Program Manager Japan

Job description

About RELEX RELEX Solutions is a global, AI-driven supply chain planning company with Nordic roots, providing retail optimization software that delivers radically improved demand forecasting and supply chain optimization. That foundation is leveraged into further benefits across store space, allocation, workforce, pricing and promotions — all within one unified platform. Retailers and manufacturers use it to increase product availability, reduce waste, and drive profitable growth. With over 2,000 professionals worldwide and offices across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, RELEX is trusted by leading brands including NTUC FairPrice, Estée Lauder, DFS, and Coles Supermarkets and Liquor. We're a collaborative, people-first company that believes in innovation and continuous improvement, and we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive environment for all employees. About the Role Program Directors guide a portfolio of complex implementation projects in a Project Owner role, spanning multiple functional areas within the Japan market — some delivered by partners under Program Director oversight. As Project Owner, they are the senior project leader responsible for guiding the project team, managing stakeholder relationships, and ensuring the project delivers value — both for the customer and for RELEX’s profitability. They set a clear vision, make strategic decisions, manage risks, and serve as the key escalation point throughout the project lifecycle. They hold clear ownership of the Japan market and are accountable for how that ownership contributes to the region’s overall KPIs, including forecasted revenue and cost of revenue (CoR). They assist in selecting project team members from internal and partner resources, coach other team members, and contribute to global development. They understand the key processes supported by RELEX products and value drivers well enough to oversee implementations across all product areas — guiding and challenging customer stakeholders and building relationships to C-level to align decisions with value-driven priorities. They also participate in the services sales process, scoping and estimating opportunities, contributing to or owning Statements of Work, and working with the pursuit team to craft commercially viable, risk-managed offerings, including via partners. What You'll Do Project Ownership & Delivery Steer project management activities and ensure a professional project management approach across ongoing projects in different functional areas Actively support and mentor others in all hard project management skill areas Plan and execute change confidently, even in complex, multi-stakeholder projects Apply expert understanding of project management methodologies (agile, waterfall) Financial Accountability Own the financial performance of complex projects and programs, and turn results to agreed target Apply expert understanding of internal financial processes linked to Project Delivery, promoting compliance with internal processes and deadlines Present and negotiate on a project’s financials with customer C-level stakeholders Be accountable for financials on selected projects and programs Work with the regional leadership team to analyse key themes across projects and drive improvement opportunities through to resolution Sales & Commercial Support Support the closure of sales cases through commercial discussions on professional services Meet with senior customer stakeholders to build their confidence in the RELEX delivery lead and delivery team Review the content of Statements of Work to ensure an appropriate plan, assumptions, scope and customer obligations Product, Industry & Best-Practice Expertise Apply expert understanding of RELEX Software, customer use cases and implementation approaches across different functional areas* Use industry experience and customer ad