Programme Director (UK)

Position Summary

The Programme Director is Janison’s accountable UK-based leader for the end-to-end delivery of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA/MCNG) contract, delivered under the DLEARN procurement in partnership with NFER for Scottish Government, and is positioned to lead future contracts as Janison’s presence in the UK and Europe grows.

The Programme Director has end-to-end accountability for the programme, including budget and financial controls, scope, client and delivery-partner engagement, governance, and overall delivery. They lead the programme team across all workstreams and locations and maintain the complete, integrated view of the programme.

Duties & Responsibilities

Overall Programme Leadership & Accountability

• Serve as Janison’s accountable programme lead for the end-to-end delivery of assigned UK and Europe programmes (currently the SNSA/MCNG contract, with scope expected to extend to future UK and Europe contracts), owning outcomes across all workstreams and ensuring delivery, on time, to scope, to quality and within budget against contracted milestone gates with defined acceptance criteria.
• Own the commercial and financial performance of assigned programmes, including budget forecasting, cost control and variance reporting, tracked proactively against clear variance thresholds with early escalation.
• Lead commercial management of the programme with the client and delivery partner, operating change control and Statements of Work rigorously and transparently, so that scope, variations and commitments are clearly defined, agreed and properly documented for all parties and working closely with Account Management/Sales, Finance and Legal to protect margin and identify growth opportunities across each account.
• Operate within Janison’s programme accountability model: responsible for day-to-day delivery and cost management, alongside an Executive Sponsor accountable for the business case and outcomes.
• Act as the key point of contact and escalation point for client and delivery partner stakeholders on assigned programmes, providing authoritative updates and decisions with one consistent voice.
• Provide visible leadership to the UK delivery team, setting direction, driving accountability and maintaining programme momentum and predictability for the client, the delivery partner and Janison
• Represent Janison at client forums and steering committees, demonstrating confidence in delivery and alignment to client priorities.

Client Relationship & Trust Building

• Establish a structured client engagement cadence (aligned to contract requirements) that aligns with internal governance cadence to build confidence and demonstrate consistent, reliable delivery from day one of each engagement.
• Develop and maintain a client relationship plan that identifies key stakeholders, their concerns, communication preferences and success criteria for each assigned programme.
• Proactively communicate progress, issues and resolutions before the client raises them, positioning Janison as a trusted, proactive delivery partner.
• Build a visible track record of commitments made and commitments kept, with clear evidence of improvement over time.
• Conduct periodic relationship health checks with client and delivery partner stakeholders to surface concerns early and demonstrate responsiveness to feedback.
• Ensure each client has a single, accountable point of contact they trust; someone who understands their context, speaks plainly and follows through.

Project Planning & Governance

• Deliver a comprehensive project plan capturing all tasks, milestones, dependencies and timelines, shared with clients and delivery partners in a format that builds transparency and confidence.
• Maintain and update project plans regularly, ensuring progress, risks and overdue items are tracked and visible via agreed dashboard and reporting tools.
• Maintain a RACI matrix (or equivalent framework) to define and communicate roles and responsibilities across the matrix organisation, including clarity on client and delivery partner accountabilities.
• Implement project governance practices aligned with Janison’s organisational and enterprise standards, including the ITIL-aligned change enablement process agreed with NFER.
• Demonstrate measurable adherence to plan commitments and, where variances occur, provide clear explanations and recovery actions.
• Own the programme risk register with a named owner for every risk, driving early identification, mitigation and closure; and run the programme steering committee as a true steering forum.
• Ensure the programme meets its security, privacy and safeguarding obligations, including UK GDPR and contracted security commitments, with the care appropriate to a programme handling sensitive data, including data relating to children.

Continuous Improvement & Process Optimisation

• Implement and track actions from workshops and process improvement initiatives, with outcomes reported to clients and delivery partners as evidence of tangible progress.
• Establish repeatable processes to improve operational efficiency, reduce delivery risk and build team resilience, contributing to the reusable UK/Europe operating model as Janison’s regional footprint grows.
• Actively adopt and champion the use of AI tools to improve programme efficiency, reporting quality and decision-making, and model this practice for the wider UK team in line with Janison’s AI adoption expectations.
• Define, measure and report key delivery metrics (both internal and client-facing), including task turnaround times, milestone adherence and risk closure rates, creating a visible record of improvement that clients and delivery partners can see and trust.

Stakeholder Management & Reporting

• Develop and execute a stakeholder communication plan to ensure alignment across Janison leadership, delivery partners and the UK programme team.
• Provide regular status updates on programme progress, risks and key metrics, including the monthly service reporting and KPI/service-credit position where applicable.
• Monitor and report on adherence to committed timelines and demonstrate measurable improvement.
• Ensure reporting creates confidence, is concise, evidence-based and focused on what clients care most about.
• Report on programme financial performance, including budget position and variance, to Janison leadership.

Organisational Leadership & Cross-Regional Connection

• Operate effectively within a dual reporting relationship, managing day-to-day accountability to the UK-based Chief Commercial Officer while maintaining functional alignment, standards and reporting to the Head of Projects (AU), ensuring both stakeholders have visibility and confidence in programme delivery.
• Act as the connective link between UK and AU programme delivery capability, sharing best practice, lessons learned and process improvements in both directions to build a genuinely shared operating model rather than parallel, disconnected practices.
• Contribute to and draw on a shared library of templates, tools and documentation with the AU projects function, ensuring UK delivery benefits from established Janison IP and AU benefits from UK learnings as the region matures.
• Actively participate in Janison’s extended leadership team activities as a senior member of staff, contributing to broader organisational priorities, strategy discussions and leadership initiatives beyond the immediate programme.

Team Mentoring & Capability Building

• Mentor team members on project management practices, delegation, prioritisation and accountability.
• Deliver structured mentoring and knowledge transfer to upskill the project managers, ensuring capability to independently manage large-scale programmes at each transition, from mobilisation to steady state.
• Conduct capability assessments to identify skill gaps and recommend development opportunities.
• Support team members in building confidence to operate autonomously and communicate effectively.
• Ensure workload distribution reduces dependency on any single individual, protecting ring-fenced BAU capacity from being drawn into any single programme.
• Assess team dynamics, workflows and processes to identify bottlenecks, risks and inefficiencies.
• Provide recommendations to improve team effectiveness, resilience and overall programme performance.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

Essential

• Certifications: ITIL Foundation v4 (minimum)
• Certifications: PRINCE2 Practitioner or equivalent (e.g., MSP, PMP)
• Experience: 8+ years leading complex, high-stakes programmes in education, assessments or regulated public-sector environments, including P&L/contract ownership
• Experience: Demonstrated experience leading complex technology programme delivery, including platform implementation, systems integration and large-scale data migration
• Delivery model: Proven experience operating a matrixed or multi-vendor consortium delivery model, ideally spanning onshore/offshore teams, and comfortable working within an international or dual-reporting organisational structure
• Governance & risk: Strong track record of KPI/SLA governance, risk and change management on contracts with service credits or similar commercial exposure, including safe delivery of national-scale government programmes.
• Stakeholder management: Excellent stakeholder management with government/public-sector clients and multi-organisation partners
• Skill: Superior communication, interpersonal, influencing and negotiation skills, with the presence and credibility to represent Janison at senior government, partner and executive level
• Client relationship & mentoring: Demonstrated experience building and maintaining trusted senior client relationships, mentoring/upskilling project managers, and contributing to senior/executive leadership forums, on complex or high-visibility programmes
• Eligibility: Eligible to work in the UK and able to satisfy BPSS-aligned pre-employment screening (identity verification, right to work, references and a criminal record check appropriate to the role). Holds a current, valid passport enabling travel outside the UK as required for the role.

Desirable

• Certifications: Agile/Scrum leadership certification (e.g., SAFe Agilist)
• Delivery model: Experience establishing a new operating model or capability in a new market/geography
• Governance & risk: Experience with ITIL-aligned service management frameworks, and comfortable adopting and championing AI-enabled tools to improve delivery efficiency, reporting and decision-making
• Stakeholder management: Experience working with UK, Scottish and/or European government or education-sector bodies

Next Steps

If you are looking for an organisation that will support your growth, provide you with the flexibility you need and are looking for a greater purpose to exercise your skills, then please submit your application. We can’t wait to hear from you!

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