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- Tasks: Lead governance and assurance for strategic projects, ensuring successful delivery and performance improvement.
- Company: Join the UK's largest water and wastewater company, making a real difference every day.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous leave, private healthcare, and a strong pension scheme.
- Other info: Flexible working arrangements and a diverse, inclusive workplace culture.
- Why this job: Be part of a mission to build a better future for communities and the planet.
- Qualifications: Experience in governance and assurance, with strong stakeholder management skills.
The predicted salary is between 75000 - 75000 £ per year.
In this role, you will be managing a portfolio of strategic capital programmes and projects through governance and assurance initiatives. Facing off vs Strategic Sponsor, and supporting the Strategic Sponsor delivery model by formally controlling strategic outcomes and benefits.
What you'll be doing as a Governance & Assurance Lead:
- Develop and implement prioritised governance & assurance reviews of several strategic programmes to evaluate the integrity of scope, cost, risk, time & outcome.
- Drive performance improvement. Act as a critical friend to strategic sponsors/sub-programme managers to ensure best practice, & to highlight & challenge trends, performance, & deviation from strategic programme and sub-programme baselines.
- Develop and implement robust methodology to assure benefit & outcome delivery.
- Ensure line of sight for funding back to the current plan.
- Work with colleagues across PMO to ensure a consistent approach to QRF / budget.
- Assure the change control of Strategic Intent documents (owned by the sponsor teams). Ensure alignment between change-controlled intent documents and delivery plans. Challenge and address inconsistency.
- Support other teams across PMO and across the wider business to deliver robust assurance and governance processes and systems, drive behaviour & best practice, and support the implementation of the strategic sponsorship model.
- Optimise management of project/programme stage gate process in conjunction with PMO colleagues and sponsors.
What you should bring to the role:
- Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of portfolios and programmes governance and assurance.
- Experience of delivering portfolio or programme governance and assurance processes and standards.
- Ability to manage and provide value-added information and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including strategic sponsors.
- Ability to make risk-based decisions where the parameters are unclear, and judgment is needed.
- Experience of influencing and working across multidisciplinary teams.
- Delivery of activities to build capability, improve efficiency and increase maturity.
- Ability to manage complex portfolios and programmes, anticipating and managing high-level risks and uncertainties.
- Experience in identifying and implementing robust business solutions in collaboration with teams.
Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:
- Higher education, preferably in Business Management, Commercial, Engineering, Project Management or Finance-related subject.
- Technical proficiency of IT solutions required to manage, control and report on project, programme and portfolio scope, schedule, resource requirements, budgets, risks, opportunities and issues, benefits, and quality.
- Proficiency in project management methodologies and tools (EVM, risk management, scheduling software).
What's in it for you?
- Competitive salary up to 75,000 per annum, depending on experience.
- Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
- Private Medical Health Care.
- Car Allowance.
- Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
- Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
- Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family's health and wellbeing, and your finances, from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.
We're the UK's largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive.
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you'll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
If you're looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people's lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we'll be here to support you every step of the way.
We're committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that's extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we're here to help and support.
Governance & Assurance Lead - Reading, Berkshire in Swallowfield employer: Thames Water
Contact Detail:
Thames Water Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Governance & Assurance Lead - Reading, Berkshire in Swallowfield
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend relevant events, and don’t be shy about asking for introductions. We all know that sometimes it’s not just what you know, but who you know that can help you land that Governance & Assurance Lead role.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews by researching the company inside out. Understand their governance processes and recent projects. We want you to show them you’re not just another candidate, but someone who genuinely cares about their mission and can bring value to their strategic initiatives.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! You’ll want to clearly articulate how your experience aligns with the role. We suggest rehearsing answers to common interview questions, especially around risk management and performance improvement, so you can confidently showcase your skills.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after your interview! A quick thank-you email can go a long way in keeping you top of mind. We recommend mentioning something specific from your conversation to remind them why you’re the perfect fit for the Governance & Assurance Lead position.
We think you need these skills to ace Governance & Assurance Lead - Reading, Berkshire in Swallowfield
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Governance & Assurance Lead role. Highlight your experience in managing portfolios and governance processes, and show how your skills align with what we're looking for.
Showcase Relevant Experience: When detailing your work history, focus on specific examples that demonstrate your ability to manage complex programmes and influence stakeholders. We want to see how you've driven performance improvement in past roles!
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to read through your qualifications and achievements quickly.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. This way, you'll ensure it reaches the right people and you'll have access to all the latest updates about your application status.
How to prepare for a job interview at Thames Water
✨Know Your Governance Inside Out
Make sure you have a solid understanding of governance and assurance processes. Brush up on the methodologies used in portfolio management and be ready to discuss how you've applied these in previous roles. This will show that you're not just familiar with the concepts, but that you can also implement them effectively.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that ask you to demonstrate your decision-making skills in uncertain situations. Think of examples where you've had to make risk-based decisions and be prepared to explain your thought process. This will highlight your ability to manage complex portfolios and programmes.
✨Showcase Your Stakeholder Management Skills
Since you'll be working closely with strategic sponsors and multidisciplinary teams, be ready to share examples of how you've influenced senior stakeholders in the past. Discuss how you’ve provided value-added information and recommendations, as this will illustrate your capability in managing relationships effectively.
✨Demonstrate Your Problem-Solving Abilities
Think of specific instances where you've identified and implemented robust business solutions. Be prepared to discuss the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and the outcomes achieved. This will showcase your proactive approach and ability to drive performance improvement.