Programme Manager - Illegal Markets

Job title: Programme Manager – Illegal Markets
Location: Hybrid working – Birmingham office at least 1 day per week
Contract: Fixed-term contract for 36 months for a short-term project or piece of work
Hours: Full-time (37 hours per week)
Salary: £61,000 per annum
Grade: 14
The role:
As a Programme Manager at the Gambling Commission, you will provide strategic leadership and direction across a defined set of interdependent projects and the associated business change activities.
You will be responsible for the successful delivery of the required outcomes, including the establishment of appropriate governance and assurance, monitoring progress, managing risks and issues and ensuring the business readiness for change.
The team:
You will play a pivotal part in the delivery of our illegal market programme of work. This is high-profile work and will be subject to a high level of public scrutiny and, as such, we are looking for an experienced Programme Manager who has strong stakeholder management and leadership skills, with an ability to bring together multiple strands of work to ensure the programme delivers on time, the desired benefits and within scope.
Our offer to you:
- Civil Service Pension, with 28.97% employer contribution
- 26 days’ holiday, rising to 29 days after two years’ service (pro rata)
- Holiday purchase scheme (option to buy up to five extra days’ annual leave)
- Flexible working & family friendly policies, including compressed hours
- Ergonomic, fully accessible office, very close to Birmingham New Street Station
- Open, collaborative and people focused culture
Your responsibilities:
- Develop and clearance of the business case with project leads and SMEs.
- Cascade vision and translate into delivery objectives for the team. Lead the programme to deliver the business case benefits and outcomes.
- Maintain the overall integrity and coherence of the programme and governance framework to support the delivery of each of its projects.
- Create and maintain project delivery frameworks for use by the Commission, ensuring that programmes and projects meet government functional standards and align to central project frameworks.
- Make recommendations and secure resources from senior stakeholders and allocate assigned resources across complex and large-scale programmes and projects.
- Support and manage your team and wider Project Management community with learning and development to embed good project delivery and practice, providing coaching and mentoring to project professionals across the Commission.
- Oversee risk, issue and dependency management. Ensures mitigations are in place and resolved through negotiated agreement.
- Ensure realisation of benefits for stakeholders through planning and designing and that project outputs meet programme requirements.
- Engage with assurance reviews and support action on recommendations. Organise assurance processes such as gateway reviews, as required.
- Identify and manage stakeholder relationships and highlight the need for senior-level support. Manage internal and external relationships as appropriate.
- Work with project leads and business as usual to ensure dependencies are actively managed, act as an arbiter and enforcer and resolve issues between the various elements of the programme.
- Follow the Gambling Commission’s portfolio and project delivery frameworks and contribute towards its continuous improvement.
What we’re looking for:
- Experience of managing complex programmes and projects within a dynamic and fast-paced programme environment.
- Proven ability to lead, build consensus and influence (without authority) across a large and often diverse and senior group of stakeholders and develop strategic relationships (internal and external).
- Experience of ensuring strategic and operational risks and issues are identified, prioritised, assessed and mitigated.
- Leadership and development of a multi-year plan to deliver multiple projects and workstreams.
- Experience of creating an environment in which projects and teams can succeed – working effectively together, managing dependencies and leading people through change.
Your application:
To apply for this position, please see the Gambling Commission careers website.
The Gambling Commission has an anonymised recruitment process, so you should not attach a CV to your application. Instead, application questions will ask you to evidence how your personal skills, qualities and experience match the essential criteria for the role.
The selection process for this vacancy will be comprised of an in-person interview consisting of competency and technical questions and a presentation. To prepare for your interview, please familiarise yourself with the STAR technique for answering interview questions.
The closing date for this role is midnight on 21st June 2026.
Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 29th June 2026.
Please ensure you have the right to work in the UK before applying as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.
Incomplete applications will be discounted from shortlisting. Please ensure your application is fully completed and submitted before logging out of your account.
About us:
The Gambling Commission is the regulatory authority responsible for overseeing and regulating gambling activities in the United Kingdom. Our primary role is to ensure that gambling is conducted fairly, openly, and free from crime, while also protecting vulnerable individuals from harm.
We’re proud to have notable industry recognition, including the Regulatory Excellence Award from the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). This prestigious award recognised the Commission's international leadership in enhancing consumer protection through industry collaboration