Higher Digital
Programme Manager
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Role Purpose
The Programme Manager will lead the definition and mobilisation of Wave 2 of the ServiceNow Next Generation Programme, building on delivery of Wave 1 and ensuring the programme is positioned for successful future delivery.
Working as part of the programme leadership team, the role is responsible for shaping a clear, deliverable scope and approach for Wave 2, grounded in organisational priorities, operational needs and lessons learned from Wave 1. This includes establishing a credible delivery plan, resource model, and governance approach to support subsequent approval and mobilisation.
The Programme Manager will drive stakeholder engagement at senior levels, ensuring alignment across business and iSolutions teams, and will coordinate cross-functional activity spanning technology, data, testing, business change, and supplier delivery.
A key focus of the role is to translate learning from Wave 1 into improved delivery confidence for Wave 2, strengthening assumptions, reducing risk, and ensuring the programme is set up for scalable, sustainable delivery.
The role will maintain clear oversight of risks, dependencies, finances, and delivery readiness, providing robust assurance and enabling informed decision-making at Digital Delivery Board and Digital Committee.
Key Service Responsibilities
Programme Leadership & Governance
- Provide programme-level leadership to shape the design of Wave 2, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and organisational priorities
- Lead early-stage programme definition, ensuring scope, objectives and foundational assumptions are clearly articulated and evidence based
- Establish governance structures and decision-making processes suitable for the design phase, ensuring transparency, traceability and timely escalation.
- Prepare and present programme updates, design decisions risks and financial papers to governance boards and senior stakeholders
- Ensure RAID management with structured escalation.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Programme Culture & Advocacy
- Act as a visible champion for the Programme across the University, promoting its strategic purpose, and building confidence in the design of Wave 2
- Communicate progress, risks, insights and design decisions to ensure stakeholders remain informed, engaged and aligned
- Engage senior stakeholders and suppliers to maintain visibility and reinforce how the proposed Wave 2 design aligns with organisational needs and priorities
- Provide motivating, visible and cohesive leadership across all programme resources
- Foster a high-performance culture, shared ownership of outcomes and clarity of purpose
- Shape ways of working that encourage collaboration, momentum and discipline during discovery and design activities.
- Promote an evidence-based, lessons learned driven culture by embedding insights from Wave 1 and encouraging openness, reflection and continuous improvement
Delivery Stabilisation & Assurance
- Assess delivery status across workstreams and identify sequencing risks and blockers that may impact programme design
- Recommend and implement stabilisation actions to ensure that discovery and design activities progress in a controlled and disciplined manner
- Drive delivery discipline, transparency and structured reporting to support evidence-based choices
Financial & Commercial Oversight
- Monitor budget performance during Wave 2, ensuring expenditure and forecast-to-complete remain aligned to programme assumptions.
- Oversee supplier performance and commercial compliance.
- Own business case development through clear financial articulation of options, costs, risks and benefits
Stakeholder, Supplier & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Build productive senior stakeholder relationships across Faculties and Professional Services to ensure programme design aligns with organisational needs
- Lead integrated delivery across PMs, BAs, Test Leads, Technical and Change teams to ensure coherent and joined up design decisions.
- Act as the senior interface with suppliers, ensuring clarity of scope, expectations and Wave 2 deliverables.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Benefits, Readiness & Transition
- Embed benefits management and transition planning into early design work, ensuring proposed scope and options align with expected outcomes and measurable value
- Oversee transition planning approach, ensuring that initial service acceptance criteria and transition-to-BAU considerations are incorporated into Wave 2 design
Required Skills, Knowledge & Experience – Essential
- Professional qualification or equivalent experience:
- PRINCE2 or similar qualification.
- Experience delivering major transformation programmes.
- Managing Successful Programmes MSP experience
- Strong programme governance and delivery skills.
- Leadership & Communication:
- Influences senior stakeholders and presents complex information clearly.
- Planning & Analysis:
- Ability to plan and manage major programmes.
- Strong analytical and forecasting capability.
Service Context
- Services delivered under oversight of the Associate Director, Staff Hubs (ServiceNow Business Owner).
- Onsite presence expected 1 day per week – this may need to flex to up to 3 as programme develops.
- Candidate must live within commuting distance of Southampton
- Supplier determines how services are delivered and may provide a substitute.
- No line management responsibility for university employees.
- 3 - 6 months contract
This role profile is outcomes-based, allowing the supplier to determine delivery methods, supporting substitution and commercial independence.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London