Strategic Programme Lead for Census 2031

Cooper & Hall Limited; Fareham; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom is seeking a Programme Manager to lead a portfolio of interconnected projects and business change activities, ensuring delivery of outcomes and strategic benefits.

You will establish governance, manage risks and dependencies, secure resources, and guide multidisciplinary teams to turn ambitions into measurable results while collaborating with senior stakeholders and partners.

Qualifications

• Experience of successfully leading a complex programme planning function for a major programme, including leading others in both waterfall and agile delivery methods and managing dependencies and change.
• Experience working with policy, design, architecture, operational and IT delivery teams to refine, develop and assure delivery plans and resolve complex problems.
• Ability to lead negotiations while maintaining relationships, influencing peers and senior leaders to achieve outcomes.
• Outstanding stakeholder management and communication skills with ability to report to senior stakeholders.
• Portfolio planning, including integrated delivery maps, interdependencies, and change responsiveness.
• Inspiring, motivating and leading people with clear direction and role modelling appropriate behaviours.

Responsibilities

• Develops and secures approval for the business case with project leads and SMEs.
• Manages stakeholder relationships and ensures senior-level support.
• Provides direction and guidance to the team.
• Secures resources, planning, scheduling, resourcing and estimating for complex programmes.
• Oversees risk and issue management and mitigations.
• Ensures benefits are realised by outputs meeting programme requirements.
• Maintains programme integrity and governance, planning assurance activities.
• Translates vision into delivery objectives and drives benefits delivery.
• Manages dependencies and resolves cross-element issues.
• Uses data to monitor performance and inform decisions.

Skills

Complex programme leadership

Collaborative delivery

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Portfolio planning

People leadership

Education

PRINCE2 Practitioner

Agile Project Management Practitioner

APM Project Management Qualification

APM Practitioner Qualification

Job description

The Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom is seeking a Programme Manager to lead a portfolio of interconnected projects and business change activities, ensuring delivery of outcomes and strategic benefits.

You will establish governance, manage risks and dependencies, secure resources, and guide multidisciplinary teams to turn ambitions into measurable results while collaborating with senior stakeholders and partners.