Senior Finance Programme Manager

Overview

This role leads the end-to-end delivery of complex, global finance transformation programmes spanning multiple workstreams, regions, systems, and business functions. Responsibilities include translating strategic objectives into an executable programme roadmap and delivering technology implementation, process redesign, data migration, control enhancement, and organisational change.

The programme must be delivered to agreed scope, quality, timeline, and budget, with intended operational, financial, and control benefits realised and sustained.

Responsibilities

Programme leadership and governance

• Lead the full programme lifecycle from mobilisation and discovery through design, build, testing, deployment, stabilisation, transition to BAU, and benefits realisation.
• Define and maintain programme vision, scope, outcomes, roadmap, milestones, budget, resource plan, success measures, and governance model.
• Establish clear decision rights, escalation routes, reporting cadence, and programme controls aligned with Finance and Technology governance standards.
• Lead multiple interdependent workstreams and ensure alignment across process, technology, data, controls, operating model, and change activities.
• Maintain high-quality programme artefacts, including integrated plans, RAID and dependency logs, decision records, financial forecasts, and executive status reporting.

Finance transformation and solution delivery

• Deliver finance transformation initiatives such as ERP implementations and migrations, finance systems integration, shared services transformation, process standardisation, reporting and control improvements, and systems consolidation.
• Oversee requirements elicitation and ensure business, functional, technical, data, security, and control requirements are complete, prioritised, traceable, and formally approved.
• Coordinate solution design and configuration across finance platforms and adjacent systems, including HR, payroll, production systems, time tracking, banking, and reporting tools.
• Ensure finance processes and controls are designed to support a scalable global operating model while meeting local statutory, tax, audit, and compliance requirements.
• Provide effective challenge to proposed solutions and delivery approaches to ensure they are proportionate, supportable, and aligned with enterprise architecture and finance strategy.

Data, testing, deployment, and operational readiness

• Oversee data discovery, cleansing, mapping, migration, reconciliation, and validation, with clear ownership and acceptance criteria.
• Define the testing strategy and coordinate system integration testing, user acceptance testing, regression testing, control testing, and, where relevant, parallel runs.
• Lead cutover and deployment planning, including readiness criteria, go/no-go governance, contingency planning, command-centre support, and hypercare.
• Ensure operational readiness through documented processes, controls, support models, service levels, training materials, and standard operating procedures.
• Confirm solutions transition into stable BAU ownership with clear accountability for ongoing service, controls, and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder, vendor, and commercial management

• Act as the primary programme contact for executive sponsors, Finance and Technology leadership, process owners, and regional stakeholders.
• Build alignment across Finance, Technology, HR, Shared Services, Operations, Internal Audit, and other impacted functions.
• Prepare concise executive reporting covering progress, financial position, risks, dependencies, decisions required, and recovery actions.
• Manage system vendors, implementation partners, consultants, and service providers to ensure deliverables meet contractual scope, timelines, quality, and acceptance criteria.
• Support procurement, commercial negotiations, statements of work, and change control; actively manage supplier performance and programme value for money.

Risk, controls, and assurance

• Own the programme risk and issue framework, ensuring timely identification, analysis, mitigation, escalation, and closure.
• Ensure finance, technology, security, privacy, regulatory, and operational risks are addressed throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Embed appropriate financial controls, segregation of duties, audit trails, and governance requirements within new processes and systems.
• Coordinate assurance activities, quality reviews, and internal or external audit engagement, ensuring evidence is complete and actions are resolved.

Change, adoption, and benefits realisation

• Define and oversee change management, communications, stakeholder engagement, and training strategy for all impacted teams.
• Assess organisational impacts and readiness across roles, processes, controls, systems, data, and ways of working.
• Build strong business ownership and change networks to support adoption and minimise operational disruption.
• Define benefit measures and baselines, track delivery against the business case, and ensure benefit owners are accountable for sustained outcomes.
• Capture lessons learned and apply them to improve programme delivery standards and the wider Finance transformation portfolio.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience delivering large, complex transformation projects or programmes within global, multi-entity organisations.
• Proven experience leading finance transformation, ERP, finance systems, payroll, HRIS, or closely related enterprise technology implementations.
• Strong understanding of core finance processes, including general ledger, financial close, reporting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, revenue recognition, cash management, and financial controls.
• Demonstrated capability in multi-workstream programme management, including planning, budgeting, governance, RAID management, dependency management, and benefits realisation.
• Experience managing complex data migration, testing, cutover, hypercare, and transition-to-service activities.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, including experience working with C-suite sponsors and senior Finance and Technology leaders.
• Strong vendor and commercial management experience with SaaS providers, enterprise technology vendors, systems integrators, and consulting partners.
• Ability to interpret complex business and technical information, resolve ambiguity, and translate issues into clear decisions and executable actions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation, facilitation, and executive reporting skills.
• Experience delivering change across multiple countries, business units, and operating environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Great Plains, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, or comparable finance platforms.
• Experience of payroll or HR-to-Finance transformation, including payroll interfaces, parallel runs, compliance, and operating model change.
• Experience of Finance Shared Services, global process ownership, or finance process standardisation.
• Professional project or programme management certification such as MSP, PRINCE2, PMP, or APM.
• Accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, or CIMA, or equivalent finance experience.
• Experience working in a listed, regulated, or audit-intensive environment.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

• Not specified in the provided job description.