Project Manager – Offshore Delivery Center (ODC)
SmartSea, formed by industry leaders SITA (aviation) and Columbia Shipmanagement (maritime), leverages aviation-grade technology and expertise to deliver the next wave of maritime digital applications on an innovative unified platform—transforming how shipping companies operate.
We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to oversee SmartSea’s vendor-backed Offshore Delivery Centre (ODC) in Europe. This role sits within the Program and Project Management Office and is responsible for ODC delivery governance, vendor management, commercial control, operational oversight and transfer readiness.
The successful candidate will act as SmartSea’s main interface with the ODC vendor, ensuring commitments, performance, costs, risks, staffing quality, knowledge transfer and long-term ownership and transfer objectives are actively managed. This is a hands-on governance role requiring strong supplier-management, commercial and contractual awareness.
- Acting as SmartSea’s primary point of contact for the ODC vendor, covering mobilization, delivery governance, operational matters, risks, escalations and reporting.
- Leading oversight of ODC setup, ramp-up and stabilization, including planning, onboarding, access readiness, governance cadence and delivery controls.
- Enforcing formal acceptance criteria prior to any transfer decision and rejecting deliverables or milestones where standards are not met.
- Owning the integrated ODC plan across Build, Operate and transfer readiness, ensuring all deliverables are based on objective delivery evidence and quality standards, supported by validated, evidence-based knowledge transfer and free from critical unresolved dependencies.
- Defining and managing the KPI and SLA framework, including targets, thresholds (RAG) and enforcement of corrective action plans.
- Monitoring vendor performance against contractual, commercial and operational commitments, including capacity, staffing quality, service levels, KPIs, productivity and delivery evidence.
- Owning demand vs capacity planning, ensuring vendor staffing, ramp-up, productivity and delivery throughput align with agreed plans.
- Assessing vendor proposals, assumptions and change requests for delivery, financial, contractual, operational and risk impact before SmartSea commits.
- Triggering and coordinating contractual enforcement actions and escalating commercial and delivery risks, including scope creep, unmanaged change, rate deviations, under-delivery, weak knowledge transfer, vendor lock-in and transfer-cost exposure.
- Ensuring changes to scope, staffing, rates, timelines, travel, tooling, facilities, service levels or transfer approach follow formal change control with clear cost, value, risk and contractual assessment.
- Reviewing invoices, timesheets, staffing reports and delivery evidence with Finance, Procurement and functional owners to ensure alignment with approved rates, capacity and contractual terms.
- Coordinating with Engineering, Architecture, QA, Operations, Security, Product and Business stakeholders to ensure delivery meets SmartSea standards, security, compliance and operational-readiness expectations.
- Designing, implementing and running the ODC governance framework, including forums, decision structures, escalation paths and documentation of outcomes.
- Maintaining key control artefacts and leadership reporting, including obligations tracker, RAID log, decision log, change register, dependency register, vendor performance dashboard, progress updates, forecasts and decisions required.
- Ensuring security, compliance and audit readiness, including validation of controls, evidence collection and tracking of remediation actions.
- Ensuring clear alignment with Program /PMO governance, maintaining distinct ownership of vendor governance without duplication or conflict.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 5+ years’ experience in project, delivery, transition, service-delivery, vendor-management or comparable technology-enabled delivery leadership roles.
- Proven experience with external delivery partners, suppliers, offshore/nearshore teams, managed-service providers or ODC-style delivery models.
- Strong delivery-management capability across scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, dependencies, governance, acceptance criteria, release readiness and operational readiness.
- Strong commercial, contractual and financial literacy, including SOWs, MSAs, rate cards, service levels, KPIs, milestones, invoicing, change control, run-rate, burn rate, forecasts, capacity utilization and budget variance.
- Strong vendor-governance judgement, stakeholder-management capability and communication skills, with credibility across business, technology, finance, legal, procurement and supplier stakeholders in Agile, hybrid and international environments.
- Good understanding of service transition, operational acceptance, knowledge transfer, continual improvement, security, data protection, access management, business continuity and third-party risk principles; willingness to travel to Romania as required; relevant certifications such as PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL, SAFe,
- ISO 44001, CIPS, contract management, or vendor-management certifications are advantageous.
SmartSea is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values a diverse, international workforce. We offer:
- Competitive salary and discretionary bonus
- Thirteen salaries
- Pension fund
- Medical insurance
- Flexible hybrid working policy
- Opportunities for professional growth and progression
- A collaborative, high-impact environment at the forefront of maritime digital transformation
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