Senior Programme Manager - Corporate Affairs

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of over 20,000 employees spanning more than 100 countries.

We are moving from strength to strength, expanding our global reach and growing both organically and through strategic, high-quality mergers and acquisitions. By bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, we are enhancing our unique culture and values, whilst continuing to expand our capability to innovate and deliver exceptional solutions for our clients.

The Role

Lead the Corporate Affairs (CA) technology and digital transformation workstream as the immediate priority, while also supporting operations priorities and delivering agreed work. The technology part of the role focuses on coordinating activity across multiple workstreams, rather than directly implementing solutions. You will work with functional leads (Brand, Content, Comms, Research, Sponsorship, etc.), who are responsible for delivering their respective tools and platforms, as well as other departments such as Procurement and Technology.

What you’ll be doing

• Working in conjunction with the Head of Collaboration and Client Services, IT, Data and AI leads, Corporate Affairs and Marcomms heads, and project sponsors to be defined.
• Leading the CA tech stack transformation programme, including business cases, scoping, requirements definition, vendor assessment/selection, and implementation oversight.
• Reviewing existing tools and defining what should be retired and what enterprise-wide applications are required for the CA/Marcomms community.
• Shaping clear objectives and designing a roadmap from now to 2030 and beyond, including detailed workstreams, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms.
• Using AI to redesign and improve existing workflows.
• Writing briefs and managing the RFP process for technology consultancy support, gathering requirements from IT, Marcomms and CA.
• Working alongside Enterprise Architecture/IT applications teams to ensure all technology meets business standards, and ensuring alignment with the Client and Collaboration team for integration into wider applications.
• Developing the CA AI strategy in partnership with Data and the Director of AI Productivity to ensure alignment with business ambition and AI roadmap; coordinating AI tool adoption across the function.
• Designing digital workflows for CA service delivery, including user journeys, tool interfaces and access routes.
• Owning all reporting for the programme.
• Working with functional leads to ensure each team owns implementation for tools within their remit (e.g. Brand for DAM, Content/Comms for listening tools, Sponsorship for sponsorship platform).
• Tracking dependencies, risks and issues across all technology workstreams.
• Establishing programme governance and providing regular progress reporting.
• Considering both CA team requirements and those of wider global marcomms teams.
• Developing SLAs and supporting operationalisation for new Shared Services and Centre of Excellence structures.
• Supporting the Head of Operations & Performance with strategic projects and CA transformation coordination, including centralising reporting across the team.
• Supporting development of a KPI framework for planning and performance management.
• Providing capacity relief during peak Operational Level delivery (Q1–Q2 2026).
• Supporting operational process documentation for IPO readiness.

Who we’re looking for

• Proven programme management experience in sophisticated, multi-stakeholder transformation environments.
• Experience managing technology-enabled change (coordination rather than deep technical delivery).
• Strong AI fluency in a business context.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous environments with evolving requirements.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across senior leadership and functional teams.
• Experience developing business cases, RFPs and vendor selection processes.
• Financial services or insurance sector exposure.
• Chief of staff or senior operations experience.
• Experience with martech, DAM or wider marketing technology transformation.
• Experience working with management consultancies on transformation delivery.
• Highly organised with strong programme governance discipline.
• Pragmatic problem-solver able to navigate complexity without losing momentum.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable with data and analytics (will work closely with future Operations Analyst role).
• Collaborative approach that coordinates functional leads.
• Resilient under pressure and able to manage competing priorities.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new.
• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges.
• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden ‘personality type’. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new.
• We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges.
• We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond.

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect – regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

Reasonable adjustments

We’re committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours or hybrid working.

If you’re excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

Our sustainability promise

We’re on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It’s a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world.