Senior Programme Manager

Cushman & Wakefield; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Cushman & Wakefield is seeking a Senior Programme Manager to lead complex client Real Estate programmes within the PMO. The role collaborates with global and EMEA teams to plan, mobilise, deliver and track multifaceted workstreams.

The successful candidate will drive strategy translation, governance, risk management and stakeholder alignment while developing the PMO offering in EMEA. A strong commercial mindset and leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• Degree in Real Estate and/or Programme Management.
• 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Ability to engage with diverse stakeholders and influence decisions.
• Strong communication and organisational skills to mobilise large project teams.
• Strong knowledge of Programme Management tools and governance.
• Commercial mindset with cross-sell opportunities.
• Ownership mindset and problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Kick off programmes by leading steering committee, working groups and meetings; ensure governance is in place.
• Translate strategy into achievable programme deliverables and gain buy-in.
• Ensure critical success factors and goals are approved and communicated to drive change culture.
• Identify stakeholders, resourcing gaps, risks, decision makers; communicate roles and responsibilities.
• Develop and manage cross-channel communication plans and knowledge sharing.
• Identify and mitigate risks; manage the Risk Register and escalations.
• Create a master programme plan and own it throughout the programme.
• Coordinate integration with in-flight projects and perform planned handovers.
• Plan programme timeline, milestones and slack.
• Develop budget and manage business case approvals with stakeholders.
• Apply change control to govern scope creep and alignment.
• Facilitate training and onboarding within the programme.
• Develop playbooks, process docs and governance tools.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Governance

Risk management

Budgeting

Change management

Leadership

Communication

Cross-functional

Education

Degree in Real Estate/PM

Job description

Senior Programme Manager

Job Title Senior Programme Manager Job Description Summary Cushman & Wakefield is a global leader in commercial real estate services, helping clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. The firm’s 53,000 employees in more than 70 countries provide deep local and global insights that create significant value for occupiers and investors around the world. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenues of $10.1 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facilities services (branded C&W Services), global occupier services, investment management (branded DTZ Investors), tenant representation, and valuations & advisory. The objective of the role is to deliver strategic management of client Real Estate programmes within the Programme Management Office (PMO). This position works closely with various global and EMEA clients, third parties and diverse cross‑functional stakeholders within Cushman & Wakefield to advise, plan, mobilise, deliver and track complex and multifaceted deliverables. This includes, but is not limited to, developing and maintaining comprehensive programme planning and control systems, ensuring effective integration and communication across stakeholders, driving momentum and alignment of programme activity, managing risk and escalations, implementing robust compliance and governance protocols and providing ultimate programme oversight. A Senior Consultant at Cushman & Wakefield provides excellent professional advice and service to clients and is a member of a key talent pool within the organisation. The role will be significant to the development and growth of the PMO offering in EMEA. The expectation is that the successful candidate will be able to identify opportunities within the EMEA Real Estate market and support leadership in business development in addition to client delivery work.

Key Responsibilities

• Kick off new programmes by leading steering committee, working group and subject specific meetings across all levels of seniority and ensuring meeting governance is in place throughout.
• Guide client and operations teams to clearly identify and agree strategy, translate these into achievable programme deliverables and gain buy in.
• Ensure critical success factors, goals and objectives are approved, robust and effectively communicated to create successful change culture.
• Identify stakeholders, resourcing gaps, stakeholder risk, appointed decision makers, and ensure Roles and Responsibilities are communicated and understood.
• Engage programme and project teams and develop and manage communication plans across all channels, including knowledge sharing, programme updates, confidentiality, access and media management.
• Ensure early risk identification mechanisms are in place, manage the Risk Register, mitigating actions and escalations.
• Lead all subject matter experts to develop, review, integrate and commit to programme phases, tasks and deliverables to create a master programme plan, own the plan throughout the programme.
• Engage operational teams to review any in‑flight projects or programmes that will affect or be affected by programme activities and ensure well planned integration activities.
• Plan and agree programme timeline, critical dates, milestones and slack.
• Develop budget and cost plan in line with financial stakeholders, manage business case approval workflow.
• Employ change control mechanisms to govern scope creep and alignment.
• Employ change management mechanisms to ensure continued engagement of sponsors, project teams and end users.
• Develop and issue reporting, tracking and communication tools and updates to align to the communications plan and ensure stakeholder engagement and alignment.
• Develop and implement early and post programme feedback mechanisms to ensure the programme is successful, implement iterative process improvement.
• Facilitate training and onboarding throughout the programme.
• Develop and / or facilitate development of Playbooks, process documentation and governance tools to capture best practice and future operations.

Person Specification

• Degree in relevant Real Estate and / or Programme Management field and 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Ability to engage with diverse stakeholders at all levels of an organisation and influence decision making processes.
• Very strong communication and organisational skills to mobilise, motivate and align large project teams.
• Willingness to take ownership and solve problems to ensure deliverables are met, including escalation and delegation where needed.
• Strong knowledge of Programme Management tools and methodologies, ability to build and deliver governance and control across multiple programmes concurrently.
• Highly motivated with a focus on delivering excellence for clients.
• Strong commercial mindset, ability to contribute to financial success through execution and capability to identify opportunities to cross-sell.
• Ability to stay current in own field and pursues opportunities to demonstrate expertise.
• Shows professionalism and leadership qualities and supports and develops early talent.
• The ability to work independently and allocate resources consistent with business goals.

Cushman & Wakefield is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

Ensure a well‑planned and well‑prepared handover to operations teams, with clear ongoing roles and responsibilities and ownership of outstanding actions and close out.

Cushman & Wakefield is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Build a strong colleague and client network and support Associates and Partners in identifying and delivering new business and aid the growth of the business. Maintain a strong ‘Opportunity and Ownership’ culture. Maintain professional and ethical standards, best representing Cushman & Wakefield.

Cushman & Wakefield is committed to equity in employment, and our goal is to have a diverse, inclusive and barrier‑free workplace. If you are a person with a disability and need any other accessible accommodations during the hiring process, you are invited to bring this to the Talent Acquisition Advisor’s attention once they have made contact.

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield” About Cushman & Wakefield Cushman & Wakefield Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global commercial real estate services firm for occupiers and investors with approximately 53,000 employees in over 350 offices and nearly 60 countries. In 2025, the firm reported revenue of $10.3 billion across its core service lines of services, Leasing, Capital markets, and Valuation and other. Built around the belief that Better never settles, the firm receives numerous industry and business accolades for its award‑winning culture. For additional information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com