Technical Programme Manager in Watford

• We are a leading international critical IoT connectivity expert provider specialising in sectors including Building & Security, Healthcare & Telecare, Infrastructure, Retail & Hospitality, and Transport & Logistics.
• We are a rapidly growing, private equity-backed company with an international presence, operating across the UK, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux, Spain, and North America.
• We have completed 7 acquisitions, with each acquired business adding further expertise and scale to our market-leading propositions.
• We have over 30 years of experience and now operate over 3 million active IoT connections around the world.
• We now have over 270 employees within the Group – and this is growing all the time.
• We are ranked 10th in the 2025 UK’s Best Workplaces™ by Great Place To Work®
• Our high performing team is renowned for delivering leading solutions and services, backed up by world-class customer support across markets that demand nothing less than absolute certainty.
• Our products and solutions have won over 20 awards across a range of industries.

Who Are CSL Looking For?

An experienced and driven technical programme manager who has experience of implementing high-reliability or large-scaled systems. Someone who has not only delivered projects but a portfolio or inter-related deliverables that makes up a programme of works. Someone who has had a few bumps, a few failures and knows from previous experience how to get things back on track.

The Role:

The Technical Programme Manager leads on CSL’s complex portfolio of delivery programmes that support achieving the wider strategies. The role ensures timely delivery of high‑quality technical solutions drawing together product, engineering and partners to achieve the outcomes.

The role holder is responsible for managing the portfolio of deliverables on the prioritised backlog. They are responsible for ensuring statuses are up to date, dependencies are known and conflicts are identified. They highlight when teams are taking longer than originally identified and help to manage risks that will impact deliverables ultimately bringing the complex backlog to life in means that is accessible to all.

This role involves delivering outcomes by applying a range of best-practice programme management principles and approaches working alongside other members of the Engineering Leadership Team and wider Technology Leadership Group. Together, they collaborate and network with colleagues/stakeholders from across the business with a focus on achieving successful and efficient outcomes aligned with broader strategies and delivery commitments, with an emphasis on a learning-based culture.

Key to being successful is being responsible for creating a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment. It is essential to ensure that everyone feels supported to be their authentic self, can grow, develop, and positively contribute to delivering value.

Key Skills & Qualifications Sought:

People

• Accountable for resource alignment of product, engineering and partner teams to the key backlog items and seeking efficient utilisation.
• Builds strong relationships with stakeholders across CSL, including commercial, finance, operations, and wider leadership.
• Communicates programme progress, risks, decisions, and impacts clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Influences backlog prioritisation in partnership with product managers and business stakeholders.
• Reviews quality of backlog items (ideas, epics and stories) thus ensures teams are prepared to deliver when the backlog items are prioritised.
• Facilitates alignment across CSL and external engineering teams and seeks ways to remove delivery blockers.
• Provides leadership that encourages continuous improvement and innovation across teams.

Process

• Ensuring that backlogs are delivered on time, with accurate forecasts and cost management controls. Delivery itself facilitated through Head of Engineering / Engineering Leads across both CSL and external partners.
• Collaborating with Product Managers on understanding and representing the longer‑term roadmap outcomes and measures aligned on business goals.
• Implementing effective delivery methodologies and operate the backlog management tooling used by product and engineering teams (Jira).
• Track and clearly communicate progress against committed roadmaps, plans and budget to all interested and invested parties – tailoring communication as appropriate to ensure relevance to the audience.
• Oversees resource planning, forecasting, and programme‑level governance.
• Creates and owns the roadmap and the programme plan including accountability for representing estimates for backlog items and ensuring a prioritised backlog always exists and is maintained.
• Maintains programme‑level reporting, milestones, and success metrics.
• Manages cross‑product and cross‑engineering dependencies, risks, and issues.
• Ensures compliance with CSL governance, operational standards, and delivery frameworks.
• Drives continuous improvement of delivery processes, workflows, and operational practices.

Technology

• Own the Programme Management toolset, day to day operation, reporting and configuration management.
• Proactively researches relevant technologies, tools, and industry trends to guide CSL’s direction.
• Ensures technical programme deliverables proposed include considerations for reliability, scalability, performance, and security.
• Ensures technical risks, constraints, and dependencies are understood and managed.
• Supports the adoption of modern engineering practices, automation, and tooling.
• Ensures technical considerations are embedded into planning, estimation, and prioritisation.

Ideal Experience and Knowledge Sought:

• Significant experience leading complex technical delivery programmes across multiple products, or services, supported by both CSL engineering and external partner teams.
• Strong understanding of modern engineering architectures and practices (front‑end, back‑end, integration, cloud, APIs), enabling effective challenge, decision‑making, and partnership with engineering leaders.
• Proven track record of shaping, motivating, and guiding high‑performing cross‑functional teams, ensuring clarity of purpose, alignment, and accountability across product and engineering.
• Demonstrable experience engaging, influencing, and managing senior stakeholders across commercial, operational, and technical domains, with the ability to navigate competing priorities and drive consensus.
• Comfortable operating in fast‑moving, ambiguous environments, coordinating delivery across in‑house teams and external partners (on‑shore and off‑shore) to achieve outcomes at pace.
• Familiarity with contemporary delivery methodologies, engineering best practices, and the ability to select and apply the right approach for different contexts and teams.
• Advanced JIRA expertise, including workflow configuration, backlog and dependency management, reporting and dashboards, and driving programme delivery through effective use of agile tooling and governance.
• Good influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to align diverse viewpoints and ensure decisions are grounded in data, risk awareness, and strategic alignment.
• Experience overseeing the design, delivery, and evolution of large‑scale or business‑critical technical solutions, ensuring they meet expectations for scalability, resilience, and long‑term sustainability.

The above should not be viewed as an exhaustive list of skills and/or qualifications but rather CSLs view on the ideal candidate.

CSL operates as an equal opportunities employer and we welcome all applications regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy, or maternity.