Upgrade Strategy Lead

Rws; Maidenhead; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

RWS in Maidenhead seeks a Programme Manager to lead the upgrade strategy across product lines, coordinating with Engineering, Product, Architecture and Customer teams to streamline upgrades and reduce customization complexity.

You will partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to align priorities, manage risks, and drive governance with KPIs and dashboards for executive reporting. The role emphasizes clear business impact and customer‑centric delivery.

Qualifications

• Programme leadership across multi‑quarter, multi‑team initiatives.
• Strong grasp of software architecture, versioning and upgrade lifecycles.
• Experience driving process simplification and standardisation across teams.
• Skilled at aligning Engineering, Product, CS and Commercial groups.
• Ability to use upgrade metrics and technical insights for priority setting.
• Strong communication ensuring senior leadership understands business impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Upgrade Strategy; Own the end‑to‑end programme to simplify and streamline the upgrade path across all product lines.
• Coordinate Cross‑Functional Delivery; Partner with Engineering, Product, Architecture and Customer teams to align priorities, dependencies and timelines.
• Reduce Customisation Complexity; Work with engineering leads to identify, phase out or standardise legacy customisations that block upgrade adoption.
• Define Governance & Reporting; Establish programme governance, cadence, KPIs, dashboards and executive reporting to track progress and risks.
• Manage Risks & Dependencies; Proactively surface technical, operational and customer‑impact risks and drive mitigation plans.
• Improve Customer Upgrade Adoption; Ensure customers can access new versions quickly by removing friction points and coordinating rollout readiness.
• Drive Continuous Improvement; Use insights from each upgrade cycle to refine processes, tooling and cross‑team collaboration.
• Act as the Strategic Bridge; Translate technical complexity into clear business impact for senior leadership and commercial teams.

Skills

Programme Leadership

Technical Understanding

Change & Transformation

Stakeholder Management

Data‑Driven Decision Making

Communication & Influence

Customer‑Centric Mindset

Risk & Dependency Management

Job description

RWS in Maidenhead seeks a Programme Manager to lead the upgrade strategy across product lines, coordinating with Engineering, Product, Architecture and Customer teams to streamline upgrades and reduce customization complexity.

You will partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to align priorities, manage risks, and drive governance with KPIs and dashboards for executive reporting. The role emphasizes clear business impact and customer‑centric delivery.