Associate Program Manager

Associate Program Manager

Description

We are looking for an experienced APGM – Operations to lead BPM operations, with strong expertise in client delivery, operational metrics, cost management, people leadership, SLA governance, and continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate should have experience managing 200+ resources and be highly comfortable working with numbers, operational reports, dashboards, productivity metrics, financials, and performance analytics. Exposure to creative, graphic design, digital content, or other creative production environments will be an added advantage.

This is a Work From Office (WFO) role and requires strong on-site leadership and stakeholder engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Client Delivery

• Lead end-to-end operations for large-scale international BPO/creative programs with 200+ resources.
• Own operational performance, service delivery, productivity, quality, turnaround time, and client satisfaction.
• Ensure achievement of agreed SLAs, KPIs, productivity and quality targets.
• Drive daily, weekly and monthly operational reviews with internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage client communication, governance forums, business reviews and escalations.
• Act as the primary escalation point for critical operational and client issues.

Metrics, Reporting & Business Analytics

• Demonstrate strong command over numbers, MIS, dashboards, reports and operational analytics.
• Track and analyze key metrics including:
  • Productivity
  • Utilization
  • SLA/TAT
  • Quality
  • Capacity
  • Attrition
  • Absenteeism
  • Cost per transaction
  • Revenue and margins
  • Resource deployment
  • Forecast vs. actual performance
• Translate operational data into actionable insights and business decisions.
• Prepare and present monthly/quarterly business reviews and management reports.
• Identify trends, performance gaps and opportunities for operational optimization.

Cost & Commercial Management

• Own operational cost management and drive cost optimization and productivity improvement.
• Monitor manpower utilization, capacity planning and resource deployment.
• Partner with finance and business teams on budgeting, forecasting and cost analysis.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins without impacting service quality or client experience.

People Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership to a large operations team of 200+ employees.
• Lead managers/team leaders and build a strong leadership pipeline.
• Drive employee engagement, performance management, capability development and succession planning.
• Monitor attrition and implement effective retention strategies.
• Create a culture focused on accountability, ownership, customer centricity and continuous improvement.

Creative / Graphic Operations

• Manage or support operations involving graphic design, creative production, digital content, marketing collateral, presentations, image/video content or other creative services.
• Understand creative production workflows, capacity planning, quality parameters and delivery timelines.
• Work closely with creative teams, project managers and clients to ensure timely and high-quality delivery.
• Balance creative quality with productivity, SLA, cost and commercial objectives.
• Exposure to tools, workflows or environments supporting creative/graphic operations will be an advantage.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify operational inefficiencies and lead process improvement, automation and productivity initiatives.
• Drive Lean/Six Sigma or other structured improvement initiatives where applicable.
• Standardize processes, workflows and reporting mechanisms across teams.
• Establish a data-driven operating culture focused on measurable business outcomes.

Required Experience & Skills

• 12+ years of overall experience, preferably in International BPO/ITES operations.
• Minimum 5+ years in senior leadership roles involving strategic and people leadership.
• Proven experience managing 200+ resources in a large-scale operations environment.
• Strong experience in client delivery and international client management.
• Excellent understanding of SLA, KPI, productivity, quality and operational governance.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills with hands-on experience in MIS, dashboards, reports and performance metrics.
• Strong exposure to cost management, capacity planning and resource optimization.
• Proven experience handling client escalations and complex operational issues.
• Strong people management, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to convert data into actionable business decisions.
• Experience in creative/graphic/digital content operations will be an added advantage.
• Strong presentation and business review skills.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and reporting/dashboarding tools.
• Experience working with global clients and geographically distributed teams.

Key Competencies

Operational Leadership | Client Management | People Leadership | Cost Management | SLA & KPI Governance | MIS & Reporting | Data Analytics | Capacity Planning | Productivity Management | Escalation Management | Continuous Improvement | Creative Operations | Strategic Planning | Stakeholder Management

Key Success Metrics

• SLA & TAT adherence
• Productivity and utilization
• Quality performance
• Cost and margin improvement
• Client satisfaction
• Attrition and employee engagement
• Capacity utilization
• Revenue and operational efficiency
• Continuous improvement benefits

Work Location

Work From Office (WFO) – Mandatory