DV - Programme Manager (IT) / Freelance

Key Responsibilities
Programme Delivery & Leadership
* Manage multi-disciplinary delivery teams across direct and matrix structures, including partners, subcontractors, and customer-side teams.
* Apply appropriate Agile and hybrid delivery methods (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, Waterfall + Agile) and foster a culture of agility, collaboration, and continuous improvement across the delivery community.
Governance, Risk & Assurance
* Maintain robust programme governance, integrated planning, clearly documented requirements, RAID management, and benefits tracking - in line with the wider delivery, governance, and assurance frameworks.
* Collaborate with PMO, Major Programmes, Frameworks, and Accounts teams to ensure governance and assurance frameworks are consistently applied and followed across all engagements.
* Ensure compliance with delivery standards including JSPs, export controls, accreditation regimes, JSP440, ISO27001, and GDS frameworks.
* Provide assurance of in-flight programmes through regular reviews, health checks, and clear escalation where required.
* Identify, assess, and mitigate programme risks proactively, ensuring transparency and accountability at all stages. Ensured that the impact on the Business Line Profit & Loss due to project activities within the scope of the project is clearly visible and that all contingency usage is signed-off by the appropriate governance authority e.g. Project Board?
* Accountable for tracking the project costs and supporting Business Units in meeting payment milestones.?
* Ensured that the milestone achievements are signed by the customer and relevant invoices are raised.?
Planning, Reporting & Financial Management
* Develop and maintain detailed programme / change schedules, resource plans, and financial forecasts.
* Provide accurate, timely, and transparent reporting to internal leadership and customer stakeholders.
* Ensure delivery plans are integrated and data-driven, enabling early identification of risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities.
* Support financial governance and reporting to enable informed decision-making and value-driven outcomes.
Customer & Partner Engagement
* Build trusted relationships and act as a delivery partner to customers, suppliers, and ecosystem partners.
* Promote collaboration, transparency, and shared accountability to strengthen confidence in programme delivery.
* Ensure effective communication and engagement across internal and external stakeholders, enabling alignment and partnership at all levels.
Continuous Improvement & Knowledge Sharing
* Capture lessons learned and embedded them into future transitions and delivery cycles to drive continuous improvement.
* Contribute to improvement initiatives, collaborating with PMO and Major Programmes teams to strengthen overall delivery maturity and performance.

Key skills and experience:
* Significant experience in leading complex programmes in secure/highly regulated environments
* Strong working knowledge of Agile and hybrid delivery frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, iterative delivery in gated environments).
* Demonstrable capability in end-to-end programme management including integrated planning, RAID management, dependency control, and assurance governance.
* Experience working across a range of technology and transformation initiatives.
* Experience operating as part of a Centre of Excellence or multi-programme delivery function, providing assurance, governance, or recovery leadership across multiple concurrent initiatives.
* Proven ability to manage multi-disciplinary delivery teams in matrix structures, including supplier ecosystems.
* Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively at senior levels
* Experience navigating assurance frameworks
* Experience supporting bids with programme management capabilities (e.g. transition planning, cost/resource modelling, governance framework definition, and risk/dependency management).
* Professional certification in MSP, PMI-ACP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, ITIL, and/or other Agile frameworks.


Due to the nature and urgency of this post, candidates holding or who have held high level security clearance in the past are most welcome to apply. Please note successful applicants will be required to be security cleared prior to appointment which can take up to a minimum 18 weeks. LA International is a HMG approved ICT Recruitment and Project Solutions Consultancy, operating globally from the largest single site in the UK as an IT Consultancy or as an Employment Business & Agency depending upon the precise nature of the work, for security cleared jobs or non-clearance vacancies, LA International welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people with diverse experience and backgrounds.

Award Winning LA International, winner of the Recruiter Awards for Excellence, Best IT Recruitment Company, Best Public Sector Recruitment Company and overall Gold Award winner, has now secured the most prestigious business award that any business can receive, The Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade, for the second consecutive period.