Strategic Programme Lead - Reach

Macmillan Cancer Support; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Pension matched

Learning and development

Flexible working

Holiday buy/sell

Life insurance

Retail discounts

Job summary

Macmillan Cancer Support is seeking a Strategic Programme Lead to drive the Reach Programme, aligning multi-workstream delivery with impact for people affected by cancer.

You will translate ambition into a collaborative roadmap, manage dependencies and risks, and partner with senior leaders and external partners to ensure outcomes are achieved and learning informs improvements.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading large-scale programmes or portfolios.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity with strategic clarity and delivery practicality.
• Strong influencing and relationship-building in matrix organisations.
• Experience embedding equity and inclusive practice into programme design.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across the Reach Programme and ensure delivery against outcomes.
• Translate strategy into a programme roadmap, manage dependencies and risks.
• Oversee governance, assurance, risk management and reporting.
• Support and challenge workstream leads to maintain strategic focus and momentum.
• Build relationships with senior leaders, partners and lived experience representatives.
• Champion equity-by-design principles throughout programme delivery.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Portfolio management

Stakeholder management

Equity by design

Risk management

Job description

At Macmillan Cancer Support, we're committed to ensuring everyone living with cancer gets the support they need, especially those who face some of the greatest barriers due to who they are or where they live.

We're looking for an exceptional Strategic Programme Lead to provide leadership for our ambitious Reach Programme. This is a high-profile role responsible for driving a complex portfolio of work designed to make our services better connected, easier to navigate, and more effective for people affected by cancer.

Working closely with the Accountable Director, Executive Sponsor, Heads of Service and a range of internal and external partners, you'll hold the strategic overview of the programme, ensuring workstreams are aligned, delivery remains focused on impact, and learning is continuously translated into better outcomes for people living with cancer.

What you'll be doing

As Strategic Programme Lead, you will:

• Provide strategic leadership across the Reach Programme, ensuring delivery against agreed outcomes and success measures.
• Translate strategic ambition into a clear programme roadmap, managing dependencies, risks and trade-offs.
• Lead programme integration across multiple workstreams, ensuring activities are connected and mutually reinforcing.
• Oversee programme governance, assurance, risk management and reporting.
• Support and challenge workstream leads to maintain strategic focus and delivery momentum.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders, partners and people with lived experience.
• Champion equity-by-design principles and inclusive approaches throughout programme delivery.
• Use evidence, insight and learning to influence strategic decisions and improve outcomes.

Who we’re looking for

You’ll be a strategic leader with a track record of delivering large-scale, complex programmes in customer, public service, healthcare or patient‑centred environments.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience leading complex programmes or portfolios with multiple stakeholders.
• The ability to lead through ambiguity while balancing strategic clarity with practical delivery.
• Strong influencing and relationship-building skills, particularly in matrix organisations where success relies on collaboration rather than direct authority.
• Experience embedding equity, participation and inclusive practice into programme design and delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and credibility with senior leaders and external partners.
• A strong evidence‑based approach, using insight and learning to shape decisions and demonstrate impact.

In return, we offer a range of benefits including:

• 25 days holiday plus flexible bank holiday options, increasing by 1 day every year of service up to 30 days
• Pension matched up to 7.5%
• 120+ learning and development offers, with access to external professional qualifications
• Flexible working patterns, such as compressed hours, flexibility to work earlier or later around our core working hours of 10am-4pm
• Holiday buying and selling scheme, life insurance, free wills, retail discounts and much more