Senior IT Project Manager

Senior IT Project Manager | S4 | Chief Information & Resilience office | Milton KeynesCountry: United Kingdom

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.santander.com) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organisation, and our people are at the heart of this journey. Together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference.

Our mission is to contribute to help more people and businesses prosper. We embrace a robust risk culture and all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

Santander Digital Services is the team of technology and operations at Santander. We are convinced of the importance of technology that is aligned with the requirements of the business and that out work not only brings value to users, people and communities but also fosters individual creativity. Our team of over 7,000 people in 8 countries (Spain, Portugal, Poland, UK, USA, Mexico, Chile and Brazil) develops and/or implements financial solutions across a broad spectrum of technologies (including Blockchain, Big Data and Angular among others) on all kinds of on-premise and cloud-based platforms.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

Santander UK is looking for a Senior IT Project Manager based out of Milton Keynes, Unity Place.

To maximise business value from technology investments by leading demand, delivery and service management activities, ensuring infrastructure capabilities, projects and services are aligned to strategic priorities and delivered to the highest standards of quality, risk management and customer outcomes.

We’re shaping the way we work through innovation, cutting-edge technology, collaboration and the freedom to explore new ideas. To succeed in this role, you will be responsible for:

• Own the Project Portfolio for Chief Information & Resilience Office (CIRO) by driving end-to-end delivery of complex IT and infrastructure projects, ensuring outcomes are achieved within agreed scope, budget, timelines, quality standards and risk appetite.
• Drive portfolio governance and reporting across IT projects, providing clear visibility of milestones, risks, issues, financial performance, dependencies and delivery outcomes to senior stakeholders.
• Mobilise discovery taskforces for new initiatives, create delivery plans and executive updates and reporting.  
• Own and lead the Quality Assurance governance process and ensure full compliance for CIRO projects, including any Global Assurance requirements.
• Provide service management of technology demand, including translation of business requirements into deliverable initiatives and prioritisation and coordination of infrastructure provisioning activities to support strategic and operational objectives.
• Own the infrastructure demand pipeline, working with Global Tech Hub (GTH), architecture, engineering and operational teams to assess capacity, resource requirements, dependencies and delivery feasibility.
• Establish and maintain effective stakeholder relationships across business, technology, GTH, third-party suppliers and external partners to ensure alignment and successful delivery of change.
• Provide effective service management oversight, ensuring delivered solutions transition smoothly into live service, with agreed support models, operational readiness and service performance measures in place.
• Proactively challenge and facilitate issue resolution, unblocking and escalating as required and in a timeous manner to ensure delivery and execution of projects and demand requests remain on track.
• Lead resource planning and allocation across projects and demand requests, balancing competing priorities to optimise delivery capacity and business value.
• Proactively identify, assess and manage project, operational and service risks, ensuring appropriate controls, escalation routes and remediation plans are implemented.
• Promote continuous improvement across project delivery, demand management and service management processes, embedding best practice methodologies, governance standards and operational efficiencies.
• Act as a culture and people leader, fostering collaboration, accountability, inclusivity and high performance whilst developing team capability and promoting Santander's Risk Pro and TEAMS behaviours.
• Manage the people and culture governance calendar, including setting agendas and coordinating CIRO Town Halls, Monthly Managers’ Meetings and ad-hoc requirements for People Managers across CIRO.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us greater as a team and as an organisation. We’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are and empowering what they bring.

The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Professional Experience

• Extensive experience leading the delivery of complex IT and infrastructure programmes and projects from initiation through to implementation and service transition. (Required)
• Proven experience managing infrastructure demand, capacity planning and infrastructure provisioning activities, ensuring technology services are aligned to business priorities and strategic objectives. (Required)
• Great portfolio management and governance experience, including project prioritisation, financial management, dependency management, executive reporting and delivery oversight across multiple concurrent initiatives. (Required)
• Demonstrable experience of IT Service Management, including operational readiness, service transition, supplier management and continual service improvement within a large-scale enterprise environment. (Required)
• Experience engaging and influencing senior business and technology stakeholders, with a track record of managing cross-functional teams, third-party suppliers and complex delivery dependencies. (Required)
• Proven leadership experience fostering a high-performance culture, driving collaboration, continuous improvement, risk management and delivery excellence across technology teams. (Required)

Education

• Undergraduate/Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Management, Project Management or a related discipline; or equivalent relevant industry experience. (Preferred)
• Professional project management certification such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP, Agile Practitioner, Scrum Master or equivalent. (Required)

