GOVERNANCE AND PLANNING MANAGER (PMO) - SC CLEARED

Sanderson Government & Defence; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence is seeking an experienced Governance & Planning Manager to support a major transformation programme in a hybrid PMO governance, planning and delivery role.

This role will take responsibility for core programme governance activities, including maintaining the ADO plan, sprint planning, board and reporting packs, POAP management and RAID coordination, while also supporting the day‑to‑day delivery of individual implementations.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering programmes and projects in complex environments.
• Experience operating within Agile delivery environments.
• PMO, Programme Management or Delivery Management capacity.
• Strong understanding of programme planning, delivery controls and governance.
• Practical knowledge of Agile methodologies: Scrum, Kanban, Lean.
• Experience with sprint planning and backlog management.
• Ability to engage, influence and communicate with multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for day-to-day delivery of individual implementations.
• Coordinate delivery activity across multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder groups.
• Track milestones, dependencies, risks and delivery outcomes.
• Identify blockers and escalate issues as appropriate.
• Balance delivery pace with governance and controls.
• Support Agile ceremonies and delivery forums as required.
• Provide clear reporting to senior stakeholders with progress and risks.

Skills

PMO governance

Delivery management

Agile planning

Stakeholder management

Rapport & reporting

RAID management

Programme planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Facilitation

Job description

Governance & Planning Manager

Grade: SEO
Contract: 6 months
Start Date: 1 September 2026

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Governance & Planning Manager to support a major transformation programme in a hybrid role combining PMO governance, programme planning and hands‑on delivery management. This role will take responsibility for core programme governance activities, including maintaining the ADO plan, sprint planning, board and reporting packs, POAP management and RAID coordination, while also supporting the day‑to‑day delivery of individual implementations.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced PMO professional with previous Delivery Manager experience, able to balance strong governance and planning discipline with a practical, outcome‑focused approach to delivery.

Key Responsibilities

PMO & Governance

• Manage and maintain the ADO plan, ensuring delivery activity, milestones and dependencies are accurately reflected.
• Support and coordinate sprint planning and wider Agile planning activities.
• Develop high‑quality programme board packs, governance papers and reporting packs.
• Maintain the Plan on a Page (POAP) and associated programme reporting.
• Support programme governance processes and ensure appropriate reporting and controls are maintained.
• Assist with external PMO activities, including RAID management, dependency tracking and risk escalation.
• Maintain accurate programme plans, actions, decisions and governance records.
• Provide clear and concise reporting to senior stakeholders, highlighting progress, risks, dependencies and areas requiring intervention.

Delivery Management

• Take responsibility for the day-to-day delivery of individual implementations.
• Coordinate delivery activity across multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder groups.
• Track milestones, dependencies, risks and delivery outcomes to ensure implementation remains on track.
• Identify and remove blockers quickly, escalating issues where appropriate.
• Balance delivery pace with appropriate governance and control.
• Support Agile ceremonies and delivery forums where required.
• Ensure delivery activity remains focused on agreed outcomes, benefits and value.

Essential Knowledge & Experience

Programme & Project Delivery

• Proven experience delivering programmes and projects in complex environments.
• Experience operating within Agile delivery environments.
• Previous experience in a PMO, Programme Management or Delivery Management capacity.
• Strong understanding of programme planning, delivery controls and governance.

Agile Delivery

• Practical knowledge of Agile delivery methodologies including Scrum, Kanban and Lean.
• Experience with sprint planning and backlog management.
• Understanding of iterative delivery techniques.
• Experience working within Product Operating Models.

Governance & Controls

• Strong experience managing RAID.
• Experience producing delivery reporting and programme governance packs.
• Strong programme planning and control capabilities.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective governance without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

Stakeholder Management

• Ability to engage, influence and communicate effectively with multiple stakeholder groups.
• Experience facilitating workshops, governance meetings and delivery forums.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and stakeholder expectations.
• Proven ability to build effective cross‑functional relationships.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable Experience

• Experience working on Government Major Programmes.
• Previous experience delivering digital transformation programmes.
• Experience within estate or workplace transformation.
• Knowledge of the DTaS Product Operating Model.
• Experience working within an FCDO operating environment.
• Experience with Agile at Scale, including SAFe, Scrum@Scale or equivalent approaches.
• Programme management qualifications such as MSP, PRINCE2 Practitioner or AgilePM.

Key Skills & Competencies

Leadership & Collaboration

• Effective facilitator and communicator.
• Able to build trust quickly across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Comfortable working collaboratively across programme, product, technical and business teams.

Delivery Focus

• Strong execution mindset with a focus on outcomes.
• Excellent prioritisation and planning skills.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous and fast‑moving environments.
• Focused on delivering measurable outcomes and value.

Problem Solving

• Proactive approach to identifying and removing blockers.
• Able to balance delivery pace with appropriate governance.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities.
• Proactive approach to risk identification and management.

Organisational Skills

• Excellent planning and coordination capability.
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail.
• Able to manage multiple workstreams, priorities and deadlines simultaneously.
• Comfortable working in fast‑paced transformation environments.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will combine the governance discipline of a strong PMO professional with the hands‑on approach of an experienced Delivery Manager. You will be comfortable managing programme governance and senior reporting while also getting into the detail of delivery, coordinating teams, resolving blockers and ensuring individual implementations progress successfully. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys working across both strategic programme governance and practical day‑to‑day delivery, and who can bring structure, pace and accountability to a complex transformation environment.

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.