Program Lead

JR United Kingdom; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic Transformation Programme Lead to oversee a vital portfolio of change. This role is pivotal in driving menu innovation and value acceleration within a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in leading large-scale programmes, with a strong focus on stakeholder management and relationship building. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and momentum, delivering impactful results. Join this exciting journey to transform the casual dining experience and make a significant impact in the hospitality sector.

Benefits

Competitive annual salary

Discretionary 20% bonus opportunity

Pension contributions

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Various discounts across retail, hospitality, and leisure

Family-friendly policies

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in transformation programme leadership within hospitality or retail.
• Proven ability to deliver in fast-evolving environments with strong governance expertise.

Responsibilities

• Lead the successful delivery of a cross-functional transformation programme.
• Establish effective programme governance and create detailed project plans.

Skills

Transformation Programme Leadership

Stakeholder Management

Project Planning

Risk Management

Relationship Building

Agile Methodologies

Change Management

Tools

PRINCE2

MSP

Job description

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At Wagamama, we’re an eating house for the soul. With over 165 UK restaurants and growing, our purpose is to nourish the world from bowl to soul. Inspired by fast-paced Japanese ramen bars since 1992, we celebrate Asian food brought to life.

We’re looking for a Programme Lead to join us on our journey of true nourishment.

We’re seeking an experienced and dynamic Transformation Programme Lead to oversee a highly visible and strategically important portfolio of change, focusing on menu innovation and value acceleration for our beloved casual dining brand. This senior role requires someone who can start effectively, with a proven track record in delivering complex transformation programmes within hospitality or retail sectors.

The successful candidate will have extensive experience in establishing and leading large-scale, cross-functional programmes, ideally in hospitality or retail, with a solid understanding of food development, menu launches, guest experience, and enabling technology. The ideal candidate will be confident, charismatic, and skilled at building relationships across all levels of a business. You will need to network quickly, integrate, and influence across various functions — from food development and operations to technology and marketing — to ensure alignment and momentum from day one. You might oversee projects within our ‘Menu + Value’ strategic programme, including food development and menu launches, or our ‘Guest + Brand’ programme, involving service model re-engineering and group proposition development.

Many of our plans are already underway, so we need someone who can take charge swiftly, demonstrating control by creating clear, detailed, and actionable programme and project plans that simplify complex information for focused delivery. You will be expected to establish robust governance, proactive reporting, and ensure visibility of risks, dependencies, and key decisions.

This role demands someone who brings immediate credibility, can facilitate confidently at the executive level, and drive momentum across teams. Working under tight deadlines and within a lean business model, you’ll need to be hands-on, pragmatic, resourceful, and capable of working at pace, making things happen, and rallying the right people to achieve goals.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the successful delivery of a fast-paced, cross-functional transformation programme
• Establish and embed effective programme and project governance, including milestone tracking, dependency management, and risk mitigation
• Create and own detailed programme + project plans, ensuring alignment with strategic goals
• Partner closely with cross-functional leaders to deliver new propositions, trials, and national rollouts
• Serve as a key leader within the change & transformation function, reporting to senior leadership and fostering cross-business engagement
• Guide other delivery managers to support daily delivery, ensuring their success
• Build strong, trusted stakeholder relationships across the business for alignment and buy-in

Extensive transformation programme leadership experience in hospitality, casual dining, or retail is essential, preferably with exposure to menu development, product launches, and POS/tech transformation.

Proven ability to deliver swiftly in ambiguous or fast-evolving environments, with strong governance expertise.

• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
• A natural networker, charismatic and collaborative, able to integrate quickly into a new organization
• Hands-on and strategic, comfortable setting direction and diving into details
• Skilled in programme and project planning, risk management, and cross-team leadership
• Familiarity with agile, PRINCE2, MSP, or similar frameworks is desirable
• Knowledge of change management frameworks like Prosci, ADKAR, or similar is desirable

What’s in it for you

• A competitive annual salary
• Discretionary 20% bonus opportunity
• Pension contributions
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Various discounts across retail, hospitality, and leisure
• Family-friendly policies, including 26 weeks full pay + 13 weeks half pay for expectant or adopting parents