Programme director jobs

Programme Director - Transforming People Services (London Region)

Band: 8d
Day Rate (Umbrella): £425-£475
Contract Length: 11 months with potential to be extended
Location: Canary Wharf / Hybrid
Travel: 30-40% across London 
Start Date: ASAP
Interviews: 15th April

About the Organisation

An established NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a highly experienced Programme Director to lead one of the most significant workforce transformation programmes across London.

The Opportunity

This is a high-impact leadership role where you will provide strategic oversight, governance, and assurance for the Transforming People Services (TPS) programme across the region.

You'll play a critical role in ensuring the programme is delivery-ready, compliant, and aligned with national expectations, working closely with senior stakeholders across the NHS landscape.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Leadership & Oversight

• Provide senior leadership across the London TPS programme, ensuring pace, control, and direction
• Act as the accountable lead for regional delivery, reporting into national governance structures
• Ensure alignment with national priorities, milestones, and dependencies

Governance, Assurance & Control

• Establish and maintain robust programme governance and oversight frameworks
• Lead on RAID management (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies)
• Coordinate and respond to national assurance processes

Programme Documentation Ownership
You will take full ownership of programme documentation, ensuring quality and compliance, including:

• Programme Initiation Documentation (PID)
• Target Operating Model (TOM)
• Strategic Workforce Plan
• Business Case and supporting evidence
• Transformation roadmaps and implementation plans
• Financial models and benefits realisation plans
• Governance papers and senior stakeholder briefings

Delivery Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight across service design, digital, people & change, and programme management
• Hold workstream leads and partners accountable for delivery and quality
• Ensure readiness for phased im

At Ambitious about Autism, we are looking for a Programme Director – Service Development to join our team. You'll develop Ambitious about Autism's and the Trust's education and care services for autistic children and young people.

You'll lead on key strategic projects to extend existing or develop new education and care services for autistic children and young people, providing strong project leadership, strategic integration and managing project-related governance. You'll identify and pursue new business opportunities to drive growth and expansion of our educational settings, including school bids.

You'll be involved in new service development, conducting thorough assessment to identify gaps and opportunities for new provisions or products, whilst developing innovative concepts for new services and seeking approval through business cases. You'll also provide leadership to the Service Development team, with line management of 3 direct reports, whilst upholding Ambitious about Autism's core values.

We are looking for someone who has:

• Extensive business development and project planning knowledge
• Working knowledge of the education, health or social care of children/young people with SEND
• Working knowledge of: The social, policy, regulatory issues affecting children and young people with special educational needs or Commissioning and service delivery for children, young people and their families
• Proven experience of leading the development and delivery of new services for children, young people and/or adults with special educational needs or disabilities either from a third sector, educational, health or local authority background
• Experience of developing strategic and business plans

In return, we offer great benefits including a generous holiday allowance and commitment to continued professional development (CPD), flexible, hybrid working and more!

This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual who would like to work for a forward-thinking, open and honest organisation and make a real impact to the young people we work with. Please find our full recruitment pack on the link below.

If you have any questions about the role or would like to have a confidential chat, please contact James Axford, Recruitment Officer.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.

Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for a strategic, faith‑driven leader to shape and scale programmes that are transforming children’s lives across the UK.

Children and young people across the UK are facing a growing mental health crisis. At Transforming Lives for Good (TLG), we believe the local church has a vital role to play in responding - offering early, relational and therapeutic support that can fundamentally change life trajectories for children and families. Our vision is fullness of life for every child, no matter what struggles they face.

As Director of Programmes & Impact, you will be a key member of TLG’s Core Leadership Team, with responsibility for the growth, quality and impact of our UK‑wide programmes, currently supporting around 5,000 children in partnership with more than 220 churches. You will lead a talented senior team, pioneer new and existing models of support, and ensure everything we do delivers deep, measurable and meaningful change in children’s lives.

We are seeking a senior leader who can lead programmes at scale, use insight and evidence to drive impact, and navigate change and complexity with confidence. You will model prayerful, emotionally healthy leadership, with a deep commitment to therapeutic, trauma‑informed practice firmly rooted in the life and mission of the local church.

TLG is a Christian charity and, as a team, we want to bring our faith to the work we do; as such, we are recruiting an individual with a strong and vibrant Christian faith. We would welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds to enable us to better reflect the needs of the communities we serve.

Hours: 30 - 37.5 per week (0.8 – 1.0 FTE)

Closing Date: Sunday 26th April

Initial Interviews: Friday 1st May – Online

Final Interviews: Tuesday 12th May – at our National Support Centre in West Yorkshire

We are seeking an experienced and driven Director of Programmes & Impact with essential third sector experience to lead and shape our global programme function.
This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for ensuring that all funds raised are translated into effective delivery on the ground, supported by strong oversight, clear data, and credible impact.
You will own the full lifecycle of programme delivery — from partner management and implementation through to compliance oversight, data capture, and donor reporting. You will also play a key role in building the systems, processes, and structures that enable impact to be delivered and evidenced consistently as the organisation grows.
This role offers a high level of ownership and influence, with the opportunity to shape how The Zahra Trust delivers, measures, and communicates impact globally.