Program Lead

At Code and Theory, we thrive at the intersection of creativity and technology. We empower brands by driving seamless execution, transformative solutions, and delivering exceptional client experiences. Through a culture of invention, our teams turn ideas into impact—creating innovative, memorable experiences for clients and their audiences.

Code and Theory is looking for a Program Delivery Lead to run the operating engine behind an embedded-team partnership that drives enterprise customer adoption of generative AI tools like Adobe Firefly and Adobe GenStudio.

This role doesn't own an individual client account — it owns the program. You'll be the connective tissue across the whole Engagement Management team: the primary point of contact for our partner’s FDE leadership on program-level matters, the owner of internal operating rhythm and team health

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Set the internal operating rhythm and drive the decisions behind it, leading a weekly full-team sync and a recurring senior-leadership huddle where staffing, performance, and hiring calls get made
• Own the program's voice with the client and with internal leadership, delivering recurring executive readouts in multiple formats, backed by a regular written update and continuous progress tracking
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the client's program leadership on program-level matters, while individual Engagement Managers own their account relationships directly
• Read and adapt to changes in the client's own organization, adjusting the program's engagement model in step with how the partner organization evolves
• Run interference for the team, stepping in directly with the client when requests land unreasonably rather than passing pressure down to individual team members
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and internal leadership to negotiate and close contract renewals, including headcount, fee structure, KPI-based adjustments, and delivery-model scope
• Maintain working fluency in contract mechanics, including redlines, rate structures, and budget tracking, enough to catch issues early and drive documents to signature
• Track program KPIs against target and proactively work with the team to course-correct the moment forecasts show signs of drifting off track
• Partner closely with the recruiting team to shape hiring strategy, screening criteria, and final hiring decisions for the engagement team, leading through influence and credibility rather than a formal reporting relationship
• Act as the primary point of resolution when client leadership raises a performance concern about a team member, balancing the client relationship with fair, considered outcomes for your people
• Own the onboarding curriculum and keep it current as the team and tools evolve, and monitor team capacity and workload proactively
• Maintain the program's core artifacts and a growing library of reusable playbooks and tools, treating documentation and process as a deliverable in their own right

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Background in program/client delivery management, ideally within a staff-augmentation, matrix organization, consulting, or professional-services model
• Comfort owning a portfolio of engagements without running any single one directly
• Demonstrated executive stakeholder management: experience running recurring readouts or steerco-style meetings with senior client-side executives (VP/Director+) and briefing internal C-suite leadership
• Strong, tone-adaptive communication and comfort moving between Engagement Managers, client-side leadership, and internal executives
• Informal leadership that builds cohesion, and the ability to rally a team around shared goals and a common bar for quality, using trust and communication rather than positional authority
• A builder's instinct for process and documentation, comfortable creating and maintaining trackers, onboarding curricula, and playbooks rather than just executing against someone else's
• Ability to synthesize cross-functional information into clear, AI-augmented systems 
• Ability to partner with Legal, Finance, and leadership to negotiate and close SOWs, plan and account for headcount, KPI-based fee adjustments, and delivery-model splits, and track budget burn against the SOW to flag variances early
• Ownership of program KPIs against target, with a track record of proactively working with a team to course-correct when forecasts show signs of drifting off track
• High tolerance for ambiguity and comfort navigating a partner organization that changes its own structure with little notice

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience scaling a distributed team
• A keen eye for identifying expansion opportunities across an account portfolio, spotting where a program can grow and translating that into a clear business case for leadership and the client
• Familiarity with generative AI tools in a creative or marketing context
• Background in agency operations, martech, or enterprise software adoption programs
• Experience partnering with a recruiting or talent team on a live, time-sensitive hiring pipeline

ABOUT US

Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. We pride ourselves on not only solving consumer and business problems, but also helping to establish new capabilities for our clients. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve. We have teams distributed across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Code and Theory global network of agencies is growing and includes Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Current, and TrueLogic.

Striving never to be pigeonholed, we work across every major category: from tech to CPG, financial services to travel & hospitality, government and education to media and publishing. We value the collaboration with our client partners, including but not limited to Adidas, Amazon, Con Edison, Diageo, EY, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lenovo, Marriott, Mars, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and TikTok.

The Code and Theory network is comprised of nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent. We're always on the lookout for smart, driven, and forward-thinking people to join our team.

The compensation range for this role is $150,000 – $200,000 and spans multiple levels. We're open to hiring at the level that best matches the right candidate's experience. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, budget, and location.