined with the ability to apply "right-sized" waterfall or hybrid approaches for large-scale corporate initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience diagnosing root causes for at-risk initiatives—ranging from requirement gaps to dependency misalignment—and driving them to resolution.
• Proficiency in modern SaaS-based project management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, JIRA).
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Technology, or a related field; professional certifications (e.g., PMP, PfMP, or SaFE) are a plus but secondary to proven senior-level experience.