Strategic Change Programme Lead

Department Description Change Management at Marex operates as a strategic enabler of enterprise‑wide change, reporting into the Global Head of Transformation and Change. It is responsible for the governance, oversight and delivery of change initiatives across all business lines and control & support functions globally. The team ensures that change is executed in a controlled, transparent, and value‑driven manner. Within this function, the Project Execution team plays a critical role in mobilising and delivering complex programmes and projects, including acquisitions, legal entity rationalisations, regulatory, transformational and cross‑functional initiatives.

Role Summary The Programme Manager is accountable for the successful delivery of change programmes and projects, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy and objectives. Acting as the single point of coordination, the Programme Manager provides leadership and oversight from start to finish, partnering with the business and control & support functions throughout to ensure sustainable handover to business‑as‑usual at project close. This role combines hands‑on facilitation, driving delivery, influencing stakeholders, and embedding change across the organisation.

Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership and accountability for the delivery of the assigned programme(s), ensuring objectives are met within the specified time frame and under established governance.
• Develop and maintain the programme plan, ensuring alignment of all constituent projects and workstreams.
• Communicate programme deliverables, plans, risks, and issues to project and programme sponsors, steering group, and other key stakeholders.
• Act as the central communication point for programme‑level stakeholder engagement, ensuring the right people are informed at the right time.
• Manage and support Project Managers (PMs), ensuring project plans are defined, actively managed, and aligned to programme objectives.
• Report on overall programme status and individual project progress to governance forums, sponsors, and senior leadership.
• Oversee and ensure effective delivery of all projects within the programme, including project plans and schedules; monitoring progress against time, cost, and quality targets; managing dependencies, risks, and resources across the programme; escalating and resolving issues at programme level, ensuring effective decision‑making.
• Oversee the transition of programme deliverables into BAU, ensuring integration and closure.
• Drive business/operational readiness for sustainable ways of working post go‑live by defining the programme’s Target Operating Model and target state; identifying and managing required business changes; overseeing delivery and execution (e.g., process/technology implementation); ensuring operational readiness across impacted areas.
• Ensure compliance with relevant financial regulations, internal policies, and audit requirements throughout the programme lifecycle.
• Drive continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and embedding best practices across the programme and wider organisation.

Standard Company Responsibilities:

• Ensuring compliance with the company’s regulatory requirements under the FCA.
• Adhering to the operational risk framework for your role, ensuring that all regulatory or company‑determined parameters are complied with.
• Role modelling for demonstrating highest level standards of integrity and conduct and reflecting Company Values.
• At all times complying with the FCA’s Code of Conduct.
• Ensuring that you are fully aware of and adhere to internal policies that relate to you, your role or any other activities for which you have any level of responsibility.
• Reporting any breaches of policy to Compliance and/or your supervisor as required.
• Escalating risk events immediately.
• Providing input to risk management processes, as required.

Competencies, Skills and Experience:

• Significant experience in programme management as project professional and/or as a manager implementing business changes with a project‑mindset.
• Experience managing complex business change projects with people, process and technology changes, with a track record of successful implementation to time, cost and quality.
• Sound experience of implementing new products/new business projects, especially in financial services (10‑15 years).
• Proactive problem‑solver who is tenacious at chasing down actions and resolutions to completion.
• Leads, motivates, and manages teams (including Project Managers and cross‑functional groups), building strong relationships and influencing others to achieve programme objectives.
• Demonstrates strong governance, risk management, and stakeholder engagement skills, with excellent communication and influencing abilities.
• Sound background knowledge of financial services and infrastructures.
• Preferably degree educated or with equivalent professional experience in project and change management.
• Professional qualifications in programme and/or project management (e.g., MSP, PRINCE2, PMP, APMG) are highly desirable or skillset in multiple project management methodologies such as waterfall and Agile.
• Desirable – experience developing and delivering business change strategies/plans, using change impact assessment or other change management techniques, with a track record of achieving benefits realisation.
• Desirable – experience in identifying target operating models and driving organisational changes.
• Desirable – experience of post‑acquisition integration implementation.

Competencies:

• Provide direction for the programme, aligning projects to organisational strategy, anticipating future challenges and adapting plans (when required) to achieve long‑term objectives.
• Apply robust governance, risk, and issue management across multiple projects and ensure compliance with internal frameworks, policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with sponsors, senior leaders, and cross‑functional teams, while managing expectations and negotiating effectively to resolve conflicts.
• Lead, motivate, and develop Project Managers and delivery teams, delegating effectively, providing guidance and support while holding others accountable for results.
• Communicate complex information clearly and persuasively, tailoring messages to diverse audiences.
• Drive delivery of programme objectives within agreed time, cost, and quality parameters, maintaining accountability for outcomes, and resolve issues proactively.
• Analyse complex situations and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Champion continuous improvement, embed lessons learned, and support business readiness.