Programme Lead

Description:

To deliver outstanding services to members, customers, and the sector at large, by: taking a modern, customer-centric approach to innovative technology that delivers an exceptional customer & member experience; harnessing the power of data to identify meaningful insights that deliver value for the Institute and our members; and implementing impactful programmes of work that drive sustainable value, operational excellence, and meaningful outcomes for our stakeholders.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Director of IT Services, the Project Lead – IT Service Improvement will lead a portfolio of initiatives to enhance IT Services in line with CII’s Business Solutions strategy. Key focus areas include:
 

• Embedding ITIL 4 principles within the IT Service Management (ITSM) framework
• Developing and implementing IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) capabilities
• Driving a structured cybersecurity improvement programme
• Rationalising suppliers and standardising operating procedures
   

The role will also assess the current IT Services operating model and recommend a future-fit Target Operating Model.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong delivery capability, stakeholder engagement, governance oversight, and the ability to translate strategy into measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

ITIL 4 Implementation
 

• Lead adoption of ITIL 4 practices across incident, change, problem, request, and knowledge management
• Establish governance, KPIs, dashboards, and continual improvement frameworks
• Align IT Services with business strategy and objectives
• Drive a culture of self-service, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Assess ITIL maturity and deliver improvement roadmaps
   

ITSM Enhancement
 

• Embed a customer-centric approach across ITSM processes
• Assess and optimise ITSM tools (e.g. ServiceNow, SharePoint)
• Improve service desk operations, workflows, automation, and knowledge management
• Enhance service catalogue, request fulfilment, and self-service capabilities
• Strengthen reporting through improved dashboards and automation
• Align ITSM tooling with enterprise architecture and digital strategy
   

IT Disaster Recovery Planning
 

• Review and enhance ITDR plans in line with CII’s business continuity strategy
• Define RTO/RPO through Business Impact Analysis
• Develop & deliver a roadmap to improve ITDR maturity
• Coordinate recovery architecture across cloud, infrastructure, and applications
• Lead testing, simulations, and validation exercises
• Establish governance, documentation, and continuous improvement processes
• Standardise vendor procedures, including management of “shadow IT”
   

Cybersecurity Improvement Programme
 

• Assess cybersecurity maturity against frameworks (e.g. ISO 27001)
• Lead a programme to strengthen security towards Zero Trust and secure-by-design principles
• Align ITSM processes with security and risk frameworks
• Deliver improvements across policies, controls, tooling, and monitoring
• Define KPIs to track risk reduction and compliance
• Ensure alignment with ITDR and business continuity
• Enhance vulnerability, patching, and incident response processes
• Promote organisation-wide security awareness
   

Programme Leadership & Governance
 

• Develop and manage an integrated programme roadmap (scope, milestones, risks, dependencies, budget)
• Establish governance structures, reporting, and decision-making frameworks
• Provide updates to executive leadership and boards
• Ensure alignment with strategy, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements
• Maintain documentation for audit and compliance
• Oversee change governance (CAB, TDA) and post-implementation reviews
• Coordinate delivery across internal teams and third-party vendors
• Operate using Agile/DSDM principles
   

Stakeholder Management
 

• Develop and execute stakeholder engagement and communication plans
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams
• Translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences
• Facilitate workshops, steering groups, and decision forums
• Manage competing priorities and drive alignment
• Lead change adoption through communication, training, and engagement
   

Essential

Skills & Experience
 

• Proven experience delivering complex IT transformation or improvement programmes
• Strong knowledge of ITIL 4 and ITSM best practices
• Experience with IT Disaster Recovery planning and testing
• Experience leading cybersecurity improvement initiatives
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft ecosystem (Azure, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, M365)
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in matrix environments
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on delivery focus
• Highly organised, proactive, and outcome-driven