At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a high-profile programme ensuring strategic direction and impactful delivery.
- Company: Join a dynamic government initiative focused on UK security and prosperity.
- Benefits: Competitive daily rate, hybrid working, and the chance to influence national policy.
- Other info: Opportunity for significant career growth in a politically sensitive environment.
- Why this job: Shape the future of UK security while leading innovative AI initiatives.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in large-scale programme leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Rate: £800-£900 per day inside IR35
Location: Hybrid London, 3 days per week in the office
Duration: 6 months+
Essential: Must hold active SC clearance (in addition NPPV3 is desirable)
Role summary
As Programme Director, you will hold overall accountability for the strategic direction, delivery and impact of the programme, ensuring it delivers critical outcomes that support UK security and prosperity. You will provide visible, senior leadership across government and with external partners, shaping the programme's vision, driving delivery confidence, and ensuring alignment with departmental and cross‑government priorities. You will operate at the highest level of the organisation, influencing policy, investment decisions and delivery strategy. As a senior leader you will set direction, build capability and champion delivery excellence, contributing to the wider government transformation agenda.
This role provides executive leadership for the programme as it enters a critical and high‑profile phase from July 2026. It is a strategically significant programme operating in a complex, high‑risk, and politically sensitive environment, requiring decisive, outcome‑focused leadership and strong grip at SCS level. The Programme Director is accountable for end‑to‑end programme success, including delivery outcomes, strategic alignment, value for money, risk posture, and long‑term sustainability. You will ensure the programme is positioned to deliver at scale, with strong governance, clear accountability, and integrated delivery across organisational and supplier boundaries.
A central aspect of the role is leading a complex ecosystem of internal teams, delivery partners and suppliers, ensuring cohesion, performance and alignment to strategic objectives. You will also ensure that the AI capabilities established through the programme are industrialised, scaled and embedded across the organisation, delivering measurable impact. This role requires strong engagement with senior stakeholders, including Ministers, executive committees and boards, and cross‑government partners, ensuring confidence in delivery and alignment with wider priorities.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the overall vision, strategy and delivery of the programme, ensuring clear alignment with departmental objectives and government priorities.
- Accountable for programme outcomes and benefits realisation, ensuring delivery provides measurable impact, value for money, and long‑term sustainability.
- Set and lead the programme roadmap, ensuring it is realistic, prioritised and responsive to emerging risks, policy changes and technological opportunities.
- Provide visible, senior leadership across all delivery areas, creating a high‑performing, inclusive and accountable culture.
- Establish, chair or attend effective governance structures, ensuring strategic decisions are timely, evidence‑based and aligned across senior stakeholders.
- Maintain strong control of programme risks and delivery confidence, ensuring proactive mitigation and transparent reporting at executive and ministerial level.
- Lead engagement with senior stakeholders, including Ministers, DGs and cross‑government partners, building trust and maintaining alignment with policy and operational priorities.
- Oversee supplier and partner ecosystem, ensuring commercial arrangements deliver value, performance is actively managed, and suppliers are fully integrated into delivery.
- Drive integration across complex delivery dependencies, ensuring coherence across technology, policy, operations and external partners.
- Scale and embed AI capability into enterprise operations, ensuring it is operationalised effectively and delivers transformational outcomes.
- Champion continuous improvement and delivery excellence, setting standards and strengthening capability across the DDaT community.
Skills and Experience
- Extensive experience leading large‑scale, complex programmes at enterprise level, with accountability for significant budgets, risk and strategic outcomes.
- Proven ability to operate at SCS level, influencing senior stakeholders, policy direction and investment decisions.
- Strong track record of delivering in high‑risk, high‑ambiguity environments, maintaining control while enabling pace and innovation.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including experience working with Ministers and executive‑level leaders.
- Strategic leadership of multi‑supplier, multi‑partner ecosystems, driving performance and ensuring alignment to outcomes.
- Expertise in governance, assurance and risk management, with the ability to balance control with agility.
- Ability to build and lead high‑performing, multidisciplinary teams, fostering collaboration across organisational boundaries.
- Experience delivering data and/or AI‑enabled transformation at scale, embedding capability into business‑as‑usual operations.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, ensuring delivery achieves value for money and sustainable outcomes.
Reasonable Adjustments
If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.
Programme Director in London employer: Sanderson Government & Defence
As a Programme Director with us, you will thrive in a dynamic and inclusive work culture that prioritises collaboration and innovation. Our hybrid London location offers the flexibility of remote work while ensuring you are part of a high-performing team dedicated to delivering impactful outcomes for UK security and prosperity. We are committed to your professional growth, providing opportunities to influence policy at the highest levels and lead transformative programmes that shape the future.
Contact Details:
Sanderson Government & Defence Recruitment Team
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