Senior Project Manager - Business Change

We're looking for an experienced Senior Project Manager to work in our Head Office in Swindon This is a pivotal role sitting between execution and strategicleadership, responsible for driving the successful planning and implementation of complex, cross-functional, and technical initiatives. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, this role bridges the gap between day-to-day project delivery and strategic change governance, acting as a direct support and deputy to the Head of Business Change.

The successful candidate will go beyond standard execution to help embed a structured, repeatable project management framework across the business. They will bring deep experience in planning technical, software, or web-focused projects, ensuring tight alignment between technical delivery and broader business goals. Additionally, they will champion the adoption of emerging technologies and AI-driven tools within the change function to automate processes, elevate reporting, and optimise team efficiency. This role requires a strategic, commercially minded professional who can confidently manage senior stakeholders, challenge the status quo, and ensure high-impact projects are delivered to time, cost, and purpose.

We can offer hybrid working, with two days in the office (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and three days from home.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Delivery & Execution: Lead the end-to-end planning and implementation of large-scale, complex, and technical projects across multiple functions, ensuring scope, goals, and deliverables directly align with strategic business cases.
• Strategic Support & Deputy Leadership: Partner closely with the Head of Business Change to establish, embed, and champion a consistent PMO framework, change governance routines, and reporting cadences across the change function.
• Advanced Technical Project Planning: Develop robust, full-scale project plans for technical initiatives, mapping out detailed tasks, timelines, resource allocation, and complex cross-functional dependencies across development lifecycles.
• AI & Tooling Optimisation: Drive team efficiency by actively utilising and embedding emerging technologies and AI-driven tools (e.g., smart reporting solutions, automated status updates) to increase project visibility and streamline delivery.
• Stakeholder & Sponsor Management: Form strong relationships with Executive sponsors and business leaders, ensuring they are clear on their project responsibilities and kept transparently informed of project status, risks, and schedule changes.
• Risk & Change Governance: Monitor and track portfolio-level risks and issues. Implement structured change management processes for project scope, schedules, and costs while offering constructive challenge to delivery blockers.
• Financial & Benefit Oversight: Maintain a comprehensive understanding of project budgeting and cost control, ensuring initiatives are delivered within budget and successfully realise their intended commercial value and purpose.
• Continuous Improvement & Mentorship: Lead project post-mortems and knowledge transfers to raise delivery standards across the business, while coaching, mentoring, and functionally guiding standard Project Managers to improve throughput and efficiency.

Skills and experience:

• Strategic & Proactive: Highly self-directed; takes early ownership of complex challenges, anticipates blockers, and successfully prioritises conflicting and competing demands in a diverse, fast-paced environment.
• Confident Communicator & Influencer: Credible, authentic, and engaging; possesses the excellent communication and client-facing skills required to manage relationships, influence people, and present executive-level reporting.
• Change Catalyst: Has a strong appetite for contributing to a continual cycle of change; possesses the courage to challenge the status quo, question existing practices, and present innovative solutions to improve efficiency and quality.
• Collaborative Partner: An advocate for cross-functional collaboration who deeply understands broader functional priorities and can seamlessly align technical delivery with business outcomes.
• Commercially Minded: Deeply focused on delivering tangible business value, strategic outcomes, and benefit realisation, rather than just ticking off executional tasks.
• Proven working experience as a Senior Project Manager leading both business change and technical/software/web-focused projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing complex technical projects, showing a strong understanding of technical dependencies, IT environments, and development lifecycles.
• Practical experience using and embedding emerging technologies, such as AI tools, to drive automation, smart reporting, and project delivery efficiency.
• Proven track record of successfully managing senior stakeholder relationships, including working effectively with Executive sponsors, IT, and cross-functional delivery partners.
• Deep knowledge of principles, methods, techniques, and tools associated with the project lifecycle, governance frameworks, and comprehensive project budgeting/cost control.
• Solid organisational and leadership skills, with demonstrated experience coaching, mentoring, or developing other project professionals or specialised change roles.
• A relevant professional project management qualification is highly desirable.

Benefits:

• Employee discount: amazing discounts available on all Oak Furnitureland products after successful completion of probation
• Life assurance: free cover of a minimum of two times your annual salary up to the age of 65
• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Birthday: an additional day off for you to celebrate your birthday
• Hybrid working
• Pension: 4% employee contribution matched by the company
• Employee Assistance Programme: gives all employees access to both telephone and face-to-face counselling services
• My Rewards Programme: offers discounts on everything from restaurants and supermarkets, to entertainment and holidays
• Free on-site parking