ASSISTANT PROGRAMME MANAGER

We are turbo-charging Digital & Data across M&S. This is an exciting opportunity to join the 10x Digital Stores team (cross functional team made up of colleagues from Technology, Retail and Digital & Data) as an associate programme manager to help transform how M&S approaches digital in its stores. This is a new role that will be working across the business supporting the 10x Digital Stores team made up of programme managers, product managers, software developers and data analysts to deliver the transformation goals. You will be at the forefront of M&S’s digital transformation journey by helping build industry leading digital features for customers and colleagues. We want to reinvent the digital experience in stores and create a seamless omnichannel experience. This is a great opportunity for someone with 2-3 years’ experience in programme management.

Key accountabilities and measures

Working closely with Digital & Data Growth Managers, help plan and deliver the 10x Digital Stores growth and personalisation strategy, track progress against key milestones and manage key risks, issues and dependencies.
Ensure the projects keep to planned timescales and budgets while challenging the teams to move at pace to reach the transformation goals.
Lead the continuous review of the projects to ensure these evolve in line with the agreed strategy.
Conduct post implementation reviews when projects finish, to create an action plan of improvements for future projects and ways of working for the team.
Proactively help the team find further opportunities towards the transformation goals by running discovery workshops.
Build strong and effective relationships across the team and outside of the data team, using effective stakeholder management skills.
Be an advocate for the 10x Digital Stores strategy and vision, supporting with communication of progress and benefits to the wider business.
Champion an agile way of working, promoting a ‘test and learn’ and ‘fail fast’ approach.

Key skills

Project and programme management: experience of managing projects using either Agile or waterfall methodologies with skills in benefits management, business risk management and an understanding of change management.
Stakeholder management: demonstrable experience working with multiple teams and stakeholders to deliver successful projects – with experience of engaging, influencing and communicating to stakeholders at all levels.
Has a passion for driving business transformation at pace and can think strategically.
Has an innovative mind set and is adaptable and responsive to changing priorities with, at times, having to deal with uncertainty.
A self-starter who identifies opportunity, encouraging new ideas and positive business change.
Results driven, self-motivated and able to work alone or as part of a team.
A strong team player who is also able to lead and to challenge appropriately to seek more from the team to move the projects faster.
Excellent communications skills – both written and verbal, including presentations and project reporting.
Has strong influencing, networking and negotiation skills to build and convince a case for business change.
Has an interest M&S and the digital transformation agenda we are driving.
Highly organised