programme director recruitment agency and headhunters
your next programme director, in good hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to identify the headhunter most relevant to your role, from a first multi-project programme to running an industrial portfolio.
- no setup fees, pay on hire
- guaranteed replacement
- hire signed in under 26 days
they hire their programme directors with muzzo
how do you hire a programme director through a recruitment agency?
A good programme director runs several projects tied to one goal, with an integrated budget and schedule. Muzzo gives your role to the headhunters who hire the most on this profile: they check a portfolio genuinely run, not a single project. You set the fee, 5 to 30%, paid on hire. Leaves within 3 months: we restart free.
how it works
you only pay if you hire
01
you describe the role
Using the form above: the role, your company, your project portfolio. We scope the rest on the first call with the Muzzo team.
02
our data picks the headhunters
Our AI selects those who have placed the most programme directors, among more than 2,500 vetted headhunters.
03
you meet the best profiles
Approached and qualified by headhunters who specialise in programme delivery. You choose who you see.
04
you hire, then you pay
Not before. If your hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search free.
they hired with muzzo
Muzzo's strength is the diversity of its recruiters: there is always someone listening to our needs.
With Muzzo, I get the reactivity of a marketplace and the quality of a search firm.
let's talk through your hire
Antoine and the Muzzo team help you scope your role and pick the right headhunters. Describe your role in the form: we'll call you back to talk it through.
Antoine GigomasCEO and co-founder of Muzzo
one more question?
With Muzzo, you set the fee, between 5 and 30%, and only pay it on hire. An IT programme director running three projects and an industrial programme director running a portfolio of ten don't call for the same search: the Muzzo team helps you set the right level.
You get a double guarantee. If your hire leaves within 3 months, for instance because the portfolio's real scope didn't match what was announced, we restart the search free. If no replacement is found within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fee. 94% of Muzzo hires are still in post after 3 months.
our programme delivery headhunters are ready to start
A hire signed in under 26 days, paid only on hire.
the reality
a programme director is judged on their portfolio, not on their CV
a programme isn't just a big project
Several project managers work within it, with milestones, budgets and risks that intertwine. The headhunter checks that a candidate has already arbitrated across several projects, not just delivered their own.
governance matters as much as method
A programme director answers to a steering committee, not a single sponsor. The headhunter checks experience reporting at that level, not just certifications listed on a CV.
a scoping mistake spreads across the whole portfolio
A badly built integrated schedule delays several projects at once, not just one. The headhunter checks programmes already delivered on time and on budget.
the roles
the programme director profiles our headhunters will source for you
From an IT programme to an industrial or defence one, each role goes to a headhunter who has already placed this profile.
IT programme director
They run several IT transformation or migration projects, working with the project managers who deliver them day to day.
industrial programme director
They coordinate the projects tied to a product or production line launch, across engineering, procurement and production.
senior programme management officer (PMO)
They build a programme's governance: method, reporting, metrics, before handing over to its leadership.
defence or aerospace programme director
They run long, regulated programmes, with specific security and traceability requirements for the sector.
project portfolio manager
They arbitrate priorities across several programmes, for a leadership team or an investment committee.
the method
a headhunter who specialises in programme delivery, not an agency that does everything
The title of programme director covers very different sectors. The method starts from what the portfolio must deliver.
we scope the portfolio and its governance
Number of linked projects, programme budget, which committee the role reports to: the brief describes the portfolio, not the job title.
a headhunter who places programme directors
Among more than 2,500 vetted headhunters, your role goes to those who place the most programme directors in your sector.
delivered programmes checked up front
Number of projects run in parallel, budget held, milestones met: the headhunter checks all of it with references before introducing anyone.
the figures
programme director pay in figures
€63k
median gross annual pay for managers in the Apec IT project management job family (which also covers project management officers and IT project directors) in the Paris region (80% between €45k and €87k), against €52k elsewhere in France
€60k
median pay for managers in that same job family when the role owns its own budget (80% between €43k and €88k), against €55k with no budget to manage
€63k
median pay for managers in that same job family in industry (80% between €47k and €88k), against €55k in IT activities
hiring a programme director: what you need to know
A programme director answers for several projects at once, with interdependencies a single project manager never faces. Many CVs show the title without ever having actually arbitrated across several workstreams in parallel.
A programme delivery headhunter makes that distinction: they ask how many projects the candidate ran at the same time, with what combined budget, and to which committee they reported.
A project manager delivers one defined piece of work, with a set scope and a dedicated team. A programme director coordinates several of these projects tied to a common goal, with an integrated schedule and budget. A transformation director carries an even broader mandate, often organisational or cultural, reporting directly to the executive team.
State in the brief how many projects are involved and how they relate to each other: that determines whether the role is a senior project manager, a programme director or a transformation mandate.
An IT programme is run with scaled agile methods and velocity metrics. An industrial or defence programme adds regulatory constraints, longer cycles and strict traceability requirements.
Our headhunters place programme directors across all three worlds. Each role goes to someone who has already run that type of programme, with a brief that states the sector and the level of regulation involved.
A good programme director knows how to report to a steering committee without drowning decision-makers in operational detail. They also know how to arbitrate between two projects competing for the same budget, a situation a single project manager never faces.
The headhunter asks for concrete examples of decisions made and committees chaired, not a list of certifications. It's this governance skill, more than the method on paper, that sets the good profiles apart.
your questions on hiring a programme director
According to Apec, managers in the IT project management job family (which also covers IT project directors) earn €63k gross median per year in the Paris region, against €52k elsewhere in France. Pay also reaches €63k in industry, against €55k in IT activities (2025 edition).
According to Apec, managers in that same job family who own their own budget earn €60k median, against €55k without that responsibility. For a multi-project programme, a budget already managed sharply reduces the risk of a scoping mistake.
A senior project manager, however experienced, still answers for a single workstream. A programme director coordinates several linked projects, with a shared budget and schedule. If your need spans several dependent workstreams, start with a programme director.
The headhunter asks for the number of projects run in parallel, the combined budget, and which committee the candidate reported to, then checks it all with references. You meet profiles whose portfolio experience is verified, not just claimed.
Yes. These sectors add regulatory constraints and longer cycles than a typical IT programme. We choose headhunters based on your sector, for a profile already used to this level of rigour.
by Antoine Gigomas, CEO and co-founder of Muzzo ·
