Technical Programme Manager (Enabling Functions - Finance)

What’s in it for you

We offer excellent benefits that help make Tesco a great place to work!  These include but are not limited to:

• Annual bonus scheme
• Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (and bank holidays)
• Great colleague discounts and deals, saving you money on everyday purchases, utility bills for the home and more
• Retirement savings plan – save between 4% and 7.5% and Tesco will match your contribution
• Buy as you earn and Save as you earn share schemes
• Opportunities to get on – take advantage of our ongoing learning opportunities and award-winning training to help you achieve the career you want

About the role

About the Enabling Functions (EF) Programme Team

Enabling Functions are responsible for bringing out the best in our colleagues by giving them the support they need to perform at the highest level.  By helping our core business across diverse parts of the organisation such as Global Operations, Finance, HR, Property, Legal and Procurement make the most of the latest technological innovations, we have real far-reaching impact across Tesco. 

We provide services on a large scale; as the second largest employer in the UK, our finance systems execute billions of pounds worth of payment transactions each year and in the future, we expect the size of our services to continue to grow.

We also support the larger scale Technology wide projects and are looking for an experienced LTPM to join the Enabling Functions Finance team. In this role, you will be supporting the dedicated project TPMs to deliver the change across Finance arising from these cross team Tesco Technology initiatives. You will need to display experience of managing multiple engagements and dependencies successfully coupled with strong communication skills to allow you to collaborate across Product, Programme and Engineering within Finance, and the wider Technology stakeholders.

Some of the key engagements you will be responsible for include, but are not limited to, Store Numbering, the Deposit Returns Scheme and an initiative supporting the expansion of our online customer proposition.

The Store numbering project is supporting the challenge to enable our future global store growth by identifying and then removing some of our technical constraints.

The Deposit returns scheme is part of a Scottish regulatory initiative to promote increased recycling and supports our core purpose of supporting customers, communities and the planet a little better everyday. Customers will be charged a deposit for all drinks vessels purchased, and will receive a refund when they return the drinks vessel. It is expected that is the first step towards a UK wide deposit scheme.

We continue to expand our online customer product offering and will be looking to support their integration into the finance landscape, whilst ensuring legal regulations are complied with and that Tesco accounts remain accurate.

You will be responsible for

Lead Technical Programme Managers (LTPMs) deliver complex, cross-functional technology programmes that support colleagues and help serve our customers better. They work collaboratively, influence Product, Engineering and business colleagues and lead the programme to deliver value quickly and often.

Whilst specific responsibilities will be dependent upon the changing needs of the Tesco business, the following provides an overview of the role’s key responsibilities and measures:

In this role I: 

• Deliver complex programmes with multiple business and technical risks that will impact the success of key Tesco business priorities  
• Line manage a team to help deliver the associated outcome & develop talent within the TPM community 
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to define annual budgetary requirements as well as period review and adjustment as appropriate  
• Build positive relationships with suppliers & external stakeholders to deliver software or professional services.  This includes the management of contracts, procurement and associated finances
• Initiate and shape programmes with ambiguous scope and uncertain delivery approach  
• Create and track a plan to deliver the programme goals, including the technical implementation plan  
• Provide expert advice and guidance on programme delivery (mentoring other TPMs and supporting Engineering/Product teams)  
• Understand trade-offs in software delivery, using experience and influencing skills to drive consensus with the Engineering and Product teams to obtain the best value and solution  
• Am able to foresee potential risks and issues, establish a process, facilitate discussion and manage escalations  
• Am able to understand a technical architecture to be able to foresee the impact on dependencies, delivery timelines and implementation plans  
• Have good knowledge of engineering best practices and practical infrastructure implementations to appreciate delivery challenges  
• Understand technology concepts, grasp new ones quickly and appreciate their implications on delivery  
• Effectively manage major incidents, ensuring stakeholders are updated with the right information to drive the correct decisions  
• Add value to vendor selection processes (tendering, agreeing SLAs, warranty periods, outsourcing)  
• Coach peers and other roles, teaching where required, on methodologies and programme management tools and coach/mentor on leadership  
• Take a leading role in the recruitment process and make final recruitment decisions  
• Play an active leadership role in the TPM guild and community – proactively influencing capability and capacity planning for TPMs  
• Establish new or improve existing delivery methodology to deliver the programme goals  
• Act on opportunities to adopt trends and new concepts in programme and product delivery  

You will need

Key Skills and Experience  

An ideal candidate will have: 

• A proven record of accomplishment in delivering technology and/or infrastructure; having done so across multiple teams in multiple geographies  
• Experience of building credible relationships and influencing senior management & leadership teams  
• Experience in & a passion for People Management 
• Strong Project, Stakeholder & Programme management skills 
• Excellent communication & influencing skills  

About us

Our vision at Tesco is to become every customer’s favourite way to shop, whether they are at home or out on the move.  Our core purpose is “Serving our customers, communities and planet a little better every day”.  Serving means more than a transactional relationship with our customers.  It means acting as a responsible and sustainable business for all stakeholders, for the communities we are part of, and for the planet.

We are proud to have an inclusive culture at Tesco where everyone truly feels able to be themselves.  At Tesco, we not only celebrate diversity, but recognise the value and opportunity it brings.  We’re committed to creating a workplace where differences are valued, and make sure that all colleagues are given the same opportunities.  We’re a big business with diverse working patterns and many business areas which means that we can find something that works for you.  Everyone is welcome at Tesco.

We have recently announced that we are moving to a more blended working week – combining office and remote working.  Our offices continue to be where we connect, collaborate and innovate.  Talk to us about how this can work for you.

Note: Should you be successful in your application, your employment will be subject to and conditional upon you providing your bank account details on your agreed start date.