Principal Consultant - Programme Advisory

AtkinsRéalis UK Limited; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working culture

Professional development opportunities

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

AtkinsRéalis UK Limited is seeking a senior Programme Advisory professional to drive mobilisation and delivery of major infrastructure projects across sectors including Nuclear, Rail and Water. You will design Target Operating Models, lead PMOs, and provide strategic advice to optimise performance and benefits realization.

You will work within multidisciplinary teams in a hybrid UK environment, engaging senior stakeholders and shaping client outcomes with practical, evidence-based approaches.

Qualifications

• Experience leading programmes across large infrastructure projects.
• Strong governance, change and portfolio management skills.
• Ability to analyse complex data and produce actionable insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead mobilisation and delivery of major transformational projects.
• Design and refine operating models and organisational design.
• Provide strategic advice on business transformations and programme efficiency.
• Manage stakeholder relationships and facilitate workshops.

Skills

Target Operating Model

PMO Leadership

Maturity Assessments

Strategic Advisory

Job description

Job Description Overview

We’ve experienced significant success in the complex infrastructure sector over the last two years, positioning Programme Advisory as one of the fastest-growing parts of our organisation. With ambitious plans for even faster growth in the coming years, we are looking to expand our team with talented and passionate professionals. Our Programme Advisory team works with some of the largest and most complex infrastructure programmes in the UK, supporting sectors such as Nuclear, Aviation, Defence, Water, Transportation, Power, and Renewables. We’re currently embedded in major UK programmes, including Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, High Speed 2, TRU, and Thames Water.

Our clients face increasing pressure to drive productivity, improve performance, and reduce costs. We help them create the structures, processes, technology, and behaviours needed to turn their vision of a more streamlined operation into reality. We pride ourselves on our collaborative approach, empowering our clients with trusted partnerships to solve complex challenges and ensure they are well-positioned for future success. By joining our Programme Advisory team, you will be part of a genuinely collaborative environment where everyone is supported to maximise their talents. We believe in recognising everyone’s contributions equally while delivering excellence together.

Your role

Are you someone who: Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and is driven to make a real impact? Is passionate about contributing to transformational change across major infrastructure sectors? Enjoys solving complex challenges and delivering innovative solutions? Is motivated by working within multidisciplinary teams across different client environments? If you answered "yes" to these questions, this role could be an excellent fit for you!

This is a unique opportunity to work alongside some of the most experienced teams in the global AtkinsRéalis business, across a wide variety of programmes. You will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our ambitious growth objectives while also developing your career and advancing your personal growth journey.

We are seeking enthusiastic individuals to support our three core capability pillars:

• Technical Leadership: Acting as subject matter experts, providing expert advice and insight to clients across infrastructure sectors.
• Operational Leadership: Supporting the development and growth of future AtkinsRéalis teams, prioritising welfare, talent retention and professional development.
• Win Work Leadership: Advocating our capabilities to clients, helping to expand our portfolio and secure new projects.

About you

Bringing around over ten years of experience in major programmes across consultancy and complex infrastructure, this profile blends strong expertise in Target Operating Models, organisational change, and maturity assessment. Experience of leading PMO, transformation, and strategy initiatives, working confidently with senior stakeholders, and guiding teams to deliver high‑quality outcomes.

Programme Lifecycle: You will contribute across the full programme lifecycle, leading the mobilisation and delivery of major transformational projects and PMOs.

Target Operating Model: design and refine Target Operating Models that align structure, processes, governance, technology, and capabilities to strategic objectives.

Maturity Assessments: conduct robust maturity assessments across PMO, programme delivery, governance, and organisational capability domains producing clear evidence based insights and recommendations.

Organisational Change: Planning and delivering organisational change interventions to support smooth transition, assessing change impacts and developing targeted strategies for adoption and communication.

Process Mapping: Develop and document best practices, processes, and guidance for programme teams and PMOs, such as creating PMO Handbooks and similar resources.

Strategic Advisory: Provide strategic advice on business transformations, organisational design, portfolio management, and improving programme efficiencies to deliver superior performance.

Stakeholder Management: Leading commissions & build strong relationships with key stakeholders, tailoring communications to specific audiences and facilitating effective workshops (in‑person, virtual, or hybrid).

Analytical Skills: Apply your strong analytical thinking to collect, organise, and analyse significant amounts of data, ensuring the accurate delivery of insights and recommendations.

Proactive Approach: Take initiative in delivering high‑quality advice and solutions in dynamic, complex, and often ambiguous environments.

Driving Change: Lead change initiatives, driving tangible results in fast‑evolving environments.

Technical Excellence: Leverage your area of expertise to deliver exceptional service to our clients, ensuring that both clients and internal teams benefit from your technical knowledge and insights.

Business Development: Use your client management skills to enhance AtkinsRealis brand position and build deep connections with current and future clients.

Leadership: Contribute to the ongoing success of our practice by working with junior members of the team on their professional development and programme advisory skillset.

Professional Certifications: Ideally, you will hold or be working towards certifications such as APM PMQ/PPQ/ChPP, MoP, MSP, or PRINCE2, or similar qualifications.

Rewards & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career.

• Enjoy competitive salaries, employee rewards and a brilliant range of benefits you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choices.
• Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise.
• Combine our hybrid working culture and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.

Be rewarded. Find out more.

About AtkinsRéalis

We’re AtkinsRéalis, a world‑class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We’re committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people. Find out more.

Additional information Security Clearance

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. The vetting process is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) and may require candidates to provide proof of residency in the UK of 5 years or longer. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we are committed to offering an interview to all applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria. If you would like to be considered under this commitment, please let us know at the application stage.

Worker Type Employee Job Type Regular

At AtkinsRéalis, we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world‑class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.

Created by the integration of long‑standing organizations dating back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world‑class engineering services and nuclear company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end‑to‑end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear and Capital.

News and information are available at Atkinsrealis or follow us on LinkedIn.