Head of Strategic Planning & Governance

• Team Management: Oversee a diverse team covering multiple disciplines including project and program management and lifecycle, architecture and design, testing governance, business engagement and vendor management.
• IT Investments: Assist the IT Director in delivering oversight and prioritisation of IT investments and resource, ensuring alignment with business strategic objectives, security posture and risk and compliance.
• Governance Framework: Create a governance framework for the project lifecycle and BAU Operations ensuring robust cost and resource estimation, gated project management phases, strong testing governance, and ongoing effective cost and resource management.
• Vendor Management: Work closely with all teams to ensure our third parties are performing as expected, service reviews regularly take place, and actions are completed, and all third-party roadmaps are understood and factored into our strategy and roadmaps.
• Strategic Leadership: Own, develop and execute a strategy and roadmap for your area of responsibility.
• Team Management: Lead, inspire, and mentor teams. Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, foster professional growth, and create a collaborative and empowered working environment.
• Reporting & Analytics: Develop and present regular reports on service performance, trends, risks, and achievements to senior leadership and stakeholders. Use data to inform decision-making and strategic direction.
• Process Management: Develop and maintain clear documentation, knowledge base, structured processes, and transparent metrics to underpin operational excellence and regulatory compliance.
• Project Management Framework: Ensure IT projects and programs run to time, budget, scope and deliver the expected benefits whilst also being able to move at speed.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with legal professionals, IT peers, finance & HR teams, and external vendors to deliver projects and services meeting business and compliance requirements.
• Continuous Improvement: Champion the organisation's drive for operational excellence. Employ quality management methodologies (such as Lean, Six Sigma, ITIL) to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance service value.
• Collaborative working: Collaborate closely with other IT teams to ensure stability, performance and security of all IT solutions.
• Facilitate Success: Foster collaboration, outcome driven and high performing teams across IT through the celebration of successes and rapid intervention when needed.
• Risk & Compliance: Ensure all systems and processes meet relevant legal, regulatory, and data security standards.

• Excellent knowledge of the project and program lifecycle including design and technical design and sign off
• Strong understanding of IT business partnering and engagement.
• Evidencable experience of driving third party performance and cost.
• Commitment to excellence and continuous improvement
• Strong business acumen skills including managing budgets and resources.
• Solutions-oriented visionary and strategic thinker.
• Collaborative leader with a passion for team development and mentoring
• Knowledge of risk management, compliance, and data protection

Weightmans