Programme Director

HISCOX is an international insurer specialized in the market of luxury goods & property, and high-end professional insurance. As experts in risk we give people and businesses the confidence to realise their ambitions. With offices in 9 European countries we have a very international staff and encourage a culture that fosters inclusion and collaboration, offering exciting opportunities for personal and professional growth.
In our Lisbon office we have the privilege of employing approximately 500 exceptional professionals representing 29 diverse nationalities. Despite our central location within the city, we recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. As part of our commitment to our employees' well-being, we provide a 35-hour workweek along with the option for a hybrid working schedule.
The Role Hiscox Europe is currently in the middle of a large-scale transformation programme focusing on the replacement of most of the technological backbone, with a new core system at its centre. The programme, called Leap, kicked off in the beginning of 2020 and has, since then, delivered multiple components in a phased, by country, approach.
The Programme Director role reports directly into the European COO and will oversee the entire programme, acting as the main responsible for the day-to-day operations and delivery of the Programme vision and objectives, in line with the defined roadmap and budget. For this the Programme Director will work with multiple PMs and a PMO team to coordinate a large team of 150+ resources composed of internal resources (IT and Business) and several critical partners, spread across multiple teams and programme releases.
The role will also be responsible for preparing and reviewing Programme top-management reporting on European and Group level, as well as lead the monthly Programme's Steering Committee and weekly management status meetings (together with the Programme Manager and the PMO team). For this, this senior leadership role requires very strong management, leadership, and coordination skills with the ability of operating at multiple levels within the organization as well as with partners and vendors.
Key Responsibilities Deliver the programme vision, strategy, objectives, scope, budget, governance, and roadmap, in alignment with the business strategy and IT architecture.
Establish and maintain effective relationships with senior stakeholders across the business, IT, and external partners, ensuring clear communication, alignment, and collaboration.
Manage and control the overall Programme costs, aligned with the costs and estimates for each of the multiple delivery workstreams.
Manage and coordinate multiple workstreams, vendors, and teams across different geographies, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outcomes and benefits realization.
Monitor and control the programme risks, issues, dependencies, assumptions, and changes, ensuring appropriate mitigation and escalation.
Provide strong leadership and direction to the programme team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Ensure compliance with the Europe and Group's frameworks, standards, policies, and best practices.
Communicate frequently and comprehensively to ensure the alignment and support of the teams involved in Europe, IT and Group.
Discuss and evaluate agreements and contracts for both services and software according to the Programme requirements and in coordination with the European COO and CTO.
Skills and Experience Experience in leading large-scale, long term, and multi-geography transformation programmes, preferably in the insurance or financial services sector.
Demonstrated ability to deliver complex and challenging high-performance programmes within scope, time, budget, and quality, while managing multiple stakeholders and vendors.
Strong knowledge and understanding of IT architecture, systems, processes, and methodologies, especially in the areas of Core Systems replacement, data migration, integration, and cloud technologies.
Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and inspire senior executives, business leaders, and technical experts.
Proven leadership and management skills, with the ability to build, motivate, and develop high-performing teams across diverse and distributed locations.
Oral and written English skills at a very high level are essential – Ability to speak and write in Portuguese will be a significant advantage and knