Senior Project / Program Manager

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Role Summary

The role will provide project and program management leadership across the Mainframe Decommissioning portfolio, driving governance, stakeholder coordination, dependency management, reporting and execution across technology and business workstreams.

The position will work across Technology, Business Units, Operations, Legal and Compliance to ensure delivery commitments, risks, dependencies and sequencing are actively managed.

The role requires an experienced program manager capable of leading multi-year technology change with significant business and operational dependencies. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team player who communicates clearly and builds strong relationships across a diverse, global team.

This is an opportunity to play a leading role in a high-visibility, multi-year modernization program. You will work closely with senior stakeholders and a global team and help shape how the program is delivered in Japan.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead project and program management across Mainframe Decommissioning workstreams, driving delivery discipline and ensuring commitments and key milestones are met.
• Own program governance, delivery plans, milestones, dependencies and executive reporting.
• Coordinate across Technology, Business Units, Operations, Legal and Compliance to drive delivery and resolve cross-functional dependencies.
• Identify, track and escalate risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies (RAID), including those arising from delivery sequencing, testing capacity and mainframe dependencies.
• Produce concise, executive-ready program status and governance materials, integrating milestones, risks and dependencies across relevant workstreams.
• Lead requirements and implementation working groups and shape sequencing decisions, ensuring proposed solutions and delivery plans are executable within the wider Mainframe Decommissioning roadmap.
• Oversee the end-to-end application retirement lifecycle, including data migration, archiving and records retention, cutover planning, and vendor and contract exit.
• Drive program initiation and resourcing, and own governance documentation.
• Provide effective escalation of delivery issues and dependencies requiring senior stakeholder attention.

Required Experience & Skills

• 8+ years' experience in technology project / program management, ideally within large-scale transformation, modernization or decommissioning programs.
• Strong governance, RAID management, delivery planning and executive reporting capability.
• Ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders across Technology, Business Units, Operations, Legal, Compliance and other control functions.
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills with the ability to translate complex delivery issues into clear actions and decisions.
• Proven track record of delivering complex programs with technology, business and operational dependencies, coordinating multiple workstreams and stakeholders against shared milestones.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-moving, global delivery environment.
• A collaborative team player who works effectively within a diverse, global team across multiple time zones and cultures.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence, build consensus and present clearly to audiences at all levels.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.

Preferred Qualifications

• Recognized project or program management certification (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2, MSP).
• Experience in financial services or another regulated industry, including working with Japan-based regulatory and control requirements.
• Experience with project management tools and delivery methods (e.g. Jira, MS Project, Agile and Waterfall).
• Japanese language skills (business level or above).

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices​ into your browser.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.