Role Profile
Programme Operations and Practice Manager (Deputy)
Details
Post Title: Programme Operations and Practice Manager (Deputy)
Responsible To: Head of Programme Management
Job Purpose / General Characteristics:
The Programme Operations and Practice Manager is responsible for the operational running
and day to day management of the Programme Management team. The role will have direct
responsibility for the outputs from its core operational functions, namely:
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Corporate Programme Management Office (including quality assurance)
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PPM Practice Lead (standards, methods and tools)
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Portfolio Management
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Capacity Planning and Scheduling (delivery resource planning)
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DTTS Operations Centre
Operating at Senior Manager level and reporting to the Head of Programme Management,
this is a key role in support of the SLC Vision and Mission. As deputy to the Head of
Programme Management and the lead for all operational functions (i.e. all functions other
than programme and project delivery) the role holder provides leadership to all direct
reports and the Programme Management team as a whole.
Given the requirement of the role-holder to drive up the quality and standards in the team,
the role requires a deep understanding of all aspects of Portfolio, Programme and Project
Management and a clear understanding of what constitutes current and emerging good
practice in these areas.
As a senior position the role also requires strong management and leadership skills with a
specific focus on day to day management of their assigned functional teams to ensure that
all their work is planned and managed effectively and that all required outputs and
deliverables are fully developed, robust and produced within required timescales.
Additionally they will have specific responsibility to oversee core operational activity within
the Programme Management team. This includes:
 Sourcing and Recruitment
 Project and Programme Assurance
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Forecasting and allocation of Programme Management staff onto key priorities
Continuous improvement of the quality and effectiveness of the wider Programme
Management function
Performance Management Processes
Training and Development
Responsibilities
Subject to agreed levels of delegated responsibilty from the Head of Programme
Management, the Programme Operations and Practice Manager acts as deputy to the Head
of Programme Management and has responsibilities that include:
Management
 Day to day management of the Programme Management function.
 Lead the promotion and communication of the services of Programme Management
 Provide respected, subject matter expertise across all areas of SLC to provide
guidance and support to senior stakeholders and peers where needed.
 Lead, inspire and develop a team of professionals to enhance the portfolio,
programme and project management capability and consistency in SLC.
 Provide both subject matter expertise and pastoral support and guidance to
members of the team under their control
 Development, implementation and management of the Programme Management
operations plan, governance model and associated processes.
 Monitor resourcing levels within the Programme Management function and identify
and action the assessment, selection and recruitment of PPM practitioners.
 Negotiate and agree priorities and cross-functional working practices with other
internal SLC delivery teams.
 Manage interaction with key internal functions within the Company to ensure overall
governance is achieved, including Audit, HR and Finance.
 Day to day management of the Programme Management budget.
 Representing Programme Management at the Pre ICT Investment Committee.
 Agreeing, tracking and managing the successful completion of corporate and
stakeholder level tasks required of Programme Management.
 Ensuring that the team and individuals remain fully compliant with corporate policies
and legal requirements.
 Operational and commercial management of 3rd party suppliers and service
providers to the Programme Management team.
Measurement, Continuous Improvement and Development
 To ensure that the Programme Management team continues its progress towards
establishing itself as a mature, improving function that delivers added value to the
Company.
 Define and agree a set of KPI’s to measure the performance of the Programme
Management function.
 To establish a governance model that supports a formal Build-Measure-Learn loop to
measure performance of the function against the agreed KPI’s.
 Maintain constructive working relationships with stakeholders and customers of
Programme Management to ensure that the function continues to be aligned to
their current and emerging needs.
 Manage audit plans and assure the implementation of resultant recommendations
that fall within the scope of the programme management function such as the
development of new products or changes to existing working practices.
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Maintain and further improve programme and project management competencies
ensuring that sound standards and processes are adopted.
Manage the relationship with training and development and ensure all PPM
practitioners are trained and developed to deliver against their objectives –
production of training plans, securing training commitment and budget and
delivering against this.
Operational
 Oversee management of the SLC Portfolio to ensure that agreed commissioning and
prioritisation processes for accepting delivery work are applied consistently.
 Managing the overall programme portfolio resources to ensure that conflicts are
resolved using appropriate prioritisation mechanisms via agreed governance and
escalation routes.
 Prepare high quality ‘board level’ papers and reporting mechanisms to ensure that
programme progress is communicated consistently and effectively.
 Efficient production of core portfolio reports for key stakeholders and high profile
boards, including: Main SLC Board reporting, BIS SLC Steering Board, and the
Portfolio and Transformation Board.
 Ensure that effective processes are in place to identify, report and manage risk
across the SLC change portfolio, where appropriate escalating these through agreed
governance channels.
 Ensure that independent assurance of projects and programmes are undertaken and
that consistent practices are adopted across the delivery of the SLC portfolio in line
with the SLC Programme Management framework and P2P processes, and that these
are compliant with MPA standards and PPM best practice.
 Monitor and where necessary manage the review and refinement of existing SLC
Programme Management practices to ensure that they continue to be relevant,
effective and fit for purpose.
 Ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, plus other relevant
internal/external controls and standards within Programme Management and keep
abreast of changes which may impact the business.
 Maintain knowledge of regulatory and legal requirements relevant to Programme
Management and support and promote compliance with those requirements within
the role and the business.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
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Relevant
academic
and
professional
qualifications
or
equivalent
experience/capability.
Excellent leadership, delegation and management skills and the ability to adapt and
flex style and approach to best suit the environment.
Professional experience and ideally qualification across a selection of Prince2, MSP,
P3O and Agile.
Substantial relevant experience delivering complex programmes and projects, gained
over a period of years across a wide range of business and technology areas with
operations that are underpinned by complex ICT infrastructure.
Experience of delivering a wide range of programmes and projects in both Waterfall
and Agile environments across all phases of the Business and IT lifecycles.
Worked in a multi-disciplinary environment in public or private sectors, managing
high profile suppliers and stakeholders.
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Skills and demonstrable experience of delivering change in a high volume complex
processing environment, ideally in financial services.
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Excellent planning and organisational skills.
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Strong commercial understanding and awareness including demonstrable external
contract management experience.
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Ability to quickly acclimatise and contribute positively to new environments.
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Strong people management skills and experience.
A strong understanding of the approaches and techniques needed to develop the
skills, competencies and the effectiveness of teams. Ideally supported by a
demonstrable track record of having successfully achieved this.
Clear willingness to intervene or assist in the activities of their team where
circumstances demand.
Good budgetary management skills and experience.
Strong Stakeholder Management skills at a senior/board level
Excellent communication and negotiation skills to build effective working
relationships with multiple internal and external stakeholders.
Strong problem solving and analytical skills with the ability to identify pragmatic
solutions.
Excellent understanding of the role of Programme Management in the context of
SLC’s wider operational and change delivery vision.
In-depth knowledge of SLC’s mission, vision, strategy, objectives and values.
Good understanding of the political environment, relevant regulations and legislative
issues
In-depth understanding of internal and external customers/partners/stakeholders
and their requirements.
In-depth understanding of (and compliance with) SLC’s corporate policies and
standards.
Fully conversant with MS Office applications suite and MS Project.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills that are tailored to be effective
and meaningful to all levels of audience.
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Key Outputs
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