Programme Manager

Responsibilities

• To run and manage a complex programme or a set of inter-related projects with a budget of approximately £3m - £5m taking responsibility for their delivery using formal project management techniques as appropriate.
• Oversee the execution of multiple concurrent projects, acting as the co-ordinator between multiple projects and deliverables to ensure they’re benefiting each other and align with the overall business goals and outcomes.
• Ensure the projects are delivered on time, meet the business & technical requirements and delivered within the agreed budget.
• Manage a team with a diverse range of talent, this may include both internal and external resources, providing leadership and direction.
• When launching new initiatives, ensure that executive sponsorship, governance and scope and objectives are established.
• Identify the resources, create the schedule, outline the approach and define the sequencing of work required to execute the project effectively.
• Drive the delivery of projects with predictable consistency, efficiency and success, ensuring overall compliance with IT-internal requirements and smooth transition of the resulting solution into production, with a continuous focus on achieving business results.
• Accountability for proactive identification, monitoring and management assessment of programme dependencies, risks and issues to the success of the programme resolving differences between individuals and/or interest groups.
• Plan, schedule, monitor, and report on activities related to the program, ensuring that there are appropriate & effective governance arrangements, supported by comprehensive reporting & communication to Management and Executive Leadership.
• Ensure that programs are managed to realize business objectives & that project management is informed by an awareness of current technical & solution developments.
• Provide organizational strategy governing the direction & conduct of project management, including application of appropriate methodologies.
• Select & advise on methods & tools, e.g., iterative techniques where appropriate, ensuring that effective project control, change control, risk management & testing processes are maintained.
• Manage the program within budget constraints and with profound cost consciousness.
• Ensure all program costs (actuals) are actively tracked and managed, including SOWs/Purchase Orders, Contracts, internal resource assignments, and that accurate forecasts and accruals are maintained in SAP (finances) and Clarity (resources).
• Coordinate the completion of all documentation, change requests, approvals, lifecycle steps and compliance gate requests in a timely manner to ensure the projects in the program continue to align with the agreed schedule.
• Any additional duties and responsibilities that may reasonably be expected to be undertaken in accordance with the role.

Knowledge and Skills

• At least 7+ years of experience in successfully managing the delivery of multiple large IT projects within a technically complex and dynamic environment, ideally in a global Finance/Insurance or regulated industry.
• Ability to lead and direct the management of sub-projects and project managers under a unified programme lens without compromising business outcomes and priority constraints.
• Able to demonstrate strong management skills including project management, financial management, change management and facilitation.
• Demonstrable experience in setting up and driving successful global programmes.
• Demonstrated strong personal organizational skills and ability to coordinate the efforts of others globally in the successful delivery of projects.
• Ability to help build high performing teams from diverse and geographically spread individuals and to nurture appropriate behaviours and team culture, leading by example.
• Ability to work in complex organisation structures and tenaciously forge a path for delivery resulting in business outcomes and stakeholder benefit.
• Excellent communication skills, strong experience in managing the diverging interests of various stakeholders.
• Proven ability to create meaningful reports and summarise project health status for stakeholder presentations.
• Proven ability to manage and track programme costs and budgets to agreed baselines.
• Strong attention to detail, with the ability to maintain high standards of hygiene across complex programs and ensure compliance with stringent governance requirements.
• Ability to drive a mixture of functional and geographic workstreams and coordinate step change delivery to the business in a unified way.
• Consulting and collaborative working style creating a culture of accountability and sharing.
• A self-motivated individual able to work with varying organisational and geographic styles to the end goal of unifying and standardising the delivery culture and capability.
• Fluent spoken and written English.
• Willingness to travel internationally.
• Working knowledge of Project/Programme Management, e.g., Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), Prince2 and agile project management tools and methodologies.

If you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with everything outlined, or you don’t meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the candidate we are looking for!