Senior Programme Manager in Milton Keynes

A little bit about us: East West Rail is one of the UK’s most significant infrastructure projects, a new railway connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. The communities along this corridor contribute around £111 billion to the national economy each year, and EWR has the potential to unlock a further £78 billion, supporting new homes, new towns, and regeneration across the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor. Committed to in full in the Autumn 2024 Budget and the 2025 Spending Review, this is a programme with Government backing, long-term funding certainty, and real national significance. Work is under way, and the pace is building.

Role Summary: This is a senior leadership role at the heart of EWR’s delivery function, working directly alongside the Deputy Delivery Executive Director to keep one of the UK’s most watched infrastructure programmes on track. The Senior Programme Manager acts as a trusted troubleshooter and strategic adviser, stepping into complex, cross-functional challenges, driving delivery readiness, and ensuring that the conditions for safe and efficient construction are in place before work begins on site. The Delivery function at EWR Co is accountable for delivering an asset that meets Sponsor requirements, establishing a safe, reliable, and integrated railway. It operates as an intelligent, integrated team, drawing on a network of strategic suppliers and requiring the kind of senior judgement that comes from having delivered major infrastructure before. The role carries real authority. You will represent the Deputy Executive Director at executive, management, and Board level meetings, provide senior quality assurance of programme documentation and business papers, and lead on recovery actions when issues arise. At the same time, this is a role that requires genuine collaborative instinct: the ability to bring multidisciplinary teams together, deepen stakeholder relationships, and drive a culture where safety and delivery excellence are inseparable.

Key Responsibilities: What you will do:

• Support the Delivery Executive Director and Deputy in resolving key delivery issues, acting as a senior troubleshooter for complex, unexpected, and cross-functional challenges.
• Provide strategic delivery oversight across the function, applying lessons from major project experience to set the programme up for success.
• Represent the Deputy Executive Delivery Director at executive, management, and Board level meetings as required.
• Respond to executive requests and represent EWR Co at stakeholder events.
• Lead cross-functional delivery readiness, with particular focus on integration across disciplines, resourcing, and establishing the conditions for a safe and efficient start on site.
• Support baseline management across the delivery team, ensuring that scope, schedule, and cost plans are aligned and delivering the required outcomes.
• Support governance development, strengthening the effectiveness of meetings to drive decisions, assurance, and accountability.
• Provide visible safety leadership, actively shaping a culture where safety is a core organisational value.
• Support delivery teams in identifying and mitigating risks, leading recovery actions where needed, and escalating issues to the executive in a timely manner.
• Provide senior-level quality assurance of business papers, presentations, and programme documentation.
• Support the executive team in deepening relationships with key strategic stakeholders, including senior officials in Government and industry.
• Help maintain employee engagement, communication, recognition, and wellbeing across the function.
• Model EWR Co’s values and ways of working, and support others to do the same.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise: What we are looking for:

This is a role for someone who has operated at senior level on major infrastructure and knows what good programme delivery looks like from the inside. You will be comfortable working at pace, comfortable with ambiguity, and trusted by peers and executives alike.

Essential:

• Substantial experience managing and delivering complex infrastructure investment schemes across the full project lifecycle.
• A strong record of senior leadership in matrixed, cross-functional environments, with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Proven ability to engage effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, translating complex technical and programme issues into clear strategic narratives for different audiences.
• Excellent communication, relationship management, and presentation skills, with the ability to make complex issues clear to a wide range of audiences.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure delivery, design integration, and schedule and cost assurance.
• Sound judgement in high-pressure environments, with experience of identifying, resolving, and escalating risks and issues effectively.

Desirable:

• Experience engaging with senior Government officials, industry leaders, or boards.

Benefits: What you will get:

• Salary - Competitive, reflecting your skills and experience
• Pension - Up to 12% employer contribution
• Annual leave - 36 days (including bank holidays), plus option to buy 2 more
• Family policies - Enhanced family-friendly policies to support you and your loved ones
• Volunteering - 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Life assurance - 4x annual salary
• Wellbeing - Employee Assistance Programme and access to Perkbox discounts
• Recognition - On-the-spot and annual awards programme
• Development - Advanced learning and growth opportunities