Senior Technical Project Manager, 6-Month Contract in Manchester

hackajob is collaborating with Vanguard to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

The Senior Technical Project Manager is accountable for the end-to-end delivery of complex, cross-team technical initiatives, from early discovery through to implementation. The role ensures clear planning and project management, strong governance, effective vendor management, and predictable outcomes across multiple product teams and third-party partners. Operating in a matrix environment, the Senior Technical Project Manager provides leadership across technology, product, vendor and business stakeholders to ensure initiatives are delivered on time, within constraints, and aligned to strategic objectives. This role is available on a 6-month basis with the potential to extend.

Key Accountabilities

• Initiative Ownership & Delivery
  • Own one or more complex technical initiatives from high-level discovery through to implementation, providing clear end-to-end accountability.
  • Translate strategic intent and discovery outcomes into a coherent technical delivery approach, plan and governance model.
  • Maintain responsibility for delivery timelines, risks, issues, dependencies and change control across the full lifecycle.
  • Track and report progress, risks and outcomes to senior stakeholders, ensuring transparency and effective decision-making.
• Governance & Control
  • Establish and run governance appropriate to the scale, complexity and risk profile of each initiative.
  • Ensure adherence to relevant technology, security, architectural and delivery governance standards.
  • Proactively identify and manage delivery risks and dependencies, escalating where required with clear recommendations.
• Stakeholder & Matrix Leadership
  • Lead and influence senior technology, product and business stakeholders without direct line management authority.
  • Coordinate work across multiple internal product delivery teams to achieve aligned outcomes.
  • Act as a single point of accountability for technical delivery, fostering clarity of roles, responsibilities and decisions.
• Vendor & Commercial Management
  • Lead vendor engagement across the full lifecycle, including discovery, onboarding, delivery, assurance and closure.
  • Support commercial activities including RFPs, vendor selection, contract mobilisation and performance management.
  • Manage vendor dependencies, risks and delivery commitments to ensure integrated delivery outcomes.
• Outcome & Value Focus
  • Maintain a clear focus on outcomes and benefits, ensuring technical delivery remains aligned to agreed objectives.
  • Support effective transition into live service and operational ownership where applicable.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement of delivery practices, governance and ways of working.

What It Takes

• Strategic Planning – able to structure complex initiatives, shape delivery approaches and plan across horizons.
• Senior Stakeholder Management & Influence – confident engaging and influencing at senior levels.
• Commercial Acumen & Vendor / RFP Management – experienced in working with third-party suppliers and commercial processes.
• Risk, Issue & Change Control – disciplined approach to delivery control and decision enablement.
• Dependency & Systems Thinking – strong ability to manage interdependencies across teams, systems and vendors.
• Communication & Executive Storytelling – clear, concise communication tailored to senior and executive audiences.
• Matrix Leadership – effective leadership without direct authority in complex organisational structures.
• Outcome & Benefits Focus – drives delivery with a clear line of sight to value and outcome.

Experience & Background

• Significant experience leading complex technology initiatives in large, distributed organisations.
• Proven track record managing cross-team and multi-vendor technical delivery.
• Strong understanding of technology delivery lifecycles, governance, and risk management.
• Experience operating in environments with hybrid delivery models (e.g. agile, incremental, phased).

Special Factors

• Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.
• This is a hybrid position and would require you to work in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday).

Why Vanguard?

Vanguard is a different kind of investment company. It was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage its funds solely in the interests of its clients. This is a philosophy that has helped millions of people around the world to achieve their goals with low-cost, uncomplicated investments. It’s what we stand for: value to investors.

Inclusion Statement

Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.” We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values. When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.