Program Manager in Germany
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Meet FRATCH Program Managers in Germany
Felix Bauchspiess
Last position:
Digital Consultant and Solution Manager at Vorwerk SE & Co. KG
Introduction of a new digital product in the Chinese market as part of a global growth strategy.
Connection point and coordinating interface between central product management, local Chinese teams, and international stakeholders.
Management of the full program management to coordinate complex digital projects.
Successful launch of a digital product in China (including successful certification for the Chinese market).
Balancing local requirements with global priorities while taking tax and regulatory conditions into account.
Introduction of a new way of working to improve collaboration and governance across locations.
Development and implementation of a scaling strategy for the digital business model in China.
Use of Jira, Confluence, Miro, Scrum, Agile work, SAFe.
Project language: English.
Marco Steidel
Last position:
IT Interim Manager & Digitalization Consultant at paarprojekt GmbH
- Project management and consulting services with a focus on IT interim management: digitalization of corporate management including processes and applications
- Assessment of the entire IT infrastructure including applications, core processes, and contracts, including cost optimization
- Evaluation and introduction of solutions to promote digitalization in the company in the areas of: property management, CRM, invoice review & approval processes, smart metering, DMS, time tracking
- Digitization of file folders and introduction of SharePoint and Microsoft Teams as the central document & communication platform
- Design and delivery of AI workshops including rollout of AI tools to increase efficiency and transparency in key business processes
- Creation of training materials and delivery of user training for newly introduced digital processes and solutions
Chris Wolf
Last position:
Senior Strategy Advisor, Transformation Lead – program realignment with target picture, governance, and priority steering at Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe | S-Communication Services
In-house consulting provider and driver of transformation within the group, multi-stakeholder environment and C-level.
Realignment and stabilization of a cross-functional transformation and scaling program within the group. Sharpening the target picture, priorities, and set of measures, as well as building reliable governance, planning, and steering structures. Structuring roles, responsibilities, and strategic initiatives while including AI and IT automation ideas.
Designed program realignment and project portfolio management
Developed strategy model and target picture for IT projects
Structured portfolio, roadmap, and priorities
Established governance and regular meetings
Worked out operating model for flagship projects
Assessed AI and automation ideas
Clarified roles and responsibilities
Implemented change measures
Developed, moderated, and evaluated workshops
Transformed 17 initiatives into a steering model
Increased transparency and decision-making ability
Strengthened commitment in steering
Sharpened the operating model structurally
Integrated three top-5 institutes
Involved over 80% of stakeholders
Governance
Portfolio steering (PPM)
Change management
Artificial intelligence
Workflow automation
AI use case assessment
Confluence
Jira
Stakeholder management
Florian Ripper
Last position:
Global Programme Lead, Ecosystem Separation at Merck Group
Electronics – Surface Solutions | Carve-out of IT, data and system landscape*
Separation of a full business division's IT, data and system landscape following divestment; centrally governed investment envelope in the three-digit m€ range
Laboratory notebook and laboratory analytics platform stream: Palantir Foundry, Snowflake, Signals Notebook, Power BI and connected laboratory instrumentation; site transition completed without interruption to laboratory operations
Decision authority and escalation point for business, IT infrastructure, IT security and vendors; separation executed across globally distributed users and systems, handed over on schedule
Franz Bauer
Last position:
Product Development (AI) at Own initiative
AI telephone assistant platform
Claude Code, Google AI Studio, Python, LLM / Voice-AI, PostgreSQL
- Conception and hands-on development of an AI-supported telephone assistant platform (voice AI / LLM) – from idea and architecture to MVP/product.
- Built agentic workflows and full automations with Claude Code and Google AI Studio.
- Also delivered AI-supported work in client engagements: used Claude Code for governance documentation, requirement drafts, and automations.
Luca Beck
Last position:
Founder & CEO at Lube AI
- Develop custom AI agents delivering 90%+ reduction in manual workload and significant efficiency gains
- Provide end-to-end AI strategy consulting: from digital assessment to implementation and change management
- Design and deliver tailored training programs and workshops on AI adoption, prompt engineering, and automation
- Support clients in implementing scalable AI solutions integrated with existing technology stacks
- Focus areas: AI strategy, automation, workflow optimization, and capability building
Alexander Philipp Herbst
Last position:
Software Project Leader for Brake Control Units at ZF Friedrichshafen / ZF Active Safety GmbH
- Project management for software projects in the brake control unit area with a focus on deadlines, costs, and quality.
- Planning, control, and reporting of project progress, risks, dependencies, and work packages.
- Planning and tracking of work packages using PTC Integrity.
- Organizing and moderating customer meetings as well as coordination with internal departments, external suppliers, and third parties.
- Creating and maintaining project documentation according to Automotive SPICE requirements as well as management reporting.
