Senior Manager, Transformation Project Management in London

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Manager, Transformation Project Management to join our global team.

Team and Role Purpose

The Transformation Development team drives Save the Children's organisational change agenda by delivering high-impact, global transformation initiatives that strengthen our ability to achieve more for children. The team works across a broad and evolving portfolio — spanning systems implementation, process reengineering, target operating model design, data, and artificial intelligence — adapting its focus in response to organisational priorities and emerging needs. Members of the team are assigned to a specific project and are expected to dedicate their full effort to delivering it. However, as the portfolio evolves — whether a project concludes, priorities shift, or an urgent need arises elsewhere — team members may be redeployed to a different initiative. This flexibility is core to how the team operates, ensuring Save the Children can direct the right capability to the right priorities at the right time.

Role purpose

The Senior Project Manager is accountable for the end-to-end project management of a complex, global transformation initiative, ensuring delivery is planned, governed, and executed to the highest standards across the full Save the Children Project Lifecycle. The role holder will take ownership of all core project management deliverables — including planning, scheduling, risk and issue management, dependency tracking, and status reporting — providing the rigour and visibility that enables the project team and senior stakeholders to make informed decisions. They will lead the production and maintenance of key project management deliverables, including the Project Assurance Plan, Project Brief, Project Plan and beyond, ensuring these are maintained throughout the life of the project. Beyond operational project management, the Senior Project Manager will play an active role in shaping how the project is run, contributing to strategic planning, sequencing of workstreams, and the identification and resolution of cross-cutting risks and dependencies. They will work closely with the Project Lead to support governance, escalation, and decision-making, and will serve as a key point of integration across the project team. The role requires close collaboration with the Business Analyst, Global Change Manager, and relevant Business Functions to ensure alignment between project plans and wider delivery activity. More broadly, the role holder will engage with a diverse range of stakeholders across the movement — including Country Offices and Members — ensuring their perspectives are heard and that they are fully equipped and prepared for implementation. This will be achieved in close partnership with the Global and Regional Change Managers working on the project.

Principal Accountabilities

• Partner with the Project Lead to ensure the effective setup of the Project including recruitment of key roles, definition and setup of governance and ongoing meeting requirements.
• Lead the comprehensive management of the project, ensuring that it is delivered successfully in alignment with agile and/or waterfall project frameworks, within the allocated budget, and on time. As part of this, develop and oversee a realistic and committed project plan, considering organisational deadlines, dependencies, necessary resources, and associated costs.
• Ensure reference groups are established and maintained and continue to be used effectively to ensure the required input is received from functional SMEs from both SCI and Members (if relevant).
• Work with the Business Analyst to ensure any required analysis is defined and agreed. Support the BA to ensure effective development of the requirements and process maps to deliver the future state operating model.
• Ensure project controls including risks, issues and dependencies are documented and reported in line with the Portfolio Management Office requirements and any critical issues are escalated quickly through the agreed channels and stage gates are effectively managed.
• Lead the governance process including ensuring sufficient time is available for review and sign off from the relevant leaders that are agreed up front.
• Lead engagement with stakeholders within SCI including engagements with senior stakeholders in coordination with the Project Lead and Global Change Manager.
• Continue to monitor scope definition and implement change control in line with the PMO principles.
• Implement best practices and procedures in project management within the project and contribute to the continuous improvement of the Project Lifecycle.
• Input and Support Delivery of Change Impact and Interventions relating to the transformation design, resource impacts, comms and engagement etc.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Extensive experience in managing transformation projects for system and non-system change. This should include considerable experience in establishing and embedding Agile or Waterfall methodologies to ensure successful project delivery.
• Proven ability to deliver projects on time and within budget, utilising project management processes and tools including risk management, benefits management, financial management, and quality assurance.
• Strong understanding of scope and change management, ensuring projects adapt seamlessly to evolving requirements and in line with formal governance.
• Comprehensive management and influencing skills with significant experience in working with senior-level executives, fostering a collaborative environment.
• Strong team leadership skills with the ability to motivate and mobilise individuals within and beyond their reporting lines, across a global setting aligning with our value of collaboration.
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral English), including the ability to communicate and present to all levels of the organisation with cultural awareness for international delivery.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, fostering innovation and creativity in project solutions.
• Ability to effectively prioritise work, agree and communicate priorities within the team, ensuring optimal resource allocation and job performance.
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic and is able to take the initiative and ownership to deliver value to the organisation, consistently modelling our highest values of integrity and accountability.

Desirable

• Non-profit sector knowledge/experience (especially international development projects).
• Second language – French, Spanish or Arabic.

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Understanding of a structured Project methodology (e.g. PRINCE2) or accredited Project Management training (APM or PMI).

Desirable

• Preferable: PRINCE2 (Foundation and/or Practitioner), Scrum Master, Agile PM.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first. We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply. Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

• Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter.
• Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team.
• Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview.
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks.

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.