Programme Office Manager

Join Our Network – Where People and Connections Matter

If you’re ready to make a real difference, we’d love to hear from you!

We offer excellent benefits, including:

Generous annual leave (28 days plus statutory days), with the option to buy/sell days.

✨ Defined benefit pension scheme.

75% subsidy on rail and underground season tickets.

Up to 75% off leisure travel for you and your family (subject to terms and conditions)

️ Interest-free travel loan for train and car park season tickets.

Discounts at stations with your pass.

Flexible/hybrid working arrangements.

️ Volunteer leave to make a positive impact.

❤ Healthcare Scheme, GymPass discounts, Cycle to work plus more.

We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments

Plus more ..

The railway has seen nearly 200 years of technology and innovation that has transformed how we provide services to passengers and freight customers. Technology is continuing to transform the railway industry. Imagine an exciting environment where Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) are not just buzzwords but the driving force behind every operation, every decision, and every solution.

As part of the DDaT directorate, you have a unique opportunity to enable our customers and industry partner with modern and transformative technology. From the day-to-day IT operations that keeps a national railway running, to the extensive delivery programmes that our helping to reshape the railway – we are at the forefront of all of it. We operate with a talented and passionate workforce, fostering empowered individuals and teams who understand that technology is not just a tool – it’s the catalyst for progress, especially in an ever-demanding industry where change is a constant.

This is an opportunity to join the interface management team working on Project Reach to ensure the successful delivery of fiber cable renewal and public mobile phone improvements across the UK network.

About the role

To manage the operations of the Programme Office, running programme controls, operational assurance, managing MI and demand planning

Key Accountabilities

To run and enforce strong project controls for projects within Project Reach.

• To run an objective, robust health check and governance and assurance process for project estimates, plans, risks, scope, and contract, as part of the Delivery Lifecycle model and investment process.
• To run and enforce an objective, robust change control process for changes to baseline programme and project artefacts. [25%]

To run and enforce strong operational assurance reviews for projects within several Delivery Units: 

• To run regular Issue and Risk Reviews and Qualitative Schedule Risk Assessments for programmes and projects, and periodic reviews of programme and project performance data and key deliverables, identifying issues and escalating to the project managers and Lead Programme Office Manager for immediate resolution.
• To carry out delivery assurance reviews on behalf of the Project Director, reporting on key findings and recommendations to that individual and to senior management, and proactively following up on compliance to the recommendations.

• To provide subject matter expertise in Earned Value Reporting, Qualitative Schedule Risk Assessment, and GBS delivery methodologies, to the project management community.
• To provide analysis and provision of objective management information, including the production of the periodic Executive Review Pack, Delivery Portfolio Reports, and supplier performance Reports.
• To manage communications between the delivery community.
• To play an active role in driving and delivering a continuous improvement programme across the project delivery
• To manage demand management processes for the GBS Delivery organisation:
• To source project demand and resource supply data and run standard processes to identify and analyse capacity variance.
• To produce and publish a plan each period.

Job Skills, Experience & Qualifications

Essentials

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills at the senior management level.
• Strong English business writing skills.
• Competent user of Oracle Projects and Microsoft Office Project.
• Competent user of Microsoft Office Excel and Powerpoint.
• Competent understanding of common contract management frameworks.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience to deliver quality work in a timely and cost effective manner.
• Demonstrable expertise in project controls, including Earned Value Reporting.
• Demonstrable expertise in Qualitative Schedule Risk Assessment.
• Demonstrable expertise in the creation and validation of IT work and cost estimates and plans.
• Demonstrable experience in IT delivery and assurance for programmes and projects from £1m-£5m.
• Experience in managing and/or supporting IT enabled business change programmes.
• Experience in working in a Programme Office function.
• Experience in managing suppliers in an outsourced environment.

Qualifications

• Formal programme/project/project office qualification (e.g. MSP, Prince 2, ISEB Advanced Certificate in PPSO).