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Role Description

Role: Programme Director – Pensions Dashboards Programme
Reporting to: Pensions Dashboards Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) with a dotted line to the Corporate Director for Change
Direct reports: Leading a mixed economy virtual Programme team including contractors, Fixed Term appointments and civil service secondees
Duration: Fixed Term Contract – 23 months 
Salary: circa £110k
Location: This role is compatible with hybrid working arrangements involving working from home and days in the office each week [minimum of 2 days a week in the office]. The permanent office location is London with regular travel to Bedford as required. Occasional travel may be needed elsewhere for stakeholder engagement purposes.

 

Background

Pensions dashboards will enable people to access key information about all of their UK pensions, private and State, in one place online, revolutionising how people engage with their pensions throughout their lives. Enabling the delivery of pensions dashboards will require up to 52 million adults in the UK to be connected with up to around 43,000 pension providers and schemes to search for their pensions.

Development work by industry is underway to turn this into a delivery solution for the benefit of UK citizens. MaPS has created a Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which will be responsible for delivering the digital architecture and governance framework that will allow multiple parties to be connected as part of the pension’s dashboards ecosystem. The ecosystem will enable users to view their located pension entitlements through the public dashboard delivered by MaPS or through commercial dashboards regulated by the FCA.

This hugely significant development has the potential to improve the financial wellbeing of millions of people.

To ensure the successful delivery of Pensions Dashboards the Programme works closely with a number of assurance and delivery partners:

  • The pensions industry, who will process and provide accurate data.
  • The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), as policy owner and legislator, setting the legal framework and timelines for occupational schemes to provide data.
  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates dashboard providers and sets the rules requiring personal pension providers to supply data.
  • The Pensions Regulator (TPR), which supports occupational schemes in meeting their regulatory obligations.
  • Internal and external assurance bodies, including the National Infrastructure Security Taskforce (NISTA) and Government Digital Service (GDS).
  • Other government departments, such as HM Treasury (HMT).
  • The wider MaPS organisation, ensuring alignment with its mission to improve financial wellbeing.

 

Purpose and Responsibilities

  • Provide strong, inclusive leadership to the programme delivery team and the wider organisation, building capability, resilience, and a collaborative, delivery-focused culture.
  • Set the vision for success, define programme and project controls, and take ownership of performance against key milestones. Monitor progress closely and engage with internal and external assurance, responding effectively to recommendations.
  • Lead the development and approval of the business case, aligning it with senior stakeholders and securing endorsement through the Programme Board, DWP Investment Committee, and HM Treasury.
  • Proactively identify, assess, and manage strategic and operational risks and issues. Keep senior stakeholders informed and involved where necessary and engage subject matter experts to support mitigation planning.
  • Foster a delivery environment in which projects can succeed. Ensuring alignment, effective collaboration, and management of interdependencies. Champion the delivery of benefits and outcomes as set out in the business case.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across MaPS, the pensions industry, government departments (including DWP, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office), regulators, and external suppliers. Provide strategic support to the SRO in shaping the programme’s operating environment.
  • Represent stakeholder interests and build consensus across a diverse range of partners. Develop and maintain strong working relationships with both internal and external suppliers, co-managing key relationships alongside the SRO.
  • Oversee and assure the management of programme dependencies, working with stakeholders to resolve complex issues and ensuring alignment with wider business governance.
  • Manage the programme budget in line with public sector financial principles, working closely with Finance colleagues to track expenditure, forecast needs, and identify opportunities for efficiencies and savings.