Lead Services Program Manager

NiCE Actimize is seeking a commercially sharp, senior-level Lead Services Program Manager to join the Cloud Professional Services team. Despite the individual contributor designation, this is a high-influence role with direct exposure to executive leadership, cross-functional ownership, and a mandate to shape how Actimize scales its AI‑powered financial crime solutions through the partner channel.

Why this role, why now:
Growing our partner delivery ecosystem is one of Actimize's highest‑priority strategic initiatives. This person will define how partners deliver our AI‑powered solutions, enable them to meet our quality bar, and ensure the program scales effectively as more partners are onboarded. The work carries executive visibility and has a direct impact on Actimise's ability to grow through the channel.

• Enable the partner certification program – work with the Education team to ensure the right training content is available for each partner track, and keep course offerings current as the program evolves.
• Own and evolve the Partner Delivery Methodology – maintain the PS delivery framework for AI‑powered financial crime solutions, update RACI and handoff documentation, and incorporate learnings as additional partners enter the program.
• Support active partner delivery engagements – serve as the PS point of contact for partners in the pilot and onboarding phases, resolving delivery issues and feeding lessons learned back into program materials.

• Own the end‑to‑end Professional Services sales motion for the Essentials product line, from opportunity qualification through contract execution.
• Develop, negotiate, and finalize Statements of Work (SOWs), project estimates, and service proposals in collaboration with sales, legal, and delivery teams.
• Serve as the PS subject matter expert in pre‑sales conversations – scoping engagements, defining delivery models, and setting client expectations.
• Partner with Account Executives to ensure PS is positioned early and consistently in the Essentials sales cycle.
• Maintain pipeline visibility; track bookings, forecasts, and conversion rates.
• Continuously refine SOW templates, pricing models, and scoping methodologies.

• Act as Program Manager for one or two high‑priority internal initiatives as assigned by senior leadership.
• Define scope, milestones, resource plans, risk registers, and escalation paths.
• Drive cross‑functional alignment and communicate program status proactively to executive sponsors.

• 7+ years in professional services or implementation roles delivering financial crime compliance solutions (AML, fraud, transaction monitoring, or similar platforms). Hands‑on Actimise implementation experience is a strong advantage.
• Comfort working with AI/ML‑based products and communicating their value and delivery requirements to both technical and business audiences.
• Demonstrated experience authoring and negotiating SOWs, MSAs, and professional services agreements.
• Strong program management fundamentals – structured, disciplined, able to manage multiple concurrent work streams.
• Commercially minded: understands PS margin, pipeline health, and how services revenue connects to business outcomes.
• Outstanding presentation and communication skills – written, verbal, and visual. Able to command a room and influence decisions at C‑level.
• BA/BSc in a relevant field required. Fluent spoken and written English.

• Experience with partner program design, channel enablement, or partner delivery coordination.
• Familiarity with AI/ML‑based solution delivery – understanding model lifecycle, data dependencies, or analytics‑driven implementations.
• Familiarity with cloud‑delivered and SaaS hybrid delivery models.
• Prior experience working with or enabling global system integrators or advisory partners.

• Self‑starter who takes ownership and runs with it – comfortable picking up ambiguous problems, forming a point of view, and driving forward without waiting to be told how.
• Fast learner with genuine curiosity – energized by new domains, willing to experiment, and…