Programme Delivery Excellence Director in London

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) is more than a diversified global financial markets infrastructure and data business. We are dedicated, open-access partners with a dedication to excellence in delivering the services our customers expect from us. With extensive experience, deep knowledge and worldwide presence across financial markets, we enable businesses and economies around the world to fund innovation, manage risk and create jobs. It’s how we’ve contributed to supporting the financial stability and growth of communities and economies globally for more than 300 years. Through a comprehensive suite of trusted financial market infrastructure services – and our open-access model – we provide the flexibility, stability and trust that enable our customers to pursue their ambitions with confidence and clarity.

LSEG is headquartered in the United Kingdom, with significant operations in 65 countries across EMEA, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. We employ 25,000 people globally, more than half located in Asia Pacific.

People are at the heart of what we do and drive the success of our business. Our values of Integrity, Partnership, Excellence and Change shape how we think, how we do things and how we help our people fulfil their potential. We embrace diversity and actively seek to attract individuals with unique backgrounds and perspectives. We break down barriers and encourage teamwork, enabling innovation and rapid development of solutions that make a difference. Our workplace generates an enriching and rewarding experience for our people and customers alike. Our vision is to build an inclusive culture in which everyone feels encouraged to fulfil their potential.

We know that real personal growth cannot be achieved by simply climbing a career ladder – which is why we encourage and enable a wealth of avenues and interesting opportunities for everyone to broaden and deepen their skills and expertise. As a global organisation spanning 65 countries and one rooted in a culture of growth, opportunity, diversity and innovation, LSEG is a place where everyone can grow, develop and fulfil your potential with meaningful careers.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategically minded Programme Delivery Excellence Director to join our Delivery Assurance team. Reporting to the Head of Delivery Assurance, this role will be pivotal in raising change delivery performance across LSEG’s most significant strategic initiatives. The role holder will lead independent, risk-based assurance and targeted delivery interventions on complex business, technology and data-enabled transformation programmes. Working with executive sponsors, Programme Directors, business and technology leaders, and governance boards, they will identify emerging delivery risk, assess the credibility of programme plans and provide clear recommendations that improve delivery confidence, pace, quality and resilience.

You will bring industry-leading expertise in the delivery, assurance and recovery of major programmes in Financial Services, together with a strong track record of change leadership across complex organisations and multi-party ecosystems. A strategic mind and focus on business outcomes are essential, as is the curiosity and diagnostic depth to understand what may be going wrong and how to set programmes up for success. You will not be starting from scratch. LSEG’s Purpose and Values explicitly include Transformation and Change. An established toolset based on Clarity, Asana and Jira, Group Delivery Disciplines (GDDs), an Enterprise Risk Framework with explicit focus on Transformation Risk, and well-established Investment Governance practices are in place. Delivery Assurance sits within a Performance Office alongside Tooling Strategy, Data and Operational Excellence functions. Together, we have the group-wide mandate to drive continuous improvement across the change portfolio.

The role combines strategic oversight, hands-on consulting and programme assurance with leadership of thematic improvement initiatives across LSEG’s Divisions and functions. The Director will use evidence to improve LSEG’s delivery methods, data, tools and capabilities, and will report findings at Group and Divisional level boards. The role does not replace programme accountability or operate as a compliance gatekeeper.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate risk-based, deep-dive delivery assurance reviews and targeted interventions on complex strategic programmes, applying GDDs and relevant industry best practices.
• Assess delivery confidence across business outcomes, integrated planning, dependencies, financial and resource assumptions, architecture, engineering quality, data, testing, controls, operational readiness and benefits.
• Identify early indicators of delivery risk, diagnose root causes and work with executive sponsors and Programme Leaders to agree practical recovery or improvement plans, without assuming programme accountability.
• Use portfolio data, leading indicators and professional judgement to identify programmes requiring enhanced assurance or intervention.
• Provide concise, evidence-based assessments to Portfolio, Programme, Divisional and enterprise boards, highlighting risks, decisions, trade-offs and actions required.
• Track whether agreed interventions address underlying risks and improve programmatic, business, customer and financial outcomes.
• Identify recurring themes and lead firm-wide and Divisional improvement initiatives across delivery methods, processes and tools, including the use of programme data, automation and artificial intelligence.
• Work with Risk, Controls and Internal Audit to align assurance activity, maintain clear accountability boundaries and reduce duplication.
• Commission and oversee specialist technical, architecture, data, testing, engineering and resilience reviews using internal and external experts.
• Drive the evolution of LSEG’s delivery capability by improving GDDs, learning and development, processes, tools and knowledge sharing across the investment and transformation communities.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams / communities, and build effective relationships across LSEG’s Divisions, functions and external partners.

