Senior Manager (Programmes)

Housing and Land

The Housing and Land directorate is responsible for the Mayor’s plans to deliver new and improved homes and strong communities. Working closely with boroughs and partners, we manage the Mayor’s housing investment programmes and land and property assets to support the building of affordable homes, job creation and regeneration.

About the team

The housing crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing the capital – and the Mayor of London is committed to tackling it. The scale of the challenge is huge and the Greater London Authority (GLA) is working hard to address the housing shortage focusing on affordable housing and providing help for people feeling the effects of the housing crisis across London.

The Programme Team is based in the Housing Land directorate within the GLA. The directorate consists of around 200 people split between housing delivery, policy, land-based development and support teams. Our overall aim is to deliver the Mayor’s housing objectives and improve the lives of Londoners through the work that we do.

The Programme Team consists of three senior managers, four senior programme co-ordinators, two programme managers and a reporting analyst. The team is led by the Head of Programme Management, and we support the whole directorate to deliver the Mayor’s housing and land objectives. We’re a small and well-respected team in the wider GLA and directorate and our focus is always to help improve areas that support delivery of housing programmes.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed person to join the GLA’s Housing and Land Directorate. We are looking for a Senior Manager (Programmes) to join our Programme Team and work on leading strategic programme management and reporting for the Mayor’s affordable housing programmes. This vacancy is for a fixed term position for 18 months, we are also advertising for fixed term Senior Programme Coordinator role, also for 18 months, and details are available on the GLA recruitment website.

This is a senior level position in the programme team. The role includes leading strategic programme management of affordable housing programmes, risk management, scenario planning and preparing papers that ensure senior stakeholder are fully briefed and aware of progress on delivery. The post holder will work closely with senior level colleagues across the housing sector, within the GLA and with government departments, including the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The role will include analysis and review of information from a range of sources to produce clear and concise reports and papers for various audiences. There will be room for the post holder to help shape forward direction and continuous improvements that enable the team to stay at the forefront in programme delivery.

We are looking for someone who is self-motivated and proactive, can manage multiple programmes in a fast paced and changing environment and can demonstrate excellent attention to detail whilst also being able to identify, summarise and prepare key information at speed. You will be able to confidently present to different senior level audiences and feel at ease with scrutiny and challenge on details that you present.

You will have the ability to build strong working relationships across a range of senior stakeholders and colleagues with different backgrounds and experience. You will be used to working in a team environment and will thrive on identifying and implementing improvements in an open and collaborative way. The ideal candidate will have a strong background and experience of using data management tools such as Power BI or similar alongside advanced-level experience of preparing reports and analysis using Excel or other tools, and more importantly, be able to easily use these analytical skills to prepare clear and concise reports.

We are looking for someone who has a genuine commitment to team working who can help shape and lead our work with central government to provide confidence and clarity on programme delivery.

Whilst knowledge of housing, construction or land development would be beneficial, they are not essential and we welcome applications from candidates with experience in other relevant sectors to bring applicable expertise to this role. The GLA team has a comprehensive training and induction programme to get you up to speed on the key issues related to the role, coupled with wider learning and development to promote individual growth and expertise.

What your day will look like

• Liaising with senior level stakeholders within Housing and Land, the wider GLA, particularly GLA finance and central government departments. With those counterparts, ensuring that their governance requirements are met for the programmes that we manage.
• Leading on monitoring programme budgets and programme delivery, supporting line reports and others to prepare reports and monitoring tools to set out clear information for internal and external staff.
• Deputising for the Head of Programme Management at senior level board meetings and directorate management meetings, which will help to set the direction of travel for our affordable housing programmes.
• Every day will be different and your work will involve close attention to detail to ensure that information and analysis of programmes is accurate and prepared to exemplar standards.

Skills, knowledge and experience

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

Technical competency:

A.1. Senior management experience: you will be an experienced senior manager who is able to shape and lead on all aspects of successful programme management and delivery for large scale investment funding programmes.

B.2. Data and Analysis: You will be an expert data and reporting analyst with a strong background in the use of data management tools such as JasperSoft, Business Objects, Power Builder or similar, plus advanced-level experience with Excel.

Behavioural Competencies:

1. Planning and Organising: you will be self-motivated and proactive, can manage multiple projects in a fast paced and changing environment and can demonstrate attention to detail. You would be adept at thinking ahead, managing time, priorities and risk, and developing structured and efficient approaches to deliver work on time and to a high standard.
2. Building and managing relationships: You will have the ability to manage relationships across a range of senior level stakeholders and colleagues with different backgrounds and experience. You will be used to working in a team environment, sharing ideas, and developing innovative approaches to improve processes and delivery in an open and collaborative way. Well-developed communication skills are essential for this role, which will involve implementing operational guidance and translating analysis from large and complex data sets into clear messages and recommendations for senior staff.
3. Communicating and Influencing: you will be able to accurately prepare and clearly present information that articulate arguments and information in a convincing and credible way. You will be able to support and influence senior level stakeholders to understand options and approaches that will continually improve the organisations status.
4. Strategic Thinking: you are able to understand the bigger picture to uncover potential challenges and opportunities for the long term and turn these into a compelling visions for action to help set strategic direction with senior leaders.

Further generic details about the GLA Competency Framework Guidelines can be found at the following link: GLA competency framework. This includes further information about each competency listed above and the different level indicators.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

London's diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share.

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

Benefits

GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office.

In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme.

Application closing date: Sunday, 21 December 2025 - 23:59.

Interview date: Mid-January 2026.