Programme Manager in Swansea

To lead day‑to‑day delivery across SANS Programmes in EMEA, maintaining a cross‑programme delivery view and enabling Service Delivery Leads to own plans, RAID and reporting within PMO governance. To apply a coach‑first approach that increases autonomy, to propose and monitor programme‑level tolerances, to manage risks, issues and change, and to escalate beyond thresholds to the Head of Programmes. To assess, recommend and pilot a fit‑for‑purpose delivery framework and to standardise team training from foundation to practitioner level with PMO support. To collaborate with cross‑functional teams as required.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain an integrated cross‑programme delivery view of schedules, dependencies and resource needs, highlighting impacts, trade‑offs and priorities.
• Work with Service Delivery Leads and Project Coordinators to ensure programme and project plans are created, baselined and actively maintained to PMO standards.
• Run a light planning and delivery cadence with Service Delivery Leads and Project Coordinators, ensuring forecasts, RAID and change control are current and owned.
• Delegate routine delivery decisions to Service Delivery Leads within approved tolerances and intervene only for risks, issues or exceptions.
• Define, with the PMO, clear decision rights and tolerances that enable Service Delivery Leads to act decisively without unnecessary escalation.
• Operate formal change control in line with PMO governance, ensuring impact assessment, approvals and an auditable trail are completed by the appropriate owners.
• Produce concise, insight‑led cross‑programme and client reporting to an agreed cadence.
• Track budgets and forecasts, signal variances early and recommend corrective actions within agreed tolerances.
• Maintain regular communication with clients, sponsors and internal stakeholders, secure decisions and approvals and set expectations clearly.
• Collaborate with Sales, Events, Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, Security/CISO, People/HR and Partnerships & Sponsorship as required.
• Support proposal scoping and deliverability inputs when directed, recognising strategic ownership of new business sits with the Head of Programmes.
• Assess candidate methodologies (e.g., PRAXIS, APM, tailored PRINCE2 with Agile practices), recommend a tailored framework and pilot implementation following approval by the Head of Programmes.
• Embed the agreed framework with PMO support through templates, RAID discipline, change control, tolerances, quality assurance and reporting.
• Design and deliver a role‑based training pathway (foundation to practitioner) for Service Delivery Leads, Project Coordinators and Programme Support Administrators, and maintain a simple competency matrix.
• Coach Service Delivery Leads and Project Coordinators on lessons learned and quality in delivery and ensure improvements are adopted into future work.
• Line‑manage Service Delivery Leads, Project Coordinators and Programme Support Administrators, set objectives, run 1:1s and support development, maintaining the current manage‑all structure.
• Apply a coach‑first approach that builds capability and accountability while holding people to agreed outcomes and behaviours.
• Plan capacity and allocation across Service Delivery Leads, Project Coordinators and Programme Support Administrators, balance priorities and signal constraints early.
• Ensure compliant handling of information in line with ISO 27001, GDPR and SANS policies.
• Maintain accurate, auditable documentation and filing in accordance with PMO guidance.
• Support cross‑functional initiatives and wider organisational priorities when required and directed by the Head of Programmes.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of business processes in partnership with the PMO and peer leads.
• Enable Service Delivery Leads to act within agreed tolerances and pathways and resolve the majority of delivery decisions at their level.
• Escalate material scope, schedule, cost or risk exceptions to the Head of Programmes.
• Partner with the PMO on governance standards, assurance and continuous improvement.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Demonstrable experience performing a similar role.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent vocational qualification.
• Previous experience of setting and monitoring budgets.
• Enthusiastic and disciplined with a positive ‘can do’ attitude.
• Experienced in managing successful internal and external stakeholders.
• Highly motivated, competitive and goal orientated.
• PC literate with good MS Office skills (MS Excel Intermediate).
• Not afraid to challenge the status quo.
• Able to influence and challenge at management level towards effective business solutions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to communicate globally across all business functions.
• Ability to perform multiple activities simultaneously.
• Ability to use own initiative and work independently.
• Effective problem‑solving skills.
• Good research skills.
• Proactive and forward thinking.
• Able to work in high pressure situations and deadline driven.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Good time management skills.
• Team player.
• Excellent attention to detail and organised.
• Able and willing to travel.