Programme Manager

Reporting to: IT Head of Business Solutions Management

Department Purpose and Structure
The Business Solutions Management team are responsible for the management of projects, typically (but not exclusively) involving the development and implementation of business processes and standards to meet identified business needs, acquiring and utilising the necessary resources and skills, within agreed parameters of cost, timescales, and quality.

The Technology Programme Manager has a number of direct reports as depicted in the diagram below, they report to the IT Head of Business Solutions Management. In addition the Technology Programme Manager will be responsible for a number of Contractors and Consultants as work dictates and the day to day management of on site
Business Solutions Management permanent Belfast staff.

Role Purpose
The Technology Programme Manager is responsible for the management of a portfolio of programmes and projects to ensure the most effective, timely and appropriate IT solutions are developed to meet business objectives. The role owner will drive performance and delivery of multiple projects/workstreams with a common goal and governance framework. The Technology Programme Manager will undertake IT and commercial decision-making, and deliver IT solutions for key stakeholders.

Key Relationships
Business Solutions Management Team
Supplier(s)
Global IT Support, CTO and Service Management Teams
Programme Sponsors and Senior Stakeholders
Relationship Managers

Job Description

Role and Responsibilities

Business / IT Strategy
Ensure a robust business strategy/business case is developed in conjunction with the business and that the right level of business support and signoff is obtained and the business focuses on developing programme acceptance criteria, training, relevant process and procedure updates
Manage the programme team in understanding business requirements and translating this into operational plans
Undertake IT and commercial decision, maintain clarity and transparency through decision-making process
Work with stakeholders, IT colleagues and suppliers to ensure the most cost effective, timely & appropriate IT solutions are developed to fulfil the commercial and business requirements to agreed standards of quality
Establish and maintain good relationships with the business, Global IT and suppliers resolving conflicting priorities or issues that may arise
Work with Project Managers to ensure all projects are aligned to the Programme/Portfolio deliverables
Working with the Business Programme Manager to maintain a single view of the Firms Demand and Resources
Working with the Business Programme Manager to maintain all governance forums around the portfolio and within there Programmes and Projects

Business Change Analysis
Plan significant analysis tasks and manages the activities of team members
Ensure the business case produced meets agreed quality standards,
Work with Project Sponsors to ensure the benefits identified in business cases have been identified and keep up to date during the project lifecycle
Work with the business to make sure they track and measure business benefits that are identified in the business case

Projects and Programmes
Responsible for the delivery of the portfolio of programmes and projects to meet the agreed business requirements within timescale, quality and cost constraints.
Create strategy for resource and demand management within Business Solutions, and authorises allocation of resources for projects
Ensure all hard stage and project plans are maintained in EPM by project managers, that plans are accurate and key milestones are incorporated
Manage the programme budget within agreed tolerance
Establish and shape the programme including governance frameworks

Analysis
Advises on what to evaluate and the type of evaluation required
Adhere to the standards as laid down by the Quality and Software Development Manager

Design
Manages and applies up-to-date, specialist knowledge of techniques and design principles
Adhere to the principles and standards as laid down by the ARB

Build & Implementation
· Drive performance and delivery across the solution/application delivery team

Testing
· Ensure all programmes and projects adhere to the agreed standards of testing.
· Support the Quality manager in the effective management of testing resources

Risk Management
Conduct risk assessments within a defined functional or technical area of projects, and provide suitable recommendations
Review the progress of the portfolio and effectively manage changing requirements, dependencies, milestones, risks, issues, and priorities.
Will be responsible to be part of the Duty Manger rota and be the first point of escalation for major incidents and executive / managerial decisions on behalf of IT

Quality, Methods & Tools
Promote A&O's quality control tools and methodologies, and ensure their use is appropriate
Contribute to post implementation reviews and incorporate lessons learnt into future programmes
Ensure programme is delivered to Allen & Overy quality assurance standards

Key requirements

Business Competencies
Demonstrably background in successfully managing IT programmes/ projects through their full lifecycle
Excellent people management, organisation and communication skills
Excellent reporting skills, project planning skills and stakeholder management at all levels
Very good understanding of IT and commercial perspective and an understanding of the overall picture of how the IT service fits and contributes to the business
Aptitude for and experience of IT & systems innovation and exploitation
Excellent communication skills, both orally and written
Ability to develop good working relationships across the breadth of the IT function and effectively share knowledge between individuals and teams to contribute to overall effectiveness of project and service improvement work
Ability to understand and communicate “Big Picture” ideas in the context of specific project requirements
Demonstrates a good commercial awareness of the firm’s global key business requirements / drivers and external competition / events and can use this information to positively improve IT’s impact on business performance

Knowledge
Knowledge and understanding of the IT investment evaluation process, including cost/benefit analysis.
Very good understanding of technologies used by A&O (Document management, Microsoft systems, Workflow tools, Enterprise Service Bus, Financial and People management ERP systems) and active working experience and understanding of applications and infrastructure supporting a global organisation.
Very good knowledge of IT market and trends
Good knowledge of industry standard maintenance and support methods, tools & techniques

Experience
Extensive experience in performance management, staff development & coaching
Track record of working with global partners and third parties
Experience of working in IT roles with different functional areas
Experience in using Microsoft EPM toolset preferred
Minimum 10 years IT experience with at least 5 years experience of Senior Project/Programme Management
Strong experience of vendor selection, due diligence and technical assessment
Good experience of Project Delivery using industry recognised Software Development techniques
Good experience of working within a matrix managed environment

Qualifications
Qualifications – ideally the candidate should have the following or equivalent:
Degree qualified
Prince2 Certified Practitioner
MAPM – Member of the Association for Project Management
PMP – Project Management Professional
Agile – SCRUM
ITIL v2/3

For further information on this position please contact William Cranston on 02890 325325 or to view a full job description for this role, please visit www.brightwaterNI.com/allenovery