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Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Fixed-Term Assignment
Business area: Argos
Closing date: 24 July 2026
Requisition ID: 400071210

At Argos, we’re a digital-led UK retailer that keeps pushing boundaries to meet every generation with what they want, how and when they want it. As a market leader in general merchandise, serving millions of customers through our website, app, same-day delivery and Click & Collect services, we offer real opportunities to learn, grow and shape your career. With roles spanning Commercial, Buying, Merchandising, Design and Supply Chain, through to Digital, Operations, Customer Experience, Marketing, and People and Transformation , you will work with brilliant colleagues and directly shape how we serve our customers every day. From enabling inspiring choice across our owned brands, including Habitat, Chad Valley and Bush, alongside the world’s biggest brands like Apple, Lego, Xbox and Samsung, to making shopping effortlessly convenient, championing trusted value and accelerating our strategy - Argos is an exciting place to build your future.

Programme Manager (C5)

In a nutshell

The role manages the transformation programme for Argos by turning strategy into clear, actionable programmes of work. The role provides programme oversight, ensuring plans are well‑structured, risks and dependencies are managed, and delivery stays on track. The Transformation Programme Manager connects cross-functional teams to accelerate decision‑making and hold senior leaders to account for progress. Our aim is to spot opportunities to optimise plans, resolve risks early and ensure resources are deployed where they have the most impact. As a visible champion of transformation, the role will galvanise colleagues and promote collaborative, end‑to‑end ways of working.

What I am accountable for 

  • Own transformation programmes through facilitating and managing senior programme forums to drive progress and decisions and action and provide transparency on progress.

  • Through brilliant strategic programme management, manage delivery at pace through excellent cross-functional working.

  • Provide a one-stop-shop for all Transformation activity related to your programmes, giving confidence and clarity around programmes, benefit delivery and any actions required to bring us back on track and optimise outcomes.

  • Connect individual initiatives through key dependency mapping identifying cross functional actions required to manage the dependencies and optimise our plans at the same time as ensuing cross functional resource requirements (capital, people) are well understood.

  • To support the above, complete the programme management basics to a high standard; ensure consistent data capture and programme information within our Plan View programme management software and understanding across your priority areas, document & manage interdependencies, within the programmes you are supporting, own programme RAID logs & mitigation plans, supporting issue resolution at pace.

  • Support creation of clear & regular reporting that is value add for the Programme & leadership teams.

  • Manage and continuously improve the process & tooling requirements to support the best engagement and programme outcomes possible.

  • Manage the right metrics to measure progress of delivery against our Transformation agenda & key outcomes, including both customer metrics and financial metrics.

  • Through end-to-end connectivity & leadership, create a brilliant network to align outcomes, improve connectivity and support knowledge sharing. 

  • Drive regular, high-quality engagement with key business and transformation leaders to stay abreast of key programme developments & ensure a broad understand across our transformation programmes.

  • Work closely with the Transformation Portfolio Office to develop & leverage best practice, driving consistency across our Portfolio.

What I need to know 

  • Knowledge in change and project and programme management methodologies.

  • Knowledge and experience of working on implementation of major cross functional Transformation programme.

  • Skilled in risk, dependency and impact management.

  • Analytical and commercially minded, with the ability to link programme outcomes to cost, performance and customer measures.

  • Communicator with the ability to distil complexity into clear, concise and actionable updates.

 

What I need to show

  • Experience in reporting, coordinating, and development of MI and dashboards that enable the right behaviour and decisions making. 

  • Experience working effectively with Group or central functions on property, procurement, tech or capability programmes.

  • Influencing skills, ability to matrix manage and engage cross-business teams.

  • Ability to own and embed change. 

  • Organisational skills and attention to detail. 

  • Ability to manage numerous projects concurrently.

  • Confidence in communicating with stakeholders across different levels and functions.

  • Ability to prioritise tasks and manage time effectively in a fast-paced environment.

  • A proactive mindset with a willingness to take ownership and follow through on actions.

  • Commitment to continuous improvement.

  • Customer curiosity and drive for improving the customer experience.

Essential Criteria – Programme Manager 

Candidates must be able to demonstrate:

  1. Significant experience leading complex cross-functional transformation programmes, with responsibility for coordinating multiple workstreams, managing delivery plans, and driving outcomes across different business functions.
  2. Strong programme governance and risk management capability, including ownership of RAID logs, dependency mapping, mitigation planning, and issue resolution to maintain programme delivery.
  3. Proven ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders, facilitating programme forums, driving decision-making, and holding leaders accountable for actions and delivery commitments.
  4. Experience producing programme reporting, management information (MI), and dashboards, using data and performance metrics to support decision-making, track benefits, and measure delivery progress.
  5. Strong analytical and commercial acumen, with the ability to evaluate programme performance against financial, operational, and customer outcomes and identify opportunities to optimise delivery.
  6. Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with a track record of managing multiple projects or initiatives concurrently in a fast-paced transformation environment while maintaining high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.

#LI-NR1

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 65% of salary, depending on how we perform (in cash and shares). Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. You'll also receive a company car cash allowance unless you are going to travel 10,000 business miles in your role, then you'll be able to choose a car. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).

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