Job Description

PCD270036

Role: Programme Director
Location: London/ Remote 
Duration: 3 year programme 
Rate: TBC
IR35: Outside 

Overview
We are seeking a contract Programme Director to lead a high profile programme or portfolio of programmes, delivering strategic outcomes across business and technology change. This is a senior leadership role with full accountability for end to end delivery, governance, senior stakeholder alignment, benefits realisation, financial control, and vendor performance. You will set the delivery strategy, establish the operating model, and lead multiple delivery teams to execute at pace while maintaining strong risk and compliance discipline.

You will operate as the primary point of accountability for programme outcomes, shaping roadmap and priorities, managing complex dependencies, and driving executive decisions. The role requires confident leadership across C level stakeholders, strong commercial and supplier management, and the ability to recover or stabilise programmes where needed.

Key responsibilities
You will define and own the programme vision, outcomes, roadmap, and delivery approach, ensuring alignment to business strategy and measurable benefits. You will establish governance and delivery rhythm, including steering committees, executive reporting, decision management, and clear escalation routes.

You will lead senior delivery teams, including programme managers, project managers, PMO, business analysts, architects, and third party suppliers, ensuring resourcing, capacity, and delivery standards are in place. You will oversee end to end delivery across multiple workstreams, ensuring scope control, dependency management, and delivery assurance, with effective risk management and issue resolution.

You will own financial governance, including budget planning, forecasting, spend control, and benefits tracking. You will manage supplier commercials and performance, ensuring contractual obligations are met, delivery quality remains high, and value for money is achieved.
You will build strong executive stakeholder relationships, communicate clearly, and drive timely decisions. You will ensure the programme meets required compliance, security, and audit standards, and you will oversee implementation readiness, cutover strategy, service transition, and business readiness where applicable.

Essential experience and skills
• Proven experience as a Programme Director leading large scale, complex programmes or portfolios
• Strong executive stakeholder management and governance leadership
• Track record of delivering measurable outcomes, benefits, and value realisation
• Excellent delivery assurance, dependency management, RAID control, and escalation discipline
• Strong commercial and vendor management, including contract and performance governance
• Strong financial ownership, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost control
• Ability to lead multi disciplinary teams across business, technology, and operations
• Comfortable working in regulated environments with high availability, risk, and compliance requirements

Desirable
• Experience across major transformations such as cloud migration, cyber security, ERP, data modernisation, network and infrastructure change, or operating model transformation
• Frameworks and certifications such as MSP, PRINCE2, APM, SAFe, Agile, ITIL
• Experience of programme recovery, turnaround, or complex stakeholder environments
• Strong reporting capability and the ability to simplify complex information for executive audiences