Program Manager
Up to £60K + bonus + benefits + car allowance
Reference: WUK715
Please note: Applicants for this position must have authorization to work in the UK.Role
As a Program Manager, you will increase organisational capacity, effectiveness and agility by bringing together all functions that contribute to the program and successfully managing the delivery of multiple product and service programs. Experienced in delivering core software/ hardware product projects, you will lead and drive teams of representatives from different business areas, delivering the agreed programs to specification, on time and with quality.
You will be accountable for all aspects of the program goals, including cost, quality, delivery, schedule, functionality, and will manage and drive the product program planning and execution from concept to end of life. You'll ensure that all relevant stakeholders are kept appraised of the impact of new projects and programs on existing commitments, as you understand and assess the priorities, needs and resources of contributing departments. Skilled in presenting business case, you will enjoy influencing senior organisational decision makers as you make clear recommendations on product decisions. Your experience of managing multiple simultaneous projects and programs within a structured program management framework will mean that you will relish the challenge that this role presents.
This role is based at our headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Main duties
- Understand the priorities, needs and resources of contributing departments in order to provide and independent assessment of overall priority, cost and consequences of proposed programs
- Ensure that relevant stakeholders have been identified and consulted before commitment is made to new investment ideas and produce a cost/ benefit analysis of proposals so that all stakeholders and the Director, Program Management understand the impact on existing project priorities and that decisions are made with knowledge of the consequences
- Lead and drive core teams of representatives nominated by relevant functions, through regular meetings and one-to-ones, to efficiently deliver the agreed programs to specification, on time and with quality
- Review and challenge plans from each functional group detailing individual resource requirements and milestones in order to generate an overall program plan that is optimized against overall business goals and can be used to measure progress and track deliverables
- Highlight risks and mitigation, asking questions of stakeholders to ensure appropriate solutions
- Identify situations where program plan milestones are not being met and work with relevant teams to identify feasible options to rectify
- Drive product program execution and run phase exit reviews with functional representatives to ensure that all actions agreed in the program plan have been delivered, taking remedial action where this is not the case
- Communicate changes of plan to all stakeholders with clear business reasons so that a consistent message can be cascaded to all affected
- Provide weekly program status reports to key stakeholders and be the single point of contact for program status updates for senior managers and directors
Experience and skills
You will need to demonstrate experience of the following:
- Managing multiple simultaneous projects and programs of between 2-18 months in running time, within a Structured Program Management framework, from concept to release/launch.
- Delivering core software/ hardware product projects and programs across all business functions
- Producing business cases and challenging and influencing the board of directors/ senior management team with clear recommendations on product decisions
- Influencing senior managers to ensure that they deliver on project commitments
- Dealing with and resolving situations of conflict with senior managers and directors
- Managing risk and mitigation
- Understanding of product launch activities
- Influencing the implementation of a project/program framework
Experience of the following is desirable:
- IT Security industry
- Product lifecycle management
- Program Management in a software development organisation
- Program Management in a hardware development organisation
- Managing projects and programs across multiple global sites
- Successful management of a number of product launches
Benefits
The remuneration package includes:
- Annual holiday entitlement of 25 days, which can increase to 28 days
- Profit-related bonus scheme
- Group personal pension scheme
- Private medical insurance
- Critical illness insurance
- Death in service policy (life assurance)
- Permanent health insurance
- Travel insurance
- Personal accident cover
Working conditions at Sophos are very good and include:
- Subsidised staff restaurant
- Free beverages, fruit and pastries
