Programme Manager

Job reference number 119030 Programme Manager Full time Permanent Royal Mail Farringdon We have an exciting new role for an IT Programme Manager based up in our Farringdon office. IT Programme Manager – Operations Job Purpose You will have end to end accountability for project & programme delivery across Technology and where needed, across Business units. You will manage the project delivery process, ensuring that selected suppliers deliver; acquiring & utilising the necessary resources & skills, within agreed parameters of cost, timescales and quality. You will also manage project managers and other stakeholders, to ensure overall programme delivery Key Accountabilities Identify, plan and coordinate the set of projects within a programme of business change to maximize value delivered to the customer, including management of commercial activity and change relating to projects and programmes in their scope. Manage the approach to sourcing the programme and the interdependencies of delivery of those projects in support of specific business strategies and involved in all phases of the IT contract life-cycle to ensure that Business interests are protected, and requirements met. Provide a point of escalation for individual projects within the programme Accountable for delivery of initiatives (technology, processes, people) as assigned, including articulation and realisation of benefits, and slippages/ changes against original benefit expectations Accountable for planning and monitoring the portfolio of projects; agree plans with senior business stakeholders and report on project/programme status Accountable for managing risks, issues, and change, escalating & proposing possible solutions where necessary Accountable for recruiting project staff and consultants as approved by the Project Board. Direct and motivate the project team - ensure all team members understand their roles; ensure project objectives and requirements are understood and met. Manage project training - training needs analysis and devising of user training programmes Full financial responsibility for Programme spend, including establishing budgets, monitoring spends and re-forecasting on a regular basis to highlight any potential issues. Understand, explain, monitor and improve the fulfilment and compliance of contractual obligations by Royal Mail and third-party suppliers to achieve the desired programme outcomes. Where obligations are not met, identify non-compliance, document and escalate to business unit management and Technology Supplier Management. Responsible for coordinating activities and dependencies within the programme and identifying external dependencies on other projects, resource or environments. Responsible for forming and managing effective relationships with business stakeholders and matrix management of business resources in support of delivery where appropriate. Educates stakeholders in Agile ways of working and the benefits of iterative software delivery Supports Product Owners in managing customer expectations for project deliverables Key dimensions Budget responsibility of £10-20m Investment spend Operates within agreed cost/time/quality parameters (waterfall) Operates within agreed quality and release cadence parameters, meeting key Product milestone KPIs (agile) Capable of managing in a matrix environment, reporting in to either a Technology Portfolio Director or Business stakeholder and managing teams outside of direct reporting line (supplier delivery teams and teams within the business) Ability to operate across competencies managing work streams / projects that cover commercial and operational areas in addition to Technology (where Technology have been selected as the ‘primary’ part of the Programme and therefore take the Programme lead role. Manage 4-6 Project Managers and relevant workstreams as required across Technology and business teams Key competencies: Has sufficient credibility and gravitas, and ability to work with and relate to a highly demanding internal client base and complex external supplier base. Appreciation of how the architecture, policies and governance are applied to delivery of the programme. Excellent stakeholder management skills with significant experience of dealing with internal, external and third-party supplier senior level decision makers Strong technical awareness to manage programmes with a high degree of technology content and able to operate across a range of technologies and business areas. Able to identify technical issues, and ensure alignment to group IT strategy Significant experience leading and delivering large multi-million-pound software/systems technology programs, end to end, enterprise scale focusing on technology change Proven experience of empowering, enabling, supporting & motivating project teams Experience of working with collaboration tools such as Jira and Confluence Experience of going through the transformation from Waterfall to Agile delivery methodologies A recognised project and programme management methodology, e.g. Prince 2, Scrum of Scrums, Kanban, SAFe is desirable About Royal Mail: The Royal Mail Technology team is passionate about delivering high-quality products and outstanding digital experiences to our customers. Technology is instrumental in helping us achieve our objective to be recognised as the best delivery company in the UK and across Europe With a workforce of almost 160,000, our core network handles c.14 billion letters and c.1.8 billion parcels a year, delivering to c. 30 million addresses, 6 days a week. Our technology therefore needs to operate at scale. As a data driven business, with the largest PDA estate in the country, our systems need to handle more than 60m scan events and 1.4bn data points per day. Royal Mail is committed to building an internal development and testing capability, driving digital innovation across the business enabling our business to transform at pace. You will be working for a brand that’s a household name and a critical part of the UK’s infrastructure. Our technology vision is to “Enable, Digitise, Realise”: Enable - Create environments where open conversations are the norm and where teams work alongside each other to complement skills. Digitise - Utilise Technology to support the business. Making Technology thinking integral to the business. Increase the level of automation and implement connected systems.