Programme Specialist (Senior Consultant)

Location: London, hybrid (3 days per week on site)

Duration: Permanent

Start: ASAP

Salary: £68,000 - £77,000, depending on experience

At Pace, our consultants genuinely care about the impact our work has on our customers and their clients. We are ‘problem solvers’ who bring experience, knowledge and skills to support customers in accessing benefits early. We are reimagining how consulting services are delivered with a human‑centred approach, creating tangible impact on people’s lives. Due to the growth of an ongoing programme of work, we are recruiting Programme Specialists to join our existing team.

A Programme Specialist is a skilled Programme Manager, operator and thought partner – someone with the mindset to make things happen. This role will support our key client, the Advanced Research Invention Agency (ARIA), a scientific research funding agency based in Central London.

The Programme Specialist (Senior Consultant) will take end‑to‑end ownership for the delivery of complex, multi‑workstream R&D programmes on behalf of ARIA. The role works closely with Programme Directors and operational teams to provide senior programme management leadership, establish clear plans, governance and controls, and ensure delivery against agreed outcomes, timelines, quality and risk appetite. The Programme Specialist is the key liaison between the Programme Team, Operational Teams and executive stakeholders, bringing structure, insight and assurance.

Accountable for managing all non‑technical elements of the programme: maintaining a clear view of delivery status across workstreams, dependencies, risks/issues, decisions and actions, and escalating and driving resolution where required. Provides high‑quality reporting into the PMO to support governance and portfolio management.

Programme delivery

• Programme and project leadership, including:
• Mobilising programmes/projects with clear scope, delivery approach, resourcing and success measures
• Leading senior stakeholder communications and alignment
• Maintaining integrated plans, milestones and benefits/outputs tracking across workstreams
• Running governance, controls and assurance (cadence, decision/action logs, reporting)
• Partner with the Programme Team (Programme Director and Science & Technology Lead) to drive delivery across the full lifecycle (discovery to closure), with accountability for plans, governance and outcomes.
• Work with PMO and operational teams, owning key dependencies and engaging functions such as procurement, finance and communications to maintain effective controls.
• Own RAID and dependency management, producing concise, decision‑ready reporting for Programme Directors, the PMO and senior stakeholders.
• Identify and manage risks/issues, driving mitigations to closure and escalating early where decisions or intervention are needed.
• Manage programme resources and budgets (where applicable), maintaining forecasts, approvals and financial governance in line with ARIA and Pace processes.

Operational support

• Meeting planning, preparation and facilitation
• Event and workshop planning
• Interfacing into R&D and Creator communities

Required skills and experience

• Strong programme and project management experience with clear accountability for outcomes, evidenced by delivery of complex programmes/projects with multiple workstreams, dependencies and senior stakeholders.
• Ideally you will have 8+ years of experience in project management, including 2‑3 years as a Programme Manager in a similar environment.
• Experience across the delivery lifecycle (initiation to close), including setting up controls, managing tolerances, and driving issues/decisions to resolution.
• Ideally you have led several long‑term initiatives (12+ months) end‑to‑end.
• Experience running programme governance and assurance (cadence, reporting, RAID, dependencies, decision logs) in fast‑paced, ambiguous environments, balancing structure with agility.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to influence at senior/executive level and provide concise, decision‑ready updates to governance forums.
• Strong engagement skills (interviewing, facilitation, mediation and presenting).
• Proactive consulting mindset with high ownership and accountability; able to anticipate challenges, act independently and deliver at pace.
• Experience in delivery reporting, forecasting and (where relevant) budget management, maintaining strong controls and audit‑ready documentation.
• Sector experience in R&D, science, technology, government or non‑profit is desirable but not essential.

What’s in it for you?

An opportunity to join a high‑growth, scale‑up consulting firm and make a material difference to how clients are served, on a mission to create environments that thrive for our clients. A dedicated focus on your individual personal development: managed through annual performance appraisals, individual personal development plans and our bi‑weekly ‘continuous conversations’ programme. Access to Corporate APM membership benefits and additional professional development through a personal training budget (subject to approval of a relevant business case).

Company benefits

• Pace pension scheme
• 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Private Healthcare*
• Life Assurance*
• Critical Illness*
• Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme*
• Cycle To Work Scheme*
• Birthday Day off, Paid Volunteer Day off
• Reservist Leave
• Enhanced Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave
• Work from Abroad policy
• Regular company and team events
• Discounted shopping with ADS Rewards

*Available to permanent employees only.