Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a family-run business that has been offering exceptional cruise experiences for over 170 years. With a fleet of ships that provide intimate, friendly, and immersive voyages, we are committed to delivering world-class service with a personal touch. Join us and be part of a proud heritage that is all about making lasting memories for our guests.
As we continue to grow, we are now strengthening our team with a Cruise Programme Manager in our Ipswich Head Office.
We are looking for an experienced Cruise Programme Manager to lead complex, business-critical change across our cruise business. You will provide clear direction, joined-up planning, and delivery excellence across technology and business change, making sure programmes translate into measurable guest, commercial, and operational benefits with sustainable, long-term impact.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Programme Leadership
1. Lead the design and delivery of strategic programmes aligned with business priorities.
2. Shape programme objectives, scope, and success measures in partnership with executive stakeholders.
3. Provide leadership and direction to project and delivery managers, ensuring coherence and accountability across all programme workstreams and delivery outcomes.
4. Act as the key interface between delivery management and executive sponsors, engaging confidently with senior leadership (Director/C-level) while maintaining established governance and reporting lines.
5. Apply strong domain knowledge of travel, cruise, and hospitality operations to ensure programme decisions are grounded in business reality and customer impact.
6. Track and report progress against agreed KPIs to demonstrate delivery performance and strategic impact.
7. Ensure programme outcomes align with the company’s strategic pillars.
Delivery Management
8. Lead and guide project and delivery managers, ensuring coordinated planning, scheduling, and execution across interdependent workstreams and suppliers.
9. Balance strategic oversight with active engagement in delivery, providing clear direction and alignment across delivery teams to maintain focus on outcomes.
10. Work closely with delivery managers to unblock challenges, build capability, and coach them towards greater delivery maturity.
11. Manage programme budgets, forecasts, and resource plans.
12. Implement effective risk, issue, and dependency management processes.
13. Ensure adherence to governance standards and quality assurance frameworks.
14. Establish, refine, and continuously improve programme and delivery management methods, governance, and tooling to strengthen execution capability.
15. Where required, directly oversee or assume delivery responsibility for critical projects within the programme.
Stakeholder and Partner Engagement
16. Engage confidently and collaboratively with senior leadership (Director/C-level) while operating within defined governance and reporting structures.
17. Act as the primary interface between delivery teams, sponsors, and executive stakeholders to ensure alignment and proactive communication.
18. Facilitate clear, timely communication and effective decision-making across diverse stakeholder groups.
19. Lead steering committees and programme boards.
Business Change and Transformation
20. Lead, implement, and embed business change across programmes to ensure successful adoption of new processes and systems.
21. Drive continuous improvement in business processes and operational practices through effective change leadership and collaboration with business owners.
22. Champion customer experience enhancements and technology adoption that support strategic transformation.
23. Oversee communication and training activities to embed change and sustain business outcomes.
Our Values:
24. We are caring - “We trust and care for each other, our guests and our environment”
25. We are positive - “We live and share a positive attitude”
26. We are real - “We are always ourselves and respect others”
27. We are a team - “We are more than a team; we are a family”
As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.