Director, Enterprise Project Management Office

It Starts Here:

Santander is a global leader and innovator in the financial services industry and is evolving from a high-impact brand into a technology-driven organization. Our people are at the heart of this journey and together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.  This is more than a strategic shift.  It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference.

If you are interested in exploring the possibilities We Want to Talk to You!

The Difference You Make:

The Director, Enterprise Project Management Office, is responsible for the overall integrated project management methodology (IPMM) oversight and governance across Santander US, providing vision, leadership, coordination and management of the IPMM Operations. Develops, analyzes and oversees project quality assurance, operational controls and resource allocation to govern the IPMM. Manages work streams, prepares status reports and interfaces with stakeholders to ensure strategy and execution are aligned with defined objectives. Coordinates and communicates the activities of project personnel with relevant stakeholders to ensure progress within time and budget constraints. The role serves as an enabler for highly effective communication between the EPMO, portfolio managers and the Business Unit/IT executives who make strategic decisions for those projects. They act as subject matter expert and senior level advisor to project and portfolio managers. The Director partners with senior leadership, business units, technology teams, and risk/compliance stakeholders to drive delivery excellence, standardize project management practices, and enhance organizational agility. This position plays a critical role in strengthening governance frameworks, improving resource allocation, and ensuring successful execution of high-impact initiatives.

Essential Functions/Responsibility Statements:

• Establish and enforce EPMO governance frameworks, methodologies, tools, and best practices.
• Drive consistent execution of project management standards across all business units.
• Supports complex initiatives affecting multiple functions or businesses
• Partner with executive leadership to prioritize initiatives, manage dependencies, and allocate resources effectively.
• Provide regular reporting and insights to senior leadership on portfolio health, risks, and performance metrics.
• Acts as key escalation point for operational issues
• Serves as a dedicated resource working directly with leaders and staff to support process improvement
• Acts as a change agent/coach to instill and sustain changes
• Lead and mentor a team of project and program managers, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Motivates functional process team working on projects within a matrix reporting structure
• Engages people and develops them through teamwork and a high level of participation
• Manages process and project management deliverables for all assigned projects from initiation thru closure, including intake activities.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks across programs, ensuring compliance with regulatory and internal policies.
• Drives/participates in the funding process, as appropriate (i.e., presentations, cost-benefit analysis, business case)
• Leads and contributes to the development of project definition and scope with applicable stakeholders
• Monitors and documents project milestones and outcomes throughout the project lifecycle to ensure adherence to established quality standards
• Identifies project duration, effort, sequence, and dependencies of tasks required to meet applicable project objectives
• Facilitates Project Team meetings and situational analysis regularly to ensure appropriate communication with all stakeholders
• Support audit, regulatory, and compliance activities related to project governance and delivery.
• Develop presentations, dashboards, reports and other team and executive level project communications and documentation
• Develops, communicates and implements project risk mitigation plans and completes risk actions, issues and decisions documentation to effectively monitor risk and enable accountability and responsibility
• Develops and implements contingency and recovery plans when deliverables are missed (i.e., identifies critical path, documents, plans for Return to Green, business continuity plan, etc.)
• Documents and communicates project changes, project health and project status project team, business owner an executive sponsor
• Tracks and reports accurate project plans and budgets in line with appropriate governance

What You Bring:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience: Computer Science, Finance, Information Technology, Business Administration or equivalent field. Req
• PMP, PgMP, Agile certifications, or equivalent strongly preferred.

Work Experience:

• 9+ Years Proven experience prioritizing, budgeting, estimating, project implementation Req
• Experience within financial services or banking industry required.
• Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-level portfolios and large transformation initiatives.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and delivering complex programs on time and within budget.
• Experience working in highly regulated environments with strong exposure to risk, compliance, and audit requirements.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong project management technical skills
• Ability to research, interpret, and incorporate industry and other best practices into project management processes
• Ability to identify risks and manage them, escalation when necessary
• Ability to think both tactically and strategically moving through both fluidly
• Ability to analyze project data, metrics and financials, making data-driven analytical decisions
• Demonstrated knowledge of project and portfolio management tools (i.e.
• Clarity, Visio, Excel, MS Project, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Knowledge and expertise in the use of project management, PMLC and SDLC methodologies and tools (i.e. Agile, SCRUM, Waterfall, Iterative)
• Knowledge of functional area may be required
• Excellent communication, problem-solving and decision making skills with the ability to effectively communicate with all levels in the organization
• Ability to manage all aspects of multiple projects, deliverables and timelines

Certifications:

• PMP, PgMP, Agile certifications, or equivalent strongly preferred

It Would Be Nice For You To Have:

• Established work history or equivalent demonstrated through a combination of work experience, training, military service, or education.
• Experience in Microsoft Office products.

What Else You Need To Know:

The base pay range for this position is posted below and represents the annualized salary range. For hourly positions (non-exempt), the annual range is based on a 40-hour work week. The exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, training, licensure and certifications and location.

Base Pay Range:

Minimum:

Maximum:

Risk Culture:

We embrace a strong risk culture and all of our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

EEO Statement:

At Santander, we value and respect differences in our workforce. We actively encourage everyone to apply. Santander is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Working Conditions:

Frequent minimal physical effort such as sitting, standing and walking is required for this role. Depending on location, occasional moving and lifting light equipment and/or furniture may be required.

Employer Rights:

This job description does not list all of the job duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. You may be evaluated in part based upon your performance of the tasks listed in this job description. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. This job description is not a contract for employment and either you or the employer may terminate your employment at any time for any reason.

What To Do Next:

Review the internal eligibility guidelines here. If this sounds like a role you are interested in, then please apply.

We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible application process for all candidates. If you require any assistance or accommodation due to a disability or any other reason, please contact us at TAOps@santander.us to discuss your needs.