Myrto Papagiannakou
Last position:
UX Lead, Strategist for Property Management Systems at Destination Solutions
- Leading UX for a Property Management System, an all-in-one solution for vacation rental agencies and tourism regions, covering marketing and rental of holiday apartments and houses
- UX audits, conception, and implementation of UX strategy with a focus on regulatory, security, and user-centered requirements
- Advising C-level stakeholders on UX strategy and design best practices
- Planning and conducting research with agencies and property owners
- Design system strategy and definition of UX architecture
Ralf Roßkopf
Last position:
Program and Campaign Management at PAYBACK GmbH
- Project management in the area of "Campaign, Offer and Performance Management Classic" for PAYBACK partners from the retail, FMCG and financial services sectors
- Campaign planning, development and implementation of offer-specific concepts and measures for the channels newsletter, digital advertising (web and app), stand-alone mailings and the print mailing "PAYBACK points overview"
- Coordination with PAYBACK program partners (including American Express, Netto, EDEKA, Marktkauf & Trinkgut), PAYBACK specialist departments and agencies
- Documentation of tasks and processes as well as onboarding of the future role holder
Mirjam Walser
Last position:
AI Trainer / Data Annotator at DataAnnotation, Outlier
- Review and creation of German-language training data for AI models, with a focus on language quality, tone of voice, and suitability for target groups.
- Design of prompts and evaluation frameworks for quality assurance of AI responses.
- Prompt design and creation of AI training content in German and English.
- Language and voice training for AI models in German.
Neil Scholten
Last position:
Program Director & Transformation Architect at Xpertpulse GmbH
- Strategic business development transition: product before customer in <4 months instead of 10
- Strategic business development transition: development cost reduction vs. plan: 40% (-€250K)
- Executive mentor & coach for CEO & CPO: CEO too busy to improve – portfolio, organizational structure, and strategy
- Executive mentor & coach for CEO & CPO: PO→CPO transition for taking full product responsibility for Lohnpulse
- Interim CIO: general contractor vendor scouting / onboarding / handover to CPO
- Interim CIO: transition MVP→operational product by CPO
Julian Hillebrand
Last position:
IT Project Manager AI product for automating knowledge-intensive processes at Leading provider of large-scale catering & food services
Project: Concept and implementation of an AI product for four business use cases
Project management of an AI project at a leading provider of large-scale catering and food services, where a production-ready AI product for four use cases was implemented together with an external development partner: automated briefings from CRM and document data, voice-based capture and structuring of reports, detection and merging of duplicates in master data, and data-based market analysis. A central focus was a privacy-compliant architecture that passed the internal IT security review and enabled productive use.
- Translating business requirements into clearly defined AI use cases with a clear product scope and clear value proposition
- Selecting and evaluating models and architecture options for text extraction, speech-to-text and context enrichment from business systems, including LLM integration, function calling and retrieval
- Designing and enforcing an architecture with European hosting, data minimization and masking of personal data as a prerequisite for approval
- Managing the interfaces between business, IT, IT security and the external development partner under restrictive data access conditions
- Coordinating with CIO and executive management on data access, risk assessment and approval decisions
- Preparing the transition into productive use
Doaa Abdelghafar
Last position:
Technical Program Manager/Agile Coach at Visa
- Drove two cross-functional engineering teams within the SAFe framework to deliver backend and integration solutions for Visa’s Terminal Management and Cybersource Onboarding platforms
- Served as Program Coach for ten teams within the Platform Services organization, advancing Agile maturity, delivery alignment, and a culture of continuous improvement
- Orchestrated Agile ceremonies including Product Manager syncs, metrics reviews, inspect-and-adapt sessions, system demos, and leadership workshops to strengthen transparency, collaboration, and delivery performance
- Championed the rollout of the Re-imagine Work@Visa scaled delivery framework within the Agile Transformation Team, improving collaboration and delivery predictability
- Increased release frequency 18× per quarter by synchronizing distributed teams and developing a comprehensive release guide
- Partnered with the Release Manager to standardize deployments across Visa Data Center, AWS, and Mobile platforms
- Led teams to close all security findings and embed remediation into BAU, achieving zero open issues by mid-2024
- Directed the Security Findings Program across the portfolio, ensuring visibility, accountability, and progress tracking
- Supported the roll out of the OKR framework and led quarterly reviews to align execution with business goals
- Strengthened communication across distributed teams, removed blockers, and advocated for continuous improvement and automation
- Delivered on demand workshops for teams with raising maturity and adoption of best practices
- Co-founded a Center of Excellence and Agile Community of Practice to promote continuous learning and alignment
- Partnered with SRE and InfoSec teams on multi-region rollout and security initiatives to enhance reliability and compliance
Stefan Stallmann
Last position:
Digital & AI Transformation, Agile Culture & Business Management Consultant & Project Manager at Freelance
- Freelance work as a consultant (workshops and coaching for small to midsize companies in the areas of lean startup methodology, digital & AI transformation strategy, agile culture, design thinking)
- AI training & certification
- Project Management
Saša Bošković
Last position:
Programme mentoring and advisory support at Credendo
Retained by the client as external advisory anchor following build-up and handover of the programme. I continued to serve as an external mentor/advisor to the internal programme manager, focusing on
- governance,
- risk and dependency management,
- stakeholder alignment,
- delivery discipline and
- change adoption.
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Program Managers statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
23 years
Position duration
3.2 years
Positions per freelancer
14
Top business areas
Project Management, Information Technology, Operations
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Manufacturing
Certification focus areas
Project Management, Information Technology, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
90%
Master's degree or higher
64%
Doctorate
6%
Certifications per freelancer
4
Most common languages
English, German, French
Speak two or more languages
98%
Based on our profile pool as of 26 Aug 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates for Program Managers in Germany
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 26 Aug 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the role
Steering Complex Business and IT Transformations
A freelance program manager coordinates multiple related projects to achieve strategic business goals. Unlike project managers who focus on individual deliverables, these specialists oversee the bigger picture, aligning cross-functional teams, managing interdependencies, and securing executive stakeholder buy-in. They ensure that resources, budgets, and timelines across the entire portfolio remain on track.
Navigating the German Corporate Landscape
In Germany, large-scale transformations often require navigating complex organizational structures in key sectors like automotive, manufacturing, and logistics. A professional operating in this market must bridge the gap between traditional corporate cultures and agile working methods. While strategic alignment is often conducted in English, fluent German language skills are frequently essential for managing local operations, engineering teams, and works councils.
Core Deliverables of Program Management Experts
Companies bring in external leadership to secure measurable outcomes across the entire program lifecycle. Typical deliverables include:
- Defined program governance models and communication matrices
- Comprehensive risk mitigation plans and dependency maps
- Consolidated budget tracking and resource allocation schemes
- Regular milestone reporting for C-level executives and steering committees
- Change management strategies to drive internal adoption
Why Hire a Freelance Program Director
Enlisting a freelance professional provides immediate, senior-level leadership without long-term commitment. This approach is highly effective for time-critical initiatives such as SAP S/4HANA rollouts, post-merger integrations, or sudden organizational restructurings. These independent consultants bring objective, external perspectives from various industries, enabling them to identify bottlenecks and resolve internal conflicts impartially.
Frequently asked questions
Everything clients usually want to know about Program Managers, in one place.
A project manager focuses on executing a single specific project within defined constraints. In contrast, a program manager oversees a portfolio of interconnected projects to achieve broader strategic objectives. They manage overall dependencies, optimize resources across multiple teams, and align deliverables with the long-term goals of the enterprise.
Look for established certifications such as MSP, PMP, or PgMP alongside a proven track record of leading large-scale initiatives. In Germany, a strong interim program leader must also demonstrate deep familiarity with local corporate structures, works councils, and industry-specific regulations.
While multinational corporations in Munich, Frankfurt, or Berlin often use English as their primary business language, many medium-sized enterprises require bilingual capability. A fluent program manager speaking both German and English can communicate effectively with corporate executives as well as local operational teams on the shop floor.
Most high-level initiatives require a hybrid model where the external program director spends critical phases on-site to build trust, run steering committee meetings, and lead workshops. Routine tracking, reporting, and team syncs are then managed remotely to optimize efficiency.
The demand is particularly high in sectors undergoing rapid digital transformation, such as automotive, manufacturing, financial services, and logistics. An experienced program director is frequently brought in to steer complex supply chain digitizations, cloud migrations, or regulatory compliance frameworks.
To avoid risks related to Scheinselbständigkeit, the contract must clearly define the freelance program manager as an independent consultant rather than an integrated employee. They must retain control over their working hours, use their own tools where possible, and focus on delivering defined strategic outcomes.
Success is measured by the on-time and on-budget delivery of the overall program milestones and the realization of expected business benefits. A top-tier interim program manager leaves behind clear documentation, self-sustaining governance structures, and upskilled internal teams.
A modern portfolio manager utilizes enterprise-level software such as Jira Align, MS Project, Clarity, or Planview to track progress and resource allocation. They also deploy collaborative platforms like Confluence, Miro, and MS Teams to maintain transparent communication across distributed project groups.
The average hourly rate for Program Managers in Germany is 116 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 930 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Program Managers in Germany, 90% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 64% hold at least a Master's degree, and 6% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as Program Managers in Germany have 23 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3.2 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Program Managers in Germany are English (99%), German (98%), and French (32%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Program Managers in Germany are Information Technology (81%), Professional Services (62%), and Manufacturing (48%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Program Managers in Germany are Project Management (98%), Information Technology (86%), and Operations (72%).
FRATCH Program Managers main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