Languages

• Spanish (Preferred)

Hard Skills

• Expertise in delivering complex technology and infrastructure projects using Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies, including planning, budgeting, governance and risk management. (Required)
• Ability to manage infrastructure demand pipelines, assess resource and capacity requirements, prioritise competing requests and align technology investment with business objectives. (Required)
• Great understanding of enterprise infrastructure, including networks, servers, cloud services, storage, security controls and technology provisioning processes. (Required)
• Practical experience of service transition, operational readiness, incident, change and problem management, with knowledge of ITIL principles and service governance. (Required)
• Proficiency in portfolio governance, dependency management, financial tracking, RAID management, executive reporting, KPI delivery and project performance analysis. (Required)
• Ability to manage senior stakeholders, third-party suppliers and cross-functional technology teams, ensuring alignment, accountability and successful delivery outcomes. (Required)
• Ability to create financial business cases and manage funding requests, utilisation and reporting. (Required)
• Ability to create compelling presentations and executive reporting, with the relevant context setting and story-telling, using PowerPoint, with excellent attention to detail. (Required)

Soft Skills

• Inspires, motivates and develops high-performing teams, fostering collaboration, accountability and a culture of continuous improvement. (Required)
• Builds trusted relationships and effectively influences senior stakeholders, business leaders and technical teams to achieve successful outcomes. (Required)
• Communicates complex technical and delivery information clearly and confidently, tailoring messages to diverse audiences and executive stakeholders. (Required)
• Demonstrates sound judgement, balancing business priorities, risks, costs and benefits to make informed decisions and drive portfolio outcomes. (Required)
• Effectively manages multiple competing priorities, adapts to changing demands and ensures focus remains on the highest-value activities and deliverables. (Required)
• Promotes excellent cross-functional partnerships, encourages knowledge sharing and enables effective delivery across business, technology and supplier teams. (Required)

WE VALUE YOUR IMPACT

At Santander, your contribution matters. We recognise the difference you make every day, and we make sure you feel valued, supported and rewarded in return.

Here, recognition goes beyond pay. It’s about the pride you feel in your work, the impact you have on customers and communities, and the opportunities you have to grow and thrive — personally and professionally.

Salary Range:

• £80,000.00 - £120,000.00 per annum (depending on experience)
• This salary range represents the expected remuneration for the role. Annual salary is based on a standard 35-hour working week. Actual salary offered will depend on skills, experience, qualifications and location.
• 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, which increases to 31 days after 5yrs service, with the option to purchase up to 5 contractual days per year.
• £6,000 car allowance per year.
• Company funded individual private medical insurance
• Protection for you and your family, with company-funded death-in-service benefit and income protection insurance, and the option to take advantage of discounted rates for additional life assurance and critical illness cover.
• Share in Santander’s success by saving or investing in our share plans.
• As a Santander UK employee, you are able to request staff versions of our products like our Edge Current Accounts and Credit Cards with no fees, as well as apply to many other deals and discounts in Santander products and services.
• Competitive rewards that reflect the real impact you make and the value you bring.
• Wellbeing that goes beyond work — we work with a range of wellbeing partners across our 4 pillars of wellbeing (physical, mental, social and financial) to give you access to a suite of apps, discounted gym and fitness access, weekly online classes, flexible healthcare and mental health support.
• Support for every life stage — from menopause and pregnancy to parenthood and beyond, with enhanced family leave, childcare options and tailored wellbeing support.
• Time to give back through volunteering opportunities that let you make a difference in the communities we serve.
• Global growth opportunities to shape your career, learn new skills and explore what’s possible across our international network.

Ready to be recognised? It starts with you.

LOCAL COMPLIANCE

At Santander, we’re proud to be an inclusive organisation that provides equal opportunities for everyone — regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion or sexual orientation.

We’re committed to creating a recruitment experience that’s accessible, fair and welcoming for all candidates.

We want our people to thrive — at work and at home — while delivering the best outcomes for our customers and supporting each other to grow.

To make this possible, our roles are site-based with a hybrid working pattern, where colleagues are expected to attend the office at least 12 days per month (pro-rata for part-time roles).

When applying, please consider the travel distance, time and cost to your chosen office location(s). 

Right to work in the UK

• All candidates must have the right to work in the UK to commence employment with Santander.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If this sounds like a role you are interested in, then please apply.

If there’s anything we can do in the recruitment process to help you achieve your best, get in touch. Whether it’s a copy of our application form in another format or additional assistance, we’re available through email. You can contact us at [email protected].

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