Programme Delivery Lead in Sheffield

Application Deadline: 29 March 2026

Department: Public Transport Development

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Sheffield Head Office

Reporting To: Director of Bus Franchising

Compensation: £75,061 - £83,150 / year

Hours: 37 hours

Contract: Permanent

Salary: Grade 15 £75,061 - £83,150

Location: Sheffield (This is a hybrid role with a minimum of 3 days per week in the office)

Lead one of the most ambitious public service transformations in the region — and help shape a better-connected future for South Yorkshire. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is delivering a once-in-a-generation programme to transform the region’s bus network through franchising. This is a high-profile, complex and meaningful change programme that will directly improve the lives of residents, communities, and businesses.

As our Programme Delivery Lead for Bus Franchising, you will play a central role in driving this transformation from preparation through mobilisation, transition and steady-state operations. If you’re passionate about programme delivery, large-scale change, and leading teams to achieve exceptional outcomes — we want to hear from you.

We’re looking for an experienced programme leader with strong business change, governance, and delivery expertise who can bring structure, pace, and clarity to a multi-stranded transformation. Although we welcome a transport background, it is not essential for this role.

About the role

You will provide strategic and hands-on leadership for the full lifecycle of the Bus Franchising Programme, ensuring that delivery approaches, governance, and capability development are robust, effective, and aligned to SYMCA’s wider ambitions. Working as part of an expert leadership team, you will shape a major public programme that will deliver long-term impact for the region.

Key responsibilities

• Acting as the primary delivery lead for the programme, ensuring progress toward strategic objectives and regulatory milestones.
• Leading and developing the Programme Delivery Team, including Principal Project Managers, and establishing the right resourcing model.
• Overseeing integrated programme planning, creating a unified plan with clear milestones, critical paths, and interdependencies.
• Establishing and maintaining delivery governance and programme controls.
• Proactively managing risks and issues, maintaining the programme risk register and effective mitigation strategies.
• Ensuring operating model design and capability development activities enable successful long-term franchising operations.
• Managing key stakeholder relationships and translating complexity into clear, compelling communications.

About you

We’re looking for a dynamic, credible, and motivated programme leader who brings deep delivery expertise, excellent stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to operate confidently in a complex political and organisational environment. You’ll be comfortable guiding teams, influencing senior leaders, and shaping best practice across the organisation.

What you’ll bring:

• Extensive experience delivering complex programmes, portfolios, or change initiatives.
• Strong business change expertise, including Target Operating Models.
• Proven programme/project management professionalism and leadership skills.
• Ability to interpret complex information and shape strategic decisions.
• Strong financial, commercial, and resource management capability.
• Experience producing high-quality reports, dashboards, and board-level briefings.
• Experience delivering organisational plans in politically complex or regulated environments.
• Experience working in partnership to deliver large-scale transformation.
• Transport experience is welcome, but not essential.

Please see the essential criteria for the role listed in the attached role profile.

Benefits

All colleagues have access to a Local Government Pension Scheme and the chance to be part of an organisation where you can really make a difference. Located in Sheffield City Centre, we are well-placed for transport links and encourage employees to take advantage of the active travel facilities. Work/life balance is extremely important to us here at SYMCA with our recognised family/friendly policies, genuine work flexibility, recognition, and shared success.

In addition to the above, some of benefits include:

• Holiday Entitlement – From 28 to 36 days annual leave entitlement (depending on length of service) plus bank holidays. Pro-rata for part time colleagues.
• Annual Leave Purchase Scheme – The ability to purchase up to a further 15 days per year in addition to your normal annual leave.
• Hybrid working – Our offices are a space where we come together and collaborate. Most of our roles are offered on a hybrid basis with the exception of some support roles being onsite full time. Please note, unless specified within the job advert, we cannot accommodate remote working contracts.
• Flexible Hours Scheme – Most roles within SYMCA work under the Flexi-Scheme which allows office-based employees’ flexibility and discretion over their working hours. Under the scheme employees can accrue a defined amount of credit or debit of working hours, and to take time-off in the form of Flexi-Leave or banked Annual Leave.
• Rewarding You - Reducing everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more with Reward Gateway and Cycle-to-Work schemes.
• Training on the job - Support with upskilling skills through on-the-job training and qualifications.
• Professional Membership Fees – Where membership to Professional bodies is applicable to your role, SYMCA will reimburse your membership fees where applicable and following approval by Line Management.

Diversity at South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority

Our workforce is diverse and committed to equality of opportunity. We welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. All employees are eligible to request Flexible Working arrangements from day one of employment. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please contact recruitment@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk.