Program Management Specialist

Program Management Specialist, Vendor Delivery & Governance

Contract (12 months, strong likelihood of extension) · Hybrid, Downtown Toronto (2 days onsite) · $30–$40/hr based on experience

Our client, one of Canada's largest financial institutions, is looking for a Program Management Specialist to own the relationship between the bank and one of its key technology vendors. This is a governance and delivery-oversight role: you are the single point of accountability making sure the vendor delivers what the bank needs, on time, to spec, and without surprises.

You'll sit at the centre of every project, change, and defect the vendor touches on the bank's behalf — tracking it, reporting on it, and stepping in early when something starts to slip. When issues come up, you're the one escalating cleanly across both sides and driving them to resolution.

This is a high-visibility seat with regular exposure to leadership, so clear reporting and steady stakeholder management matter as much as the operational work.

What you'll own

Acting as the primary owner ensuring the bank's priorities, requirements, and timelines are clearly represented and delivered by the vendor.

Holding the vendor accountable to committed deliverables, milestones, and SLAs, and managing service-delivery issues to resolution before they recur.

Overseeing delivery of vendor-led projects, enhancements, and defect fixes — monitoring execution health and intervening early on slippage or misalignment.

Maintaining a consolidated view of all initiatives and providing clear, regular status reporting to leadership, surfacing risks, delays, and decisions needed.

Identifying, managing, and escalating issues across both internal and vendor leadership, and supporting audit requests around incident management.

Serving as the key liaison between internal stakeholders and the vendor's subject-matter experts, keeping communication consistent and everyone aligned.

What you bring

5+ years in program management, vendor governance, or delivery oversight or an equivalent mix of educational and professional experience.

A track record of holding vendors or delivery partners accountable to SLAs and committed dates.

Strong stakeholder management, communication, and escalation skills — you can hold your ground with senior people on both sides without creating friction.

The ability to operate independently through ambiguity, juggle a range of complex tasks, and pivot as priorities shift.

Comfort using tools like Jira, reporting platforms, and AI assistants to keep tracking and reporting tight.

This is a contract role with a major bank's downtown Toronto office, two days a week onsite. If you've spent your career making sure the work actually gets delivered and you like being the person leadership trusts to know where everything stands, this one's for you.