Programme Director at Ministry of Defence, London, 6 Months, £Contract Rate

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a central government department with a mission to protect our country and provide the ultimate guarantee of its security and independence, as well as helping to protect its values and interests abroad.

The MOD is one of the biggest public procurement organisations in Europe and the single largest customer for UK industry. It currently manages approximately £20 billion of spend on capital investments in equipment and infrastructure every year. Over the next decade the MOD is committed to spending over £190 billion on equipment and support. The MOD's customers include both the armed forces and national security agencies, and it has a diverse range of requirements, including military fighting vehicles, education services, nuclear submarines and facilities management.

The MOD's aim is to provide its armed forces with the best capabilities to enable them to protect the UK's security and advance national interests, both now and in the long term.

To do this the MOD has an annual budget of almost £53 billion and a workforce comprising 197,000 people. of which 54,000 are civilians working for the UK MOD.

The work really matters; the MOD offers a range of engaging roles which have a direct impact on the quality of services they provide, in many locations across the UK. We support teams working in HR, Primary Health Care, Corporate Services, and many others.

Job Purpose:

We are seeking an exceptional senior leader to direct one of the most significant digital and transformation programmes within UK Defence: the replacement of legacy military and civilian HR systems with a single, modern, integrated ERP solution.

The system is the platform to deliver a 'skills first' Defence organisation and the programme will deliver a step-change in Defence's ability to manage people, processes and performance. You will be accountable for end-to-end delivery of the programme, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, managing risk, overseeing business change, benefits realisation, and data migration. You will lead the central Programme Management Office (PMO) to ensure rigorous governance, planning, and performance reporting.

You will be responsible for end to end product ownership and technical delivery -to ensure cohesive leadership and success across all programme dimensions. You will work collaboratively with an extensive range of stakeholders across the organisation and Commands, forging a 'one team' approach and building strong relationships.

SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be eligible and willing to undergo these checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance. 

As a Programme Director - Defence HR Service Digital Transformation, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Own the successful delivery of the ERP replacement programme, ensuring it meets time, cost and quality objectives. Maintain a clear vision, roadmap, and delivery strategy aligned with Defence, CSM and DPT priorities.
• Lead the business transformation agenda, ensuring robust engagement with military and civilian stakeholders. Embed new ways of working and realise planned benefits in workforce efficiency, HR service improvement, and data insights.
• Oversee strategy and execution for data quality, cleansing, migration and readiness across multiple legacy systems, ensuring a smooth and accurate transition to the new ERP platform.
• Act as the primary interface for the programme with senior Defence leaders, Enabling Organisations and delivery partners. Build confidence in delivery through clear, credible and transparent reporting, working across an extensive range of stakeholders.
• Own and lead programme governance, including Steering Groups, formal assurance gates, and audit actions. Manage dependencies with other major programmes across Defence, including Defence Reform.
• Lead a high-performing Programme Management Office, ensuring excellence in planning, reporting, risk management, financial oversight, and benefits tracking.

Essential:

• Proven track record of leading large-scale, complex transformation programmes (over £100m) in ERP and business systems change, with accountability for end to end delivery, business change, and benefits realisation.
• Demonstrable experience of programme governance, risk management, and working with senior stakeholders across government, suppliers, and delivery partners.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills, able to lead diverse and multi-agency functions including PMO, change management, and data.
• Excellent strategic judgement, able to navigate ambiguity and drive decisions in a complex political and operational context.
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with experience briefing senior executives, ministers or equivalent.
• Experience operating at executive committee level, ideally within Defence, broader public sector or critical national infrastructure.

Desirable:

• Experience working in Defence or the wider national security community.
• Familiarity with HR, payroll or personnel systems in complex organisations.
• Experience working in tandem with a product-led, agile delivery environment.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

The MOD guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.