The posting
Job Description
The Real Estate Program Manager will lead program-level coordination of Nokia’s lab consolidation and relocation initiatives. The role will bring together Business, R&D IT, Real Estate, Digital Office, Engineering, and local delivery teams to establish clear ownership, integrated plans, and timely decisions across a complex, multi-site portfolio. The position requires strong program governance, communication, risk management, and executive escalation capabilities. It is focused on coordination and delivery leadership, while technical design and infrastructure decisions remain with the appropriate subject-matter specialists.
Responsibilities
Program Planning & Strategy • Lead the development of the lab consolidation and relocation program strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate real estate objectives, business priorities, lab optimization initiatives, and cloudification workstreams. • Establish program governance, scope, workstreams, named owners, decision points, reporting requirements, and a formal handover process before execution begins. • Maintain an integrated program view of site exits, lease and reinstatement dates, lab transitions, move sequencing, dependencies, risks, and required executive decisions. • Coordinate with Business, R&D IT, Real Estate, Digital Office, Engineering, and local delivery teams to define program requirements, priorities, and implementation constraints.
Program Execution & Management • Lead program-level coordination across multiple lab consolidation, relocation, and site-transition projects, ensuring each workstream has a clear plan, accountable owner, and agreed delivery milestones. • Drive follow-up across workstreams, challenge delays or incomplete inputs, and escalate unresolved decisions to senior stakeholders when required. • Coordinate relocation planning with lab optimization and cloudification activities to support operational continuity and efficient sequencing. • Use regional delivery resources and local project teams as required to support execution while maintaining overall program control and consistency. • Route technical judgments concerning lab design, IT, engineering, infrastructure, security, and workplace requirements to the relevant specialists and track decisions through closure.
Risk & Dependency Management • Own the program risk-management workflow, including risk identification, mitigation coordination, escalation, and closure tracking. • Monitor cross-project dependencies affecting business units, leasing, reinstatement, infrastructure, lab readiness, and transition timing. • Identify schedule, operational, cost, and continuity risks early and coordinate corrective actions with the responsible workstream owners. • Maintain transparent escalation paths and ensure material risks and decisions are presented to the appropriate governance forums.
Stakeholder Management & Governance • Serve as the central program coordination point across internal stakeholders, workstream leads, regional delivery teams, and senior business executives. • Facilitate cross-functional collaboration and ensure responsibilities, decisions, assumptions, and handoffs are clearly documented and understood. • Maintain a disciplined governance cadence, including working sessions, decision forums, executive reviews, and action follow-up. • Present program status, risks, dependencies, and decision requirements credibly and concisely to senior stakeholders.
Reporting & Documentation • Provide concise program plans, executive status reports, risk assessments, meeting records, decision logs, and action trackers. • Maintain comprehensive program documentation, including scope, governance, integrated schedules, workstream plans, transition milestones, risks, dependencies, and handover records. • Ensure program information is current, consistent, and suitable for executive decision-making. • Capture lessons learned and delivery insights to improve future lab consolidation and relocation initiatives.
Qualifications
• Experience managing complex programs or projects in a corporate real estate, construction, facilities, technology, engineering, or laboratory environment. • Proven background coordinating multi-site programs with interdependent schedules, workstreams, stakeholders, risks, and executive decision points. • Strong knowledge of program and project governance, integrated planning, schedule management, risk management, change management, and executive reporting. • Demonstrated ability to establish clear ownership, drive action follow-up, challenge incomplete inputs, and escalate issues constructively. • Experience working across business, real estate, IT, engineering, infrastructure, and local delivery organizations. • Strong organizational, communication, stakeholder-management, facilitation, and problem-solving skills. • Ability to maintain a strategic program-level view while tracking detailed dependencies and delivery commitments. • Ability to communicate and present credibly to senior business executives and governance forums. • Working familiarity with corporate real estate, lease events, site exits, reinstatement obligations, relocations, and technically demanding workplace or lab transitions. • Familiarity with project and program management tools used for integrated schedules, risk registers, action tracking, and status reporting.
It would be nice if you also had: • Experience coordinating laboratory consolidation, relocation, optimization, or cloudification programs. • Experience managing transitions involving specialized lab infrastructure, critical IT dependencies, engineering systems, and business-continuity requirements. • PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2, or an equivalent project or program management certification. • Real estate or facilities management credentials, such as CoreNet MCR or IFMA CFM, or relevant engineering, construction, or technology qualifications. • Experience working in a global, matrixed organization with regional and local delivery teams.
About Us
Advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile and transport networks, powered by the innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we’re advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
Learn more about life at Nokia.
Our recruitment process
We act inclusively and respect the uniqueness of people. Our employment decisions are made regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. We are committed to a culture of inclusion built upon our core value of respect.
If you’re interested in this role but don’t meet every listed requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences enrich our teams, and you may be just the right candidate for this or another opportunity.
The length of the recruitment process may vary depending on the specific role's requirements. We strive to ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for all candidates. Discover more about the recruitment process at Nokia.
Some of our benefits in US:
- Corporate Retirement Savings Plan
- Health and dental benefits
- Short-term disability, and long-term disability
- Life insurance, and AD&D – Company paid 2x base pay
- Optional or Supplemental life and AD&D insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
- Paid time off for holidays and Vacation
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Tuition Assistance Plan
- Adoption assistance
- Employee Assistance Program/Work Life Resource Program
The above benefits exclude students.
Disclaimer for US/Canada
Nokia Maintains broad annual base salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience and market conditions, and with consideration to internal peer equity. Check the salary ranges in the job info section for this role.
All North America job posts will post for a minimum of 7 calendar days and up to 180 days or until candidate/s identified.