Required Experience

• A substantial senior leadership track record, typically gained over 15 or more years, in complex and regulated Financial Services environments as a Programme Director, Portfolio Director, Transformation Director or equivalent.
• Demonstrable accountability for delivering, assuring or recovering major multi-year programmes involving significant business, technology, data and operating-model change, including large-scale system implementations.
• Experience operating across multiple business units, legal entities, geographies, technology teams, vendors and external partners in complex, multi-programme environments.
• A record of providing independent challenge to executive sponsors and governance boards and influencing material investment, scope, release or delivery decisions.
• Deep practical understanding of integrated programme planning, critical paths, dependency management, financial and resource management, delivery risk, testing, migration, operational readiness and benefits realisation.
• Sufficient technical fluency to challenge architecture, engineering quality, cloud delivery, data, testing, resilience and control-readiness evidence, while recognising when specialist expertise is required.
• Experience using delivery data, performance indicators and portfolio tooling to identify emerging risk and improve executive decision‑making.
• Evidence of leading enterprise‑wide delivery excellence initiatives that produced measurable improvements in predictability, quality, pace, customer outcomes or resilience.
• Experience leading high‑performing teams and multidisciplinary reviews, including the effective commissioning and management of third‑party assurance specialists.
• Strong commercial and financial judgement, including capital investment governance, business cases, forecasting, benefits and delivery trade‑offs.
• Knowledge of product‑led lifecycle management principles and experience operating in hybrid project and product environments.

Professional Qualifications

• Degree‑level education or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Recognised professional qualification in programme or project management, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP, or PMI PgMP - or equivalent and demonstrable experience leading major, complex programmes.
• Portfolio, programme‑office or assurance qualifications, such as MoP Practitioner, P3O Practitioner, or relevant risk, controls or technology‑assurance credentials, would be advantageous.
• Strong practical understanding of predictive, agile and hybrid delivery approaches. Relevant agile, scaled‑agile, product‑led delivery, risk, controls or technology‑assurance qualifications are desirable, where supported by practical experience.

Leadership Capabilities

• Executive judgement: distinguishes material delivery risk from process noise and makes clear recommendations despite incomplete information.
• Constructive courage: challenges senior stakeholders directly while maintaining trust and productive relationships.
• Diagnostic depth: moves beyond reported status to understand underlying delivery, technical and organisational causes.
• Pragmatic intervention: converts assurance findings into actions that improve outcomes rather than adding governance overhead.
• Enterprise perspective: balances individual programme priorities with portfolio affordability, dependencies and strategic outcomes.
• Communication and influence: produces concise, compelling assessments for executive and board audiences and mobilises action without relying solely on formal authority.
• Collaborative leadership: develops high‑performing teams and promotes continuous improvement across the investment and transformation communities.

Join us and be part of a team that values innovation, quality, and continuous improvement. If you're ready to take your career to the next level and make a significant impact, we'd love to hear from you.

LSEG is a leading global financial markets infrastructure and data provider. Our purpose is driving financial stability, empowering economies and enabling customers to create sustainable growth. Our purpose is the foundation on which our culture is built. Our values of Integrity, Partnership, Excellence and Change underpin our purpose and set the standard for everything we do, every day.

Working with us means that you will be part of a dynamic organisation of 25,000 people across 65 countries. However, we will value your individuality and enable you to bring your true self to work so you can help enrich our diverse workforce.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. This means that we do not discriminate on the basis of anyone’s race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. Conforming with applicable law, we can reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as mental health or physical disability needs.

LSEG offers a range of tailored benefits and support, including healthcare, retirement planning, paid volunteering days and wellbeing initiatives.