Senior Programme Manager [Systems Thinking]

As Senior Programme Manager, you will lead a varied portfolio of transformation and improvement activity across Southern Region, working with executive and senior leaders, transformation professionals, industry partners, consultants and suppliers to improve the performance of the railway.

You will provide the leadership and delivery focus that takes work from diagnosis and ideas through to implementation and measurable outcomes. You will shape programmes around the right problems, establish strong governance and delivery disciplines, lead and develop a talented team and maintain a clear focus on outcomes, benefits and value.

This is a visible leadership role operating across organisational and professional boundaries. You will be equally comfortable shaping strategy, challenging thinking and getting things delivered.

• Lead and evolve a portfolio of complex Systems Thinking, transformation and improvement programmes, responding to changing regional priorities and wider industry integration.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team of Systems Thinking, programme and improvement professionals, creating clarity, accountability and a strong delivery culture.
• Work with executive and senior leaders to understand complex operational and organisational challenges and translate them into well-designed programmes of work.
• Bring together consulting, programme management, business improvement and transformation approaches to shape operating strategy and the right interventions.
• Establish and monitor programme standards, governance, controls, risk management, benefits, assurance and reporting, maintaining delivery to agreed time, cost and quality.
• Manage priorities, resources and interdependencies across a changing portfolio, aligning activity with Southern Region, Great British Railways integration and wider transformation.
• Develop robust business cases and secure the funding and resources required to deliver agreed outcomes.
• Manage significant budgets, service providers and commercial relationships, maintaining a strong focus on performance and value for money.
• Build trusted relationships across organisational boundaries, influencing senior leaders, partners, consultants and suppliers to unlock delivery.
• Strengthen transformation and improvement capability, sharing good practice and helping successful approaches become embedded and sustained.

We are looking for an established programme, transformation and delivery leader who is comfortable operating in complex environments and taking accountability for outcomes.

You will bring:

• Significant experience leading large, complex, multi-stakeholder programmes or transformation portfolios, with clear accountability for delivery and demonstrable outcomes.
• Strong programme management capability, supported by a formal programme management qualification or equivalent significant experience, including governance, risk, financial management, benefits, business cases and delivery assurance.
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary professional teams, ideally within consulting, transformation, improvement or another complex delivery environment.
• Strong consulting, diagnostic and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex information and bring structure and clarity to ambiguous problems.
• A strong understanding of improvement methodologies, tools and frameworks
• A strong track record of business improvement and organisational or behavioural change, taking work beyond analysis into implementation and measurable, sustainable outcomes.
• Highly developed influencing, negotiation and relationship-building skills, with the confidence and credibility to work with executive leaders and senior third-party stakeholders.
• The ability to navigate competing priorities and organisational boundaries while maintaining momentum and delivery focus.
• Strong commercial and financial judgement, including experience managing significant budgets, suppliers or professional services.
• Clear, confident communication and the ability to lead effectively through complexity and change.

Railway experience and/or experience in systems thinking methodology would be an advantage, but is not essential. We are particularly interested in people who have successfully led transformation in other complex, operational, infrastructure, regulated or safety-critical environments.

Southern Region provides a particularly exciting environment in which to do this work. With three integrated railways and the wider industry moving towards Great British Railways, there is a real opportunity to influence how the future railway operates, not simply how individual programmes are delivered.

You will join a developing capability with a strong foundation, a varied and high-profile portfolio and the opportunity to work on complex challenges that matter directly to how the railway performs for passengers.

This is a role for someone who enjoys building as well as delivering: leading people, shaping a portfolio, strengthening capability and turning complex challenges into meaningful, sustainable improvement.

If you are an experienced programme, consulting or transformation leader who enjoys complexity, brings people together and knows how to turn ambition into delivery, we would like to hear from you.

Our aim is to ensure your candidate experience is as positive as possible.  

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