Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.
Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.
Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.
Job Purpose
We're looking for an experienced Senior Project Manager to join our IT and Business Change team. We've a great track record of delivering positive business outcomes through agile delivery with Product Teams and in larger scale change programmes. You'll therefore need to be able to demonstrate a similar, successful track record in using both agile and more traditional change methodologies to meet the needs of your customers.
As a valued part of the team, you'll collaborate with product owners, suppliers, and our own Europe wide change group to drive results across a diverse IT and business change portfolio.
Canada Life operations a flexible working model, where you can work from home where appropriate, and be present in the office when needed, for example to join team meetings, run workshops, etc. Office locations include Potters Bar, Bristol, London and Isle of Man.
The Team
This role will be part of the IT and Infrastructure Portfolio team, which delivers both technical and business change. The current portfolio includes a critical business system upgrade in collaboration with teams based in the UK and Canada, and a cloud migration project to transition one of our UK businesses' applications and services to Azure. As a relatively small team, we are committed to fostering individual growth while working effectively within a matrix organisation across projects, programmes, and agile change initiatives.
Duties/Responsibilities
• Be responsible for all stages of the project delivery cycle, applying best practice and team working to realise great outcomes
• Manage the budget and ensure the financial performance within the project is maximised
• Own the outcomes for the project, removing blockages from delivery team or scrum master and creating a positive and supportive environment for the team
• Use your strong communication skills to engage with all levels of the organisation, understanding your stakeholders and their respective needs
• Employ project management tools and practices such as effective change control management to ensure transparency and effective delivery performance
• Provides leadership within IT & Change function to champion best practices and standards and ensures that projects adhere to them providing feedback on enhancements
• Works with the Portfolio Lead to develop and maintain the Portfolio Roadmap
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
• Strong working knowledge of project management best practices and delivery disciplines (Project Management, Portfolio Planning, Governance, budgeting, controls, benefit realisation) within a Financial Services organisation
• Experience of Project Delivery methodologies and practices (Waterfall, Agile and Lean practices)
• Possesses excellent communication and presentation skills both verbally and in writing and to ability to lead professionals across various disciplines
• Commercial acumen when working with external parties and delivering project outcomes
• Excellent Communication skills, with experience of technical and non-technical communication with ability to confer a technically detailed scenario in a manner that is easily understood by those stakeholder groups
• Experience of working effectively in pressure situations
• Ability to multi-task and effectively manage large complex projects and multiple workstreams within a project
• Aptitude for analytical and creative thinking, with a keen attention to detail
• Strong team player with problem-solving mindset
• An optimistic and upbeat personal manner, with ability to motivate and engage others
• Proven experience and skill in acting independently with initiative and decisiveness, coupled with a keen awareness of when to escalate issues Benefits of working at Canada Life
We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that's regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.
How we work at Canada Life
Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.
We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That's why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.
Diversity and inclusion
Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we're making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.
"At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all." Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK
We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.
