Customer Onboarding (Programme) Manager

Ciphr has created a brand new opportunity for a Customer Onboarding Manager to own the successful delivery of Ciphr’s largest and most complex customer implementations and onboarding journeys. Your primary goal is to lead the end-to-end project delivery for our strategic customers, owning delivery of commercial outcomes through on-time, in-budget execution and effective scope and change control, executive stakeholder relationships, and successful go-live across multi-product, multi-workstream product implementations.

At Ciphr, our priority is ensuring that the work we do adds value to our customers while also working in a way that allows the Ciphr team to feel valued in their roles. We want to give you the opportunity to embrace your role with Ciphr, and in return, we can offer you an open and friendly work environment where your input and ideas are welcomed. Flexibility is key, so this role can be based anywhere within the UK if you are happy to attend ad hoc meetings. We also have an office in Reading, Berkshire that all Ciphr employees are welcome to utilise.

Location: This role offers a flexible working pattern, collaborating in our Reading office approximately twice a month.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of complex, multi-phase and multi-product implementations spanning multiple Ciphr products, building robust project plans that reflect commercial commitments and customer outcomes.
• Lead matrixed delivery teams across consulting, technical, integration, data migration and partner workstreams, ensuring all parties are clear on their responsibilities, dependencies and timelines.
• Build and maintain executive-level customer relationships, acting as the primary point of accountability for HR Directors, CHROs, CFOs, CIOs and steering committee members.
• Own the financial health of the project, including revenue recognition, scope and change control, margin protection and accurate forecasting throughout the lifecycle.
• Proactively identify and manage risks, issues and dependencies across all workstreams; lead steering committees, executive reviews and customer escalations.

What good looks like:

• Consistently high customer satisfaction (CSAT/NPS) scores from enterprise customers, with quotable references generated.
• Project milestones and revenue recognition targets achieved or exceeded across the lifecycle.
• All projects maintained at a “Green” status throughout the lifecycle, with health managed to a high standard regardless of complexity.
• Full evidence provided that all deliverables and go-live criteria have been met, with formal customer sign-off at every gate.
• Seamless transition into business as usual with minimal post-go-live escalations.
• Deliver projects within approved scope, effort, and budget to achieve target financial performance.

What you’ll need to succeed:

• Proven experience (around 5+ years) leading complex, customer-facing HCM, payroll or HR technology implementations in enterprise environments.
• Recognised qualification (PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP, MSP, APM PMQ or equivalent) and fluent across waterfall, agile and hybrid delivery approaches.
• Credible at executive level, with strong commercial acumen, budget ownership and the gravitas to chair steering committees and lead difficult conversations.
• Calm under pressure, highly analytical, and able to lead the recovery of challenged programmes.

What we offer you:

• 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Family National Trust Membership.
• Birthday day off.
• Religious holiday swap.
• Family forming support - e.g., time off for family forming appointments or to support your partner.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
• Work from Anywhere for 4 weeks per year.
• Volunteering days for 2 days per year.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Pension.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Technology/home improvements loans.
• Perks at Work – access to exclusive discounts, cinema tickets, etc.
• Regular training.
• £1,500 employee referral scheme.
• Medical Cover and Dental cover (after 6 months’ service).
• Income Protection insurance (after 12 months’ service).

About Ciphr: Ciphr is a leading UK-based provider of integrated HR, payroll, learning and recruitment solutions. Ciphr’s integrated HCM platform helps organisations manage their end-to-end employee lifecycle so they can deliver an amazing employee experience. With Ciphr, organisations can be confident they can access all their people data in one place, thanks to secure, time-saving integrations between our own solutions and API connections to specialist, third-party tools. We're all about people at Ciphr. Our values are trust, service excellence, authenticity, and accountability. We want you to bring your authentic self to work, giving you the space to be yourself whether that is creative, outgoing, quiet, courageous, observant or any other attributes you may have. Ciphr welcomes all kinds of people to the team and would love you to come and join us!