Programme Manager

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced and strategically minded Programme Manager to lead a portfolio of high-impact digital initiatives aligned with the institutes strategic goals. You will play a key role in the delivery of a multi-year digital transformation programme aimed at enhancing the customer experience, improving operational efficiency, and modernising the core IT systems.

This is an exciting opportunity for a delivery-focused professional with excellent stakeholder management skills, proven leadership in complex environments, and a strong understanding of the higher education landscape in the UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, coordination, and delivery of a multi-workstream transformation programme across academic, administrative, and technical domains.
• Ensure programme alignment with institutional strategies and business goals, including digital enablement, teaching and learning innovation, and regulatory compliance.
• Manage a matrixed delivery team comprising project managers, business analysts, technical leads, and third-party vendors.
• Own the programme roadmap, risk register, and governance framework, reporting to the Strategic Programme Board.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership (CIO, PVCs, Deans) and represent the programme at executive steering meetings.
• Implement and champion best practices in programme and project delivery, using a hybrid approach (Agile / PRINCE2).
• Develop strong relationships across faculties, professional services, and external partners to support successful change adoption.
• Monitor and report on benefits realisation and post-implementation reviews.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Proven experience as a Programme Manager leading complex, cross-organisational change in a large institution, ideally within higher education.
• Deep understanding of university governance, academic processes, and sector-specific challenges.
• Strong track record in delivering IT and digital projects (e.g., Student Records Systems, CRM, VLE upgrades, cloud migrations).
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, particularly at senior/executive level.
• Solid financial and resource management experience.
• Relevant qualifications: MSP, PRINCE2, Agile (Scrum, SAFe), or equivalent.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

Desirable:

• Experience with HE sector regulations (e.g., OfS, HESA, GDPR, TEF).
• Familiarity with systems such as SITS, Moodle, Salesforce, or Microsoft Dynamics.
• Experience working in a hybrid or federated university model.