St. James's Place
Programme Director (ERP)
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With our refreshed strategy, we’re building on our rich heritage and transforming our business to be more scalable and efficient, unlocking the capabilities needed for future success. This includes significantly investing in technology, streamlining the way we work and creating an environment where colleagues feel engaged, empowered and accountable; where they can show up, speak up and perform - because we believe in the difference our work makes.
At a glance:
- Location: London - Paddington
- Workplace Type: Hybrid
- Employment Type: 36 month Fixed-Term Contract
- Seniority: Director
The role
We are looking for an outstanding Programme Director (ERP) to guide a major business transformation at St. James's Place. This role will develop and implement a future-ready operating model by integrating Finance, People, Data, and Technology with a top ERP and HCM platform.
This is not a technology implementation. It involves a fundamental shift in managing financial performance, empowering people, using data for decisions, and delivering operational excellence. The successful candidate will transform technology, processes, data, controls, and organisational capability in a balanced and coordinated way, crafting long-term value for colleagues, customers, shareholders, and regulators.
We are seeking a proven transformation executive who has successfully led large-scale ERP and HCM-enabled transformations within complex organisations. Collaborating with Executive Committee members, senior business leaders, Technology teams, delivery partners, and external advisers, the individual will offer strategic leadership, foster alignment, and ensure the transformation produces measurable and lasting business results.
Key Responsibilities of the Job:
Enterprise Transformation Leadership
- Define and lead the overall transformation strategy, roadmap, and delivery approach.
- Establish a clear vision that aligns business goals, technology capabilities, and organisational outcomes.
- Drive a coordinated transformation across Finance, People, Data, and Technology.
- Ensure people, process, data, and technology factors are given equal priority throughout the programme lifecycle.
- Build and maintain momentum, alignment, and executive sponsorship.
- Lead mobilisation activities including argument refinement, programme governance, partner selection, and target operating model development.
Executive Collaborator Leadership
- Build positive relationships with Executive Committee members, senior leaders, and Board partners.
- Act as a strategic adviser to executive sponsors, bringing insight, challenge, and independent judgement.
- Align complex groups of collaborators behind a common transformation vision and strategic objectives.
- Build decision making relating to operating models, capability, investment priorities, and organisational change.
- Navigate competing priorities and organisational complexity to maintain pace and momentum.
- Provide high-quality reporting, assurance, and recommendations to governance forums and Boards.
- Influence, challenge, and support collaborators constructively to achieve the best outcomes for the Group.
- Maintain confidence across executive collaborators, ensuring clear visibility of progress, risks, value, and outcomes.
ERP & HCM Delivery Leadership
- Provide leadership across all phases of implementation including strategy, composition, build, testing, deployment, and stabilisation.
- Ensure delivery remains passionate about business outcomes rather than technology implementation achievements.
- Challenge implementation partners and vendors effectively to improve value and delivery quality.
- Drive disciplined decision making on scope, build choices, and prioritisation.
- Ensure programme risks, dependencies, and issues are proactively identified and managed.
- Maintain rigorous governance standards whilst delivering at pace.
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Data Transformation & Governance
- Develop a clear enterprise data approach to support Finance and People transformation objectives.
- Recognise data as a vital element for success and ensure decisions back future reporting, analytics, regulatory needs, and decision making.
- Drive improvements in data quality, ownership, governance, and accountability.
- Coordinate migration strategy and readiness activities.
- Ensure data architecture and governance choices support future reporting, analytics, regulatory requirements, and AI-enabled capabilities.
- Build balanced ownership models that persist beyond programme completion.
Technology & Architecture Partnership
- Work in close partnership with Technology leadership, recognising Technology as a key collaborator and owner of long-term platform support.
- Balance business requirements with technology strategy and architectural principles.
- Ensure successful integration across the enterprise technology landscape.
- Drive decisions that optimise simplicity, scalability, resilience, and long-term maintainability.
- Foster strong collaboration between business and technology teams throughout the transformation.
Operating Model & Process Transformation
- Lead the overhaul and harmonisation of essential Finance and People processes.
- Ensure future-state processes' leverage leading practices while meeting SJP's regulatory and operational requirements.
- Question traditional methods of operation and promote simplification whenever feasible.
- Establish clear accountability, controls, and governance within the future operating model.
- Ensure business readiness and operational sustainability following implementation.
Value Realisation & Performance
- Define and maintain a comprehensive benefits realisation framework aligned to the approved argument.
- Set initial performance benchmarks and result indicators across Finance, People, and Enterprise functions.
- Guarantee that business leadership teams have explicit responsibility for benefit delivery.
- Track, govern, and report value delivery throughout implementation and post-go-live phases.
- Identify and address risks to benefit realisation, ensuring corrective action is taken where required.
- Drive the successful transition from programme ownership to balanced business ownership.
- Ensure strategic investments translate into tangible improvements in performance, efficiency, controls, and user experience.
Partner & Vendor Leadership
- Direct and maintain relationships with principal implementation partners including Big 4 consulting firms and global system integrators.
- Build collaborative relationships whilst providing appropriate challenge and maintaining clear accountability for delivery, quality, and value.
- Challenge assumptions, recommendations, and delivery approaches where necessary.
- Leverage market expertise and industry relationships to accelerate delivery and reduce risk.
- Maintain a strong external network across ERP, HCM, and transformation communities, peers, advisers, and vendors.
Change, Adoption & Organisational Readiness
- Ensure organisational change is incorporated throughout each phase of the transformation programme.
- Drive lasting behavioural, organisational, and cultural change, not simply system adoption.
- Build leadership ownership and accountability for transformation outcomes.
- Build a compelling case for change and maintain engagement across all impacted audiences.
- Ensure colleagues are equipped with the skills, capability, and support required to succeed in the future-state environment.
- Establish balanced adoption and reinforcement mechanisms to embed new ways of working.
- Deliver measurable improvements in user experience, engagement, and operational efficiency.
- Ensure benefits are achieved and sustained beyond debut.
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What you will bring
Essential
- Extensive background managing enterprise-wide ERP and HCM transformations within large, complex organisations.
- Proven experience leading successful enterprise transformation programmes.
- Demonstrable track record of delivering complex transformation programmes spanning multiple business functions.
- Significant background directing Big 4 consulting firms, system integrators, and prominent technology vendors.
- Solid knowledge of Finance and Human Resources operating models and processes.
- Experience leading enterprise data transformation and migration activities.
- Outstanding executive collaborator management and influencing skills.
- Deep programme governance, risk management, and transformation leadership experience.
- Experience operating within highly regulated environments.
- Strong commercial competence with responsibility for significant programme budgets.
Highly Desirable
- Financial Services, Wealth Management, Banking or Insurance sector experience.
- Experience delivering transformation within FTSE 100 organisations.
- Knowledge of modern cloud architecture and enterprise platforms.
- Experience developing target operating models and shared service capabilities.
- Previous accountability for post-go-live value realisation and benefits delivery.
Business Expertise
A recognised transformation leader who has successfully developed and delivered major enterprise-wide business change programmes. Combines strategic vision with disciplined execution and is able to mobilise large organisations behind a common purpose.
What's in it for you?
Whatever stage of life you're in, our benefits are designed to provide the support, flexibility, and peace of mind you need to thrive both at work and beyond.
In addition to our discretionary annual bonus scheme, which reflects both individual and company performance, you'll benefit from a market-leading benefits package tailored to support your wellbeing, financial security, and family life.
Our benefits include:
- 28 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
- Private Medical Insurance – company-funded cover for you and your immediate family
- Generous Pension Scheme – a non-contributory employer contribution of 10%, increasing with length of service up to 15%, plus the opportunity to increase this through salary sacrifice
- Enhanced Parental Leave – up to 26 weeks' full pay to support growing families.
- Protection Benefits – company-funded critical illness cover, income protection, and life assurance
- EV salary sacrifice scheme through Tusker
Reasonable Adjustments
We're an equal opportunities employer and want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive for all, if you require reasonable adjustment(s) at any stage please let us know by emailing us at careers@sjp.co.uk
Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.
What's next?
If you're excited about this role and believe you have the skills and experience we're looking for, we'd love to hear from you! Please submit an application by clicking ‘apply’ below and our team will be in touch.
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