Programme Manager

Efficient transport systems are essential to the health and wealth of the UK, its businesses, its economy and its people. Our client will support UK industry in exploiting the massive global market for new products and services that will drive the integration of transport and its systems.

The Programme Manager, reporting to the Programme Director, shall deliver the delivery management rigour for a series of projects within the technical capability area, including Proposal & Tender work.

The role will ensure that the programme management plans, budgets, and delivery confidence measures are effective and commensurate with the profile of programmes/projects. These mechanisms and reporting should either use or communicate/migrate data with the company's programme management office and the capability team should collaborate with and support the programme management office needs.

Key projects currently in delivery include activity to build upon the early work within rail franchising, and exporting those lessons and toolkits to HS2, Crossrail and other public sector bodies beyond rail. This role is required to embed deeply within the Rail Executive and hence considerable London based work is required.

Responsibilities

• To support & influence high calibre delivery teams to ensure projects and programmes are delivered to quality, time and budget, and ensuring delivery of business benefits;
• Overall management and co-ordination of the programme, its projects and their interdependencies.
• Managing supplier/consultancy/contractual relationships.
• Detailed programme planning and control including:
  • Developing and maintaining a detailed programme plan.
  • Budgetary control of the programme of projects.
  • Managing project outputs in line with the programme plan/benefits capture
  • Managing risk, driving reviews, treatment, and escalation where appropriate
  • Maintaining a safety first culture and adhering to the safety management system
  • Managing programme issues and escalating where necessary - includes reviewing escalated project issues to evaluate whether they will affect the programme.
  • Resolving cross-functional issues at programme level.
  • Maintaining all programme documentation, version control and signed authorities
• Liaising with other programme managers particularly where projects have outputs affecting more than one strategic objective
• Ensuring projects maintain focused on benefits.
• Reviewing requests for change to scope to evaluate any impact at programme level.
• Monitoring project progress and performance.
• Liaison with, and updates progress to, programme steering board/senior management.
• Managing communications with stakeholders (in partnership with Benefits Manager)
• Managing programme evaluation and dissemination activities.
• Ensure the programme embeds any new working practices.
• To agree project/programme requirements with the project sponsor/head of function to ensure that project and organisation objectives are met;

Desirable skills and experience

The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of developing and delivering technology and innovation programmes. Entrepreneurial and with the ability to generate new partnerships and build collaborative relationships, you will combine your passion for technology and innovation with a practical drive and focus to deliver value for the Transport Systems Catapult and its stakeholders.

You may come from a role involving innovation; you may have a professional technical background; you may have a transport background. Essential is to have experience of managing complex programmes in a high-uncertainty, dynamic environment with multiple inputs and outputs, diverse stakeholders and ambitious goals.

This is a senior role and you will be taking responsibility for managing the design and delivery of a variety of projects and programmes and may be assigned to more than one project at a time. You will need to be comfortable with high levels of uncertainty and able to quickly respond to changing needs of customers or the delivery environment. You will also be able to identify new opportunities and new areas of business and work with colleagues in other teams to convert ideas into projects and programmes.

Essential qualities

• Technical degree (essential), Masters, Chartered status (Highly Desirable) PhD (desirable)
• Relevant professional programme/project management qualifications, eg, Managing Successful Programmes, APM etc
• Experience of delivering innovation programmes and projects; managing programme budgets and harnessing best effort from assigned individuals
• Experience of defining, scoping and prioritising technical input into projects and activities;
• Experience of working in multi-partner delivery teams and with multiple stakeholders;
• Experience of handling change effectively and positively; active risk management
• Excellent organisational skills with close attention to detail