Senior Project Turnaround Manager (Freelance, Hybrid)

For a complex and business-critical transformation project, we are looking for an experienced Senior Project Turnaround Manager on a freelance basis.

The role is intended to provide hands-on support during an intensive project stabilisation and recovery phase. This is not a purely advisory or moderating assignment. The Project Recovery Manager will actively develop, document and implement the structures required to stabilise the project.

The primary focus will be on establishing effective project governance, clarifying roles and responsibilities, resolving existing organisational ambiguities and defining a reliable collaboration model between the involved internal and external parties.

The Project Recovery Manager will work closely with the Senior IT Project Manager, the PMO, the Solution Architect and the responsible stakeholders.

Key Facts / Framework Conditions

• Contract type: Freelance assignment
• Start: As soon as possible
• Initial duration: At least six weeks
• Extension: Possible depending on project status and recovery progress
• Workload: 100%
• Working model: Hybrid
• Onsite presence: Regular/weekly onsite presence will be required during the recovery and stabilisation phase
• Languages: Fluent German and English are mandatory
• Location requirement: Only candidates based in the EU can be considered for this assignment.

Tasks

• Conduct a structured assessment of the current project organisation, governance and delivery setup
• Identify organisational gaps, unclear responsibilities, ineffective decision paths and critical dependencies
• Develop and implement an effective project governance model
• Clarify project roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
• Review existing RACI models and resolve overlaps, gaps and ambiguities
• Document agreed roles, responsibilities and decision-making authorities
• Define clear decision-making and escalation processes
• Establish an effective collaboration model between internal teams, external partners and other involved parties
• Clarify interfaces and responsibilities between the different project organisations
• Define and document project meeting structures, governance bodies and reporting requirements
• Prepare and facilitate focused recovery workshops
• Translate workshop outcomes into concrete structures, decisions, actions and deliverables
• Develop a structured recovery plan with clear priorities, owners, milestones and target dates
• Support the resolution of critical organisational and delivery-related issues
• Challenge existing assumptions, structures and ways of working where necessary
• Ensure that agreed recovery measures are implemented and embedded in the project organisation
• Track the effectiveness and progress of recovery activities
• Support the assessment of project feasibility and go-live readiness
• Prepare a structured handover of established governance and recovery mechanisms to the Senior IT Project Manager and PMO

Requirements

• Several years of experience in leading project recovery, project turnaround or the stabilisation of complex transformation programmes
• Proven hands-on experience in designing and implementing project governance structures
• Strong experience in clarifying and documenting roles, responsibilities and decision-making authorities
• Practical experience in reviewing, redesigning and implementing RACI models
• Experience in defining collaboration and delivery models across internal teams and external partners
• Ability to assess critical project situations, identify structural weaknesses and develop executable recovery measures
• Strong workshop facilitation skills combined with the ability to translate outcomes into concrete structures, documentation and actions
• Excellent stakeholder, conflict-management and escalation capabilities
• Confidence in challenging existing structures, assumptions and ways of working
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills combined with a pragmatic implementation approach
• Ability to work independently and deliver tangible results within a short and intensive assignment period
• Fluent German and English

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