Programme and Projects Manager East Cambridgeshire District Council

Spotted in Ely; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Childcare scheme

Training and development

Occupational health programme

Holiday and sickness scheme entitl

Job summary

Cambridgeshire County Council is seeking a Programme and Projects Manager to lead and coordinate activity across LGR workstreams, translating objectives into clear plans and ensuring milestones, risks and dependencies are actively managed.

You will support transition readiness, produce high-quality reports for senior officers and elected Members, and work in a politically sensitive, multi-council environment. A strong track record in programme management is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience across the full delivery lifecycle.
• A recognised programme or project management qualification, or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Strong governance, assurance, risk and issue management, and benefits realisation experience.
• Experience of working across services, organisations, or partners to manage dependencies and deliver shared outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead programme and project activity across assigned LGR workstreams in line with Council priorities and milestones.
• Develop, maintain and quality assure programme and project plans, risk/issue logs, dependency trackers, and assurance docs per PMO standards.
• Coordinate activity across services, workstream leads, project teams and partner councils; manage dependencies and escalations.
• Provide progress reports, highlight reports, briefings and decision papers for senior officers and elected Members.
• Identify, manage and escalate risks, issues and delivery challenges to prevent slippage and maintain delivery control.
• Undertake assurance activities including health checks, gateway reviews and lessons learned.
• Support benefits realisation by tracking outcomes and keeping delivery focused on measurable improvement.
• Build relationships across Council services, seven councils and partner organisations to support collaboration.

Skills

Programme management

Project governance

Stakeholder management

Risk & issue management

Reporting

Communication

Emotional intelligence

Education

PM qualification

Job description

Post reference: LGR001

£46,142 to £50,269 per annum plus benefits

Full time, permanent or fixed term

Local Government Reorganisation is one of the most significant changes facing councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It will reshape how local government is organised, how decisions are made and how public services are delivered for residents, businesses, and communities for years to come.

About the role

As Programme and Projects Manager, you will lead and coordinate programme and project activity across assigned LGR workstreams. You will translate complex and evolving objectives into clear plans, making sure scope, milestones, resources, benefits, risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies are understood and actively managed.

You will play an important part in transition readiness: coordinating activity across services, tracking preparedness, identifying what needs to change and ensuring key actions, decisions and dependencies are visible. The role will also involve producing high-quality reports and decision papers for senior officers, programme boards, governance forums, and elected Members.

This is a role for someone who is comfortable working at pace, can bring structure to ambiguity and is confident supporting delivery in a politically sensitive, multi-council environment. It will suit an experienced programme or project professional who wants to make a real contribution to a major public sector change programme.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the programme and project activity across assigned LGR workstreams, aligned to Council priorities, statutory requirements, transition readiness needs, and wider programme milestones.
• Develop, maintain and quality assure programme and project plans, reports, risk and issue logs, dependency trackers, and assurance documentation in line with PMO standards
• Coordinate activity across services, workstream leads, project teams and partner councils, making sure dependencies are understood, managed, and escalated where needed
• Provide clear, evidence-based progress reports, highlight reports, briefings and decision papers for senior officers, programme boards, governance forums, and elected Members
• Identify, manage, and escalation risks, issues, and delivery challenges, taking proactive action to prevent slippage and maintain delivery control
• Undertake assurance activity, including project health checks, gateway reviews, lessons learned and compliance with agreed programme frameworks
• Support benefits realisation by defining intended outcomes, tracking progress, and keeping delivery focused on measurable improvement
• Build strong working relationships across Council services, the seven councils and partner organisations, using sound judgement and emotional intelligence to support collaboration and manage challenge
• Provide practical advice and support to managers and workstream leads on programme and project management methods, tools, governance, and reporting standards

About you

You will be an experienced programme or project professional with a strong track record of delivering change in complex organisational environments. You will be able to bring structure, pace, and assurance to work that is high profile, fast moving and sometimes uncertain.

You will bring:

• Significant experience of programme and/or project management across the full delivery lifecycle
• A recognised programme or project management qualification, or equivalent demonstrable experience
• Strong understanding of programme governance, PMO standards, assurance, risk and issue management, benefits realisation, and reporting
• Experience of working across services, organisations, or partners to manage dependencies and deliver shared outcomes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear reports, briefings, decision papers, and presentations for senior audiences
• The confidence to influence, negotiate and constructively challenge senior stakeholders, workstream leads and partner organisations
• Good judgement, resilience, and emotional intelligence, particularly when working with ambiguity, competing priorities and sensitive information
• Experience of local government, public sector change or large-scale transformation would be helpful, but is not essential

Why join us?

• Play a central role in a landmark public sector transformation programme
• Help shape how local services are organised and delivered across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Work in a visible, challenging and rewarding programme environment, with support from experienced PMO and LGR colleagues
• Collaborate with committed colleagues across services, councils, and partner organisations
• Develop your programme management experience on work that has genuine long-term impact for residents and communities

If you are motivated by meaningful change, enjoy bringing clarity to complexity and want to help the council prepare well for Local Government Reorganisation, we would welcome your application.

Benefits

In return, the council offers a range of benefits including:

• flexible working
• childcare scheme (in approved cases)
• training and development
• occupational health programme
• holiday and sickness scheme entitlements

If you are looking to work for an organisation that prioritises environmental sustainability, the council has made a clear commitment to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner and has recently been awarded the silver accreditation of the Investors in the Environment scheme as well as coming 43rd (out of 164) on the latest national council climate scorecard.

For an informal discussion regarding the post please contact Isabel Edgar, Director (Operations) on 01353 616301.

Closing date for completed applications is Sunday 23 August 2026

The selection process will be held week commencing Tuesday 1 September 2026

Please note that only candidates selected for interview will be contacted by the HR Department with the confirmation of an interview. If you have not been contacted by that date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

The council is an equal opportunities employer and operates a no smoking policy.