Head of Programmes & Projects
North West England (Cumbria / Warrington – hybrid)
Major Infrastructure & Transformation Programme
The Opportunity
We’re supporting a large, nationally critical organisation in the North West to appoint a Head of Programmes & Projects.
Operating within complex and highly regulated environments, this organisation delivers a vast portfolio of work spanning infrastructure, digital, and operational transformation. With thousands of employees and a multi-billion-pound programme landscape, this is a genuinely unique opportunity to lead at scale.
This role sits at the heart of a significant delivery challenge – bringing structure, pace, and cohesion across a wide-ranging portfolio of programmes and projects.
The Role
This is a senior leadership position, responsible for:
1. Leading a large portfolio of programmes and projects across multiple workstreams
2. Managing and developing a team of ~150+ delivery professionals
3. Driving consistency, governance, and delivery discipline across a complex environment
4. Bringing together fragmented delivery functions into a cohesive operating model
5. Leading delivery across digital, business change, and operational programmes
6. Acting as a key senior stakeholder, influencing at executive and board level
This role is about leadership, integration, and delivery at scale – not just oversight.
Key Focus Areas
7. Large-scale programme delivery (multi £m / £bn portfolios)
8. Agile and digital delivery within complex environments
9. Transformation of project delivery capability and maturity
10. Business process improvement and organisational change
11. Cross-functional integration across multiple disciplines
What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for a proven senior leader who thrives in complexity:
12. Significant experience leading major programmes or portfolios in complex environments (infrastructure, defence, energy, government, etc.)
13. Experience managing large, multi-disciplinary teams (100+ people)
14. Strong grounding in: Programme & project delivery (APM / MSP / PRINCE2 or equivalent) Change & transformation Governance and assurance
15. Experience working in regulated or safety-critical environments is highly desirable
16. Comfortable operating at Executive / Director level
Additional Details
17. Location: North West – hybrid
18. Security Clearance: SC desirable but not essential
Why This Role?
19. Operate within one of the largest and most complex delivery environments in the UK
20. Lead and shape large-scale transformation and delivery capability
21. Play a key role in programmes of national importance
22. A genuine opportunity to drive change, not just manage it
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