IT Project Manager - Bank-wide Cutover Management

IT Project Manager, Bank-wide Cutover Management Role Summary We are seeking an experienced IT Project Manager to lead bank-wide cutover planning and execution for complex banking transformation programmes. The role is responsible for developing and governing the end-to-end cutover strategy, coordinating business, operations, technology and vendor teams, and ensuring a controlled transition to production with minimal operational disruption. The successful candidate will lead cutover readiness activities, establish command-centre governance and drive go-live execution across multiple workstreams and banking platforms. Key Responsibilities • Develop and maintain the integrated cutover strategy, cutover runbook, detailed execution plan, governance framework and command-centre operating model. • Define cutover tasks, sequencing, dependencies, resource requirements, checkpoints, entry and exit criteria, contingency plans and rollback procedures. • Coordinate application deployment, data migration, reconciliation, infrastructure, interface, operational and business readiness activities across all workstreams. • Lead cutover readiness assessments, ensuring applications, environments, interfaces, data, operational procedures, support teams and stakeholders are fully prepared for go-live. • Plan and manage cutover rehearsals, dress rehearsals, production mock runs and go-live execution activities. • Establish and lead the Cutover Command Centre, managing war-room operations, issue escalation, decision-making, communications and status reporting during migration and go-live. • Govern go/no-go decisions, production verification, business signoffs and implementation approvals. • Coordinate hypercare activities, operational handover and transition to BAU support following deployment. • Monitor and manage cutover risks, issues, dependencies and critical-path activities, escalating where required to programme leadership. Experience and Qualifications • 10+ years of banking technology delivery experience, including significant experience leading cutover activities for large-scale banking transformation programmes. • Proven experience developing and executing cutover runbooks for complex migrations involving multiple applications, vendors and business units. • Demonstrated experience establishing and operating Cutover Command Centres for large-scale go-live events. • Strong experience in cutover readiness planning, operational readiness assessments, data migration, reconciliation and production verification. • Experience delivering Core Banking, Payments, Treasury, Lending, Trade Finance, Digital Banking, Data or Regulatory Reporting transformation programmes. • Strong understanding of banking operations, transaction processing, settlement, accounting, regulatory reporting and end-of-day processing. • Strong stakeholder management, risk management, executive reporting and programme governance capabilities. • PMP, PRINCE2, Agile or equivalent certification preferred. Key Competencies • Enterprise Cutover Strategy & Governance • Cutover Runbook Development & Execution • Cutover Readiness & Operational Readiness Management • Command Centre / War Room Leadership • Data Migration & Reconciliation Oversight • Release, Deployment & Production Verification • Risk, Issue & Dependency Management • Stakeholder & Vendor Management Ideal Candidate A senior banking IT Project Manager with a proven track record delivering large-scale banking cutovers, capable of developing detailed cutover runbooks, driving organisation-wide readiness, leading command-centre operations and executing complex go-live activities across multiple business and technology domains.