Programme Manager

Programme Manager

Fixed Term / Secondment (12 months), Full Time

£61,181 to £71,977 per annum

Location: Chelmsford*

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 20th November 2025

*This is a hybrid-working role, with a requirement to work at a functional work location 2-3 days per month on average, depending on business need.

Please note this role will be offered on a fixed-term contract or secondment basis for 12 months.

The Council have several innovative and exciting projects to be delivered and require experienced professionals to bring these to fruition. We deliver a variety of projects that help Essex County Council to: 

• Deliver the Adult Social Care vision of people living life to the fullest.
• Strengthen family resilience and stability and achieve educational excellence and high standards for all children and young people.
• Create services that drive excellent customer experience through partners, co-locations and digital interactions.
• Lead behaviour change and implement the infrastructure needed for a net zero Essex by 2050.
• Create the right conditions to enable and empower the people of Essex to lead healthy, happy and fulfilling lives.
• Drive efficiency and effectiveness to enable service excellence.

As an experienced Programme Manager, you will be accountable for shaping and delivering a programme of work which is cross cutting and has a high level of complexity, you will create multiple  projects and manage the associated business change activities to evidence a significant contribution to the delivery of the Council’s Strategic aims and management of financial pressures.

You will build compelling business cases to drive change, establishing appropriate programme governance and assurance, monitoring progress, managing risks and issues and ensuring the business can accommodate the change.
As an experienced and exemplary leader, with professional credibility gained from working within a programme management environment, you will be influential in delivering change that supports best practice and the delivery of the Council’s strategic objectives.

Accountabilities

• Works collaboratively with service areas and partners supporting the development of compelling business cases.
• Builds effective stakeholder and partner relationships at senior level, which are influential and elicit support at senior level.
• Accountable for leading teams of people, to build professionalism and expertise through development activities.
• Accountable for developing and delivering a resourcing plan, including management of programme budget, for complex & large-scale programmes to ensure delivery of outcomes.
• Responsible for overseeing risk and issue management, ensures mitigations are in place to address issues between elements of the programme, resolving these through negotiated agreement or escalating.
• Works collaboratively with customers to agree quantified realisable benefits and metrics to monitor impact. Designing and actively managing the programme plan, ensuring outcomes are achieved.
• Accountable for maintaining the overall integrity and coherence of programme & governance framework to support each project. Plan programme assurance activities and manage dependencies within the programme and across other activities in the portfolio.
• Responsible for cascading the programme vision and translating these into delivery objectives which support the Strategic Aims of the Council. Lead the programme to deliver the business case benefits and outcomes.
• Responsible for providing technical leadership in both line and matrix management styles, to ensure successful delivery of programmes and for supporting the Portfolio Manager in leading, assuring and delivering the portfolio of work which delivers against the Strategic Aims of the Council.
• Specific targets & objectives defined annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area, accredited to the level of APM Practitioner or MSP Practitioner.
• Experience of working as a Programme Manager within a local Government setting.
• Evidence of successfully implementing major change initiatives within a range of large organisations.
• Experience of working closely with Members and senior leaders and managers to overcome resistance to change.
• Ideally experience of working within a political environment with detailed knowledge of a public sector setting & the nuances involved in being part of a complex environment.
• Experience of working with complex multi-agency partnerships and stakeholder groups.
• Exemplary leadership capability evidenced in creating a high-performance culture, drawing on specialist skills and expertise effectively, bringing together diverse capabilities.
• Evidence of creativity in exploring innovative business opportunities which maximise opportunities for development of a financially sustainable service.

To read more about us please visit: Corporate Services

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

Follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.

Downloads

Pay and Reward | Our Ways of Working  | About Us  | Organisation Behaviours