Programme manager

Purpose

The programme manager is responsible, on behalf of the Senior Responsible Owner, for successful delivery of the new capability. The role requires the effective co-ordination of the projects and their inter-dependencies, and any risks and other issues that may arise.

In most cases, the Programme Manager will work full-time on the programme, as the role is crucial for creating and maintaining enthusiasm and momentum.

The programme manager is responsible for the overall integrity and coherence of the programme, and develops and maintains the programme environment to support each individual project within it - typically through the Programme Office function.

Specific responsibilities

-Planning and designing the programme and proactively monitoring its overall progress, resolving issues and initiating corrective action as appropriate;
-Defining the programme's governance arrangements;
-Quality assurance and overall integrity of the programme - focusing inwardly on the internal consistency of the programme; and outwardly on its coherence with infrastructure planning, interfaces with other programmes and corporate technical and specialist standards;
-Managing the programme's budget on behalf of the SRO, monitoring the expenditures and costs against delivered and realised benefits as the programme progresses;
-Facilitating the appointment of individuals to the project delivery teams;
-Ensuring that the delivery of new products or services from the projects is to the appropriate levels of quality, on time and within budget, in accordance with the programme plan and programme governance arrangements;
-Ensuring that there is efficient allocation of common resources and skills within the project portfolio;
-Managing third party contributions to the programme;
-Managing the communications with all stakeholders;
-Managing both the dependencies and the interfaces between projects;
-Managing risks to the programme's successful outcome;
-Initiating extra activities and other management interventions wherever gaps in the programme are identified or issues arise;
-Reporting progress of the programme at regular intervals to the programme director;
-On large and complex projects it may be appropriate to appoint other individuals to support the Programme Manager for some of the particular responsibilities listed above, for example a risk manager, a communication manager or a financial manager.

Skills and attributes

The individual appointed as programme manager must have the necessary seniority to be able to take on the responsibilities required of the role. The balance of skills required of the programme manager often changes as the programme develops: the person with the skills to set up the programme may not necessarily be the right person to drive through its implementation.

The Programme Manager should have :

-effective leadership, interpersonal and communication skills;
-the ability to command respect and to create a sense of community amongst the often disparate members of the project teams;
-good knowledge of techniques for planning, monitoring and controlling programmes;
-good knowledge of project management approaches, such as PRINCE2;
-good knowledge of budgeting and resource allocation procedures;
-sufficient seniority and credibility to advise project teams on their projects in relation to the programme; and
-the ability to find ways of solving or pre-empting problems.

Further information

See the workbook on Programme Management.

See the briefing on Programme Management, Benefits Management Strategy, Blue Print, Programme Plan and Risk Log.

For more detailed advice, see the guidance published commercially for OGC .

See also the role of Business Change Manager