Program Manager

Role: Program Manager

Length: End of 2026

Location: London - Hybrid working

Rate: £855 per day via umbrella

Context

GIA Transformation is delivering the 5 Priorities Programme a two-year, modular programme across five priorities, comprising 25 deliverables with baselined OKRs. The programme is incredibly ambitious, aiming to redesign our processes, tooling, and data to reimagine audit as an end-to-end joined up service.

From 31 October (this year), the programme enters a critical phase: bringing multiple deliverables together into a single, coherent “new way of auditing” that a global ~900-person function can understand, adopt, and operate consistently, shaping how audits are executed in 2027.

Role purpose

One Program Manager will support the Head of Transformation by providing hands-on programme delivery leadership to design and drive the go-live enablement approach (how we package the change, “sell” the value, and train/enable the function) and to run the go-live readiness tracking and governance to ensure we are genuinely ready to launch.

The role strengthens orchestration across Sponsors/SLT, SMEs, Methodology, Digital/Tech and BAU owners, maintaining delivery discipline and reducing risk from fragmented enablement and unmanaged dependencies.

Key responsibilities

• Design the end-to-end go-live enablement approach from 31 October, creating an innovative and engaging “formal enablement” model (e.g., an academy-style approach) that brings together the threads of multiple deliverables into one coherent way of working.
• Define the change narrative and value story: translate programme outputs into compelling, consistent messaging (what’s changing, why it matters, what it means for different roles, and the value it unlocks), equipping leaders to communicate with confidence.
• Design the training and adoption strategy for a global ~900-person population, including role-based pathways and a blended model (examples may include: live sessions, self-serve modules, playbooks/job aids, simulations/practice labs, office hours, “train-the-trainer”, and a champions network).
• Coordinate delivery of comms and training (mixture of owning and orchestrating): build the integrated comms/training calendar, secure SME and leader inputs, manage production of materials, and drive follow-through to reach coverage across time zones.
• Establish and run a single view of go-live readiness tracking: define readiness criteria, create the readiness dashboard/checklists, and track progress across key dimensions (people readiness, process readiness, tooling/data readiness, BAU ownership/support readiness).
• Run go-live governance and decisioning: operate the readiness cadence with Sponsors/SLT (actions, follow-ups, decision capture), ensuring blockers are surfaced early and driven to closure, including clear go/no-go recommendations where required.
• Maintain and drive the single live dependency log across deliverables (including technology/release dependencies), with clear owners, dates, impacts, and escalation routes.
• Plan and mobilise hypercare from January (minimum three months): define the support model (triage, escalation routes, issue-to-fix tracking, reporting), and ensure hypercare insights feed back into comms, training updates, and continuous improvement.
• Produce concise, decision-ready governance packs: report enablement progress and readiness status clearly, highlighting adoption risks, trade-offs, and required decisions.

Key skills and experience required

• Strong programme/project management in complex, interdependent change.
• Proven experience designing and delivering enablement at scale (comms + training + adoption) in an engaging, audience-led way.
• Strong go-live readiness discipline: ability to define readiness criteria, run tracking/governance, manage dependencies, and drive action closure.
• Ability to drive execution in an SME-led, matrix environment (influence without formal authority), working credibly with senior leaders and SMEs.
• Clear, concise senior stakeholder communication and reporting.
• Experience working in global environments across time zones and cultures.

Success measures

• A clear, innovative, and engaging go-live enablement approach is designed and agreed from 31 October, with a practical plan to reach and enable a global ~900-person population.
• The function understands the new ways of working (tools, processes, data): consistent “what it means for me” messaging and role-based training pathways are delivered with strong coverage.
• A single readiness view is in place and trusted (readiness criteria, dashboard/checklists, and dependency log), enabling timely go/no-go decisions and no late surprises.
• Comms and training delivery runs to plan globally, with adoption risks visible early and addressed through targeted interventions.
• Hypercare runs effectively from January for at least three months, with rapid triage/resolution and a clear learning loop improving guidance and adoption.