Strategic Programs Manager Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

A newly created, highly visible, senior corporate IT role with a multi-$B global group of 14 technology businesses. In a federated environment you'll oversee enterprise-level ERP programs, develop PMO, scalable governance and frameworks, and prioritize impactful agentic AI initiatives based on measurable business outcomes. If this sounds like your kind of challenge, read on.

The Opportunity

Veralto (veralto.com / NYSE: VLTO) is a $5.5B annual sales revenue global leader in essential technology solutions, comprising a portfolio of international businesses. We're big enough to offer real resources and global reach and focused enough that what you do here genuinely matters.

The Director, Enterprise Strategic Programs is remotely based in Chicago, Colorado, or Massachusetts/Boston (proximity to key sites) with some occasional travel, though highly qualified, fully remote candidates may also be considered. The jobholder reports directly to the Group Chief Information Officer and serves as a strategic bridge between Veralto Corporate and our 14 Operating Companies (OpCos). Because we operate in a highly decentralized environment where OpCos maintain their own CIOs and budgets, your success and influence will rely heavily on relationship capital, political acumen, and consultative diplomacy rather than top-down authority.

We're embarking on an enterprise delivery journey and are looking for an entrepreneurial builder who can leverage industry lessons from other large, complex organizations to establish Veralto's program frameworks from the ground up, providing stimulating challenges, personal growth, and the opportunity to build something substantial.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Program Leadership & Strategic Execution

• Partner with operating company leadership to oversee execution of enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and transformation programs.
• Act as a trusted advisor to OpCo leadership, navigating diverse corporate cultures and competing priorities to align local ERP transformations with global Veralto objectives and VES (Veralto Enterprise System).
• Ensure programs remain on track across scope, timeline, budget, risks, and business outcomes.
• Establish light-touch, high-visibility governance structures, reporting cadences, and escalation mechanisms that respect OpCo autonomy while protecting enterprise interests.
• Provide visibility into program health, risks, and execution performance.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across business, IT, operations, and external partners.
  

Consulting Firm & Service Provider Oversight

• Partner with consulting firms, SIs, and service providers supporting enterprise initiatives.
• Ensure external partners deliver against commitments, timelines, budgets, and quality expectations.
• Drive accountability, transparency, and measurable outcomes across third-party engagements.
• Support executive review of partner performance and delivery effectiveness.
• Coordinate escalation and remediation activities as needed.
  

Federated AI, Data & Technology Governance Framework

• Support the development of enterprise frameworks for AI, data, and technology initiatives.
• Establish intake, prioritization, and governance processes for enterprise initiatives.
• Create visibility into AI, data, and strategic initiatives across operating companies.
• Orchestrate cross-functional steering committees to build consensus around AI frameworks, helping to catalog and organize enterprise efforts to reduce duplication and identify scalable opportunities.
• Partner with business and technology leaders to identify high-value opportunities and ensure execution oversight.
  

Executive Communication & Organizational Alignment

• Masterfully translate complex project technicalities and risks into business-impacting narratives for the Group CIO and senior executive stakeholders.
• Develop executive-level reporting, dashboards, and strategic updates.
• Prepare leadership presentations and governance materials for senior stakeholders.
• Communicate program health, risks, and recommendations with clarity and transparency.
• Deftly manage alignment and build consensus across stakeholders with competing priorities or differing localized agendas.
• Support KPI development and operational reporting frameworks.
  

The Essential Requirements of the Job Include:

• 10+ years of experience leading complex, cross-functional programs (i.e., global ERP spanning IT, Operations, Finance, etc.) or enterprise-wide transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience navigating mature, large-scale, decentralized, or heavily federated complex organizations, ideally on a global scale.
• Demonstrated experience establishing pragmatic, value-add program governance frameworks, PMO structures, reporting mechanisms, and execution cadences.
• Experience managing large-scale programs involving external large-scale consulting firms or systems integrators.
• Executive-level communication, partnering across multiple businesses, and exceptional diplomatic and listening skills. Proven ability to earn trust, build deep relationship capital, and drive execution and accountability across independent stakeholders without direct hierarchical authority.
• Comfortable working in a fast-evolving environment and dealing with ambiguity; a track record of designing structures where none currently exist.
• Experience of driving enterprise agentic AI adoption with positive P&L impact is advantageous.
• Resides in Chicago, Colorado, or Boston/Massachusetts area (preferred) and able to undertake 10-20% travel, through exceptional fully remote US candidates may be considered.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

About Veralto

With annual sales of $5.5 billion and over 17,000 associates around the world, Veralto is a global leader in essential technology solutions with a proven track record of solving some of the most complex challenges we face as a society. Our industry-leading companies with globally recognized brands are building on a long-established legacy of innovation and customer trust to create a safer, cleaner, more vibrant future.

Veralto's Water Quality companies manage, treat, purify, and protect the global water supply, from municipal and wastewater treatment facilities to lakes, rivers, watersheds, and oceans. And our Product Quality & Innovation companies protect the world's food, medicine, and essentials by tracking and authenticating the billions of goods that travel the global supply chain every day. Veralto is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with 300+ locations worldwide.

The salary range for this role is $200k - $230k. This is the range that we in good faith believe is the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. This job is also eligible for bonus pay.