Programme Lead in London

We exist to create positive change for people and the planet. Join us and make a difference too!

Location: UK - Milton Keynes or Covent Garden, London (hybrid)

Type: Permanent, full-time

We are hiring for a Programme Lead to join the Group Change Delivery Team. In this role, you will translate the Sponsor’s vision and strategic objectives into a coherent programme design and delivery plan, and lead the end-to-end delivery of the strategic change programme to achieve the required business outcomes.

The Programme Lead is accountable to the Programme Sponsor and Programme Board for programme delivery within the agreed governance framework, controls, and tolerances. This includes effective control of scope, schedule, cost, quality, risks, issues, dependencies, and benefits realisation.

The Programme Lead provides leadership across cross-functional teams, working closely with workstream leads, project managers, and delivery partners to coordinate delivery across the programme and ensure successful transition into business-as-usual operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic alignment & decision support: Act as a trusted adviser to the Sponsor and Programme Board, providing options, trade-offs, and recommendations to support timely, evidence-based decision-making. Challenge scope, sequencing, and investment decisions to maintain alignment to strategic objectives and the agreed future-state design. Support the Sponsor and Benefits Owners by embedding benefits within programme plans, maintaining benefits-to-deliverables traceability, and aligning tranche/release sequencing to planned benefits realisation.
• Programme Delivery & Integration: Own the end-to-end programme delivery approach and integrated plan, including milestones, dependencies, and cross-programme alignment, coordinating delivery across workstreams and projects. Direct and coordinate internal teams and delivery partners to achieve agreed outputs/outcomes and milestone commitments. Manage third party/partner performance against agreed deliverables and milestones, working with Procurement and other stakeholders on contractual matters as required. Maintain design and architecture governance, escalating material deviations, risks, and trade-offs to the appropriate decision forums. Ensure operational acceptance, cutover, and service transition plans are in place, including hypercare and handover to BAU with clear ownership. Ensure business change activities are fully integrated into programme plans and delivery tranches, including communications, training, and readiness activities. Plan for and respond to internal/external assurance activities, ensuring programme decisions, controls, and evidence are audit-ready.
• Governance, Controls & Reporting: Establish and operate programme governance, controls, and reporting in line with Group standards, ensuring effective change control within delegated tolerances. Manage risks, issues, and dependencies, ensuring mitigations and decisions are implemented and tracked to closure. Provide accurate reporting on progress, finances, dependencies, risks, and delivery confidence to the Programme Board and SteerCo. Accountable for budget management, forecasting, and financial control within agreed tolerances, ensuring transparency of financial position and required decisions.
• Readiness & Decision Points: Prepare the programme for tranche progression and key decision points/stage gates, ensuring readiness criteria and evidence are in place and supporting smooth transition through governance gates.
• Leadership & Capability: Lead and motivate cross-functional programme team, ensuring appropriate capability and capacity across internal teams and partners. Identify and mitigate delivery risks arising from skills gaps, key person dependencies, or resource constraints, ensuring proactive resolution and escalation where required. Coach stakeholders and programme teams to adopt effective delivery disciplines and ways of working that enable successful transformation and outcomes delivery.

To be successful in the role, you will have:

• Programme leadership experience delivering large, complex business transformation programmes end-to-end.
• Proven track record of successful delivery across multiple workstreams, functions, and geographies, including complex dependencies and phased releases/tranches.
• Demonstrable experience translating strategic objectives into coherent programme designs, delivery plans, and investment cases.
• Experience establishing and operating effective programme governance, controls, stage gates, and change control within agreed tolerances.
• Strong experience managing and integrating delivery partners, including commercial performance management and contract/SOW oversight.
• Demonstrable experience leading programme-level financial management, including budget ownership, forecasting, financial control, and investment trade-offs.
• Experience managing complex stakeholder environments with senior-level conflict resolution, negotiation, and decision enablement.

Grow your career and expand your skills and knowledge. At BSI, we offer opportunities to work across industries and across the globe. You’ll benefit from the different perspectives and experiences of your international colleagues, as well as ongoing training and development.

We offer flexible working, as well as 27-days annual leave, paid sick leave, bank holidays, health insurance, life insurance, pension plan with company contribution, car allowance (dependent on role), income protection, paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, paid parental leave, adoption leave, compassionate leave, paid bereavement leave, learning and development opportunities, and a wide range of flexible benefits that you can tailor to suit your lifestyle.

Please note: BSI are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this vacancy.

Together, we are building an organisation that is ready to meet the challenges ahead. Grow your career as you help us shape what comes next. We exist to have a positive impact. Our people influence international thinking and action on important issues. Our 86,000 customers are based in 193 countries across the globe.

Now we’re taking on society’s biggest challenges. We’re developing standards and guidelines that will help our customers get to net zero, and we’re defining the way new technologies such as AI impact all our lives. We’re focused on our future – and we’re looking for people who want to grow with us as we take on the challenges of tomorrow. At BSI, you’ll find a workplace where everyone can flourish and thrive, where innovation is encouraged and where learning is part of your everyday. You’ll contribute to work that shapes industries and enhances lives – and you’ll take pride in what you do.

We’re looking for passionate people who want to make a difference in a purpose-led organisation. Together, we can help create a better society and a more sustainable world.

D&I Policy: BSI is committed to ensuring the diversity of our workforce reflects that of our clients and the communities in which we operate. Our goal is to create a sense of belonging for all employees by providing opportunities to develop, grow, and engage with our global organization all while having fun doing great work. BSI is a community where everyone can thrive.

If you require any reasonable accommodations to be made on account of a disability or impairment throughout our recruiting process, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner.

About Us: BSI is a business improvement and standards company and for over a century BSI has been recognized for having a positive impact on organizations and society, building trust and enhancing lives. Today BSI partners with more than 77,500 clients in 195 countries and engages with a 15,000 strong global community of experts, industry and consumer groups, organizations, and governments. Utilizing its extensive expertise in key industry sectors - including automotive, aerospace, built environment, food and retail, and healthcare - BSI delivers on its purpose by helping its clients fulfil theirs. Living by our core values of Client-Centricity, Agility, and Collaboration, BSI provides organizations with the confidence to grow by partnering with them to tackle society’s critical issues – from climate change to building trust in digital transformation and everything in between - to accelerate progress towards a better society and a sustainable world. BSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.