Job Title: Programme Manager
Location: Remote
Contract duration: 2-year fixed-term contract with a possibility of renewal
Travel: Must have easy access to Riyadh, if residing outside the capital. Internal and infrequent international travel is expected.
Direct Reports: Project Managers, Assistant Project Managers
Reports to: Portfolio Manager
DRS is looking for a Project Manager on behalf of the leading academic publisher and assessment organization to manage the successful delivery of complex and multi-strand or multi-disciplinary education reform programmes, managing resources and ensuring that deliverables are completed to quality, cost and time standards as specified in the contract, aiming to ensure customer satisfaction throughout the project or programme lifecycle.
Key Accountabilities:
- Programme Management Ensuring successful delivery of the programme, including:
- Planning and designing the programme and proactively monitoring its overall progress, resolving issues, and initiating corrective action as appropriate.
- Day-to-day management of the programme, including project initiation, contract documentation and closure.
- Ensuring that the delivery of outputs or services from the programme meets requirements and is of the appropriate quality, on time and within budget.
- Developing and implementing the programme’s governance framework.
- Effective oversight of the projects and their interdependencies.
- Maintaining overall integrity and coherence of the programme and developing and maintaining the programme environment to support each individual project within it.
- Acting as a key escalation point for Project Managers, resolving any risks or other issues that are raised.
- Managing the programme’s budget, monitoring the expenditures and costs against benefits as the programme progresses, working with colleagues to ensure commercial advantages in supplier engagement.
- Facilitating the recruitment of individuals to the project delivery teams and ensuring appropriate supplier onboarding.
- Facilitating the development of the programme structure with input and approval from the Portfolio Contracts Manager and Head of Delivery.
- Managing the performance of the programme team and providing training where needed.
- Ensuring the efficient allocation of resources and skills within the programme.
- Overseeing internal and external suppliers to the programme in collaboration with the Supplier Manager.
- Managing communications with internal and external stakeholders.
- Leading and motivating the programme teams.
- Reporting progress of the programme at regular intervals to the Delivery Management Team.
- Reporting progress of the programme at defined intervals to the Programme Sponsor and Steering Group.
- Reporting progress of the programme at regular intervals to clients.
- Organising and chairing regular programme team meetings and any other task deemed appropriate to support the overall portfolio within the Delivery team.
- Managing individual projects in exceptional circumstances where a project manager is not available.
2. Line Management
- Managing the recruitment, onboarding or exit process for internal team members when required.
- Monitoring team members’ workload.
- Leading and motivating line reports through meaningful and engaging goals and providing training where required.
- Pastoral care for line reports, related to health and wellbeing.
- Ensuring that behavioural expectations of team members are established in line with our client’s Beliefs, Values and Behaviours and the Code of Conduct.
3. Strategy Development
- Working with the Head of Delivery and Portfolio Managers to inform and develop strategy within the delivery team.
- Working with other stakeholders both within the Partnership for Education and the wider business to inform and develop strategies relating to the delivery of projects and programmes.
4. Opportunity Development
- Work with the Portfolio Development Manager to support business development by developing delivery options, timing, risks and cost estimates for new bids and proposals where required.
- Actively contributing to contract negotiations and discussions, in collaboration with and as guided by the Commercial team.
- Working with the new opportunities team to ensure a consistent approach to costing and pricing, including quality assurance and alignment with the wider strategy of the Partnership for Education.
- Ensuring a smooth transition from opportunity to live delivery, following defined processes.
Key Relationships:
Manage complex relationships at a senior level within the Client (Ministry/Department of Education or Higher Education) and Funder (e.g., World Bank, UNICEF etc). Collaborating internally to navigate and manage the Client’s expectations to ensure we can deliver successful Ed Reform projects and programmes.
Convening senior-level representatives from multiple external stakeholders.
Representing the organisation globally to senior level stakeholders, including senior Ministry of Education representatives (up to Minister of Education level), clients, funders, and supplier/s.
Internal stakeholders: Sponsor (Director level/senior manager), Technical Teams, Regional contacts.
Role Impact:
- Management of up to £10 million, depending on the programme.
- Line management of up to four Project Managers and Assistant Project Managers (Levels 4-5) and management of the resources required to deliver specific programmes (Levels 4-8).
What is the major impact of this role on the business?
The programmes led by the Programme Manager will be large and multi-strand or multi-disciplinary. Typically, the programme value will be anything from £500k up to £10m, with high levels of complexity and risk.
The role holder will shape how the programme and its associated projects are run and delivered and, through this will have a major impact on the satisfaction of the customer, impacting the organisation’s reputation in the market and influencing future commercial opportunities.
Decisions and Recommendations
Day-to-day management of programmes, which includes:
- Ensuring effective project management across the programme throughout the project lifecycle.
- Planning, chairing, and running of project-specific meetings and working groups.
- Input to Programme or Project Steering Groups and implementation of agreed decisions.
- Creation and management of key business and programme, project documents including plans, business cases, reports, issues and risks registers (and plans for their mitigation), sign-off and business handover documents.
- Forward planning and managing budgeted expenditure and staff resourcing.
- Appropriate communication with all key stakeholders.
- There is an expectation for this role to go beyond ‘implementation of agreed decisions’ and to make recommendations and create solutions to ensure the programme is delivered to quality, cost and to the agreed schedule.
Recommendations for the approval of:
- Overall programme planning.
- Programme milestone completion and progression.
- Changes to programme scope/cost/timing/quality.
- Overall budget and large items of expenditure, in line with corporate financial regulations.
- Resource requirements.
- Strategy suggestions for regional and delivery solutions.
- Team training and support.
Essential Knowledge:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.
- PRINCE2 practitioner (or equivalent).
Essential Skills & Experience:
- Good knowledge and experience of working with formal project management methodologies such as PRINCE2 and Agile.
- Well-developed project management and organisation skills.
- Proactive strategic thinker, able to challenge constructively.
- Able to identify and manage risk, and operate from a risk management approach.
- Ability to find innovative ways of solving or pre-empting problems.
- Strong presentation, communication, and negotiation skills.
Key Competencies (Organisational Values):
- Excellent communicator.
- Intercultural sensitivity.
- Tenacity.
- Ability to recognise the often divergent needs of individuals and groups.
- The ability to challenge and explore new ways of doing things.
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and in a high-pressure environment.
- Positive ‘can do’ attitude.
- Highly collaborative.
- Strong focus on continuous improvement and seeking new, improved methods and approaches.
Key Competencies (Functional):
- Ability to articulate a good understanding of the international education reform marketplace.
- Experience of working with digital workflows, web technologies, mobile platforms and apps / digital platforms. Knowledge and understanding of digital learning and online education.
- Experience in the education sector.
Key Competencies (Leadership):
- Achieving – being responsive, decisive and accountable to further organisation’s mission.
- Inspiring – role models optimism, motivation, authenticity.
- Inclusive – curious, open minded, and ready to learn from others.
- Trusted & trusting – enables individuals, teams and organisations to collaborate with integrity.
- Confidence with humility – has confidence in her/his abilities, with the willingness to learn and adapt.
How to apply
The updated CVs and Cover Letters in English should be submitted via this link or sent to d.uzunashvili@developmentaid.org under the title: DRS 11647 Programme Manager, KSA**.** Due to the high number of applications received via the website, we can reply to shortlisted candidates only. Please note that the above requirements can be modified according to the client’s procedures during the recruitment process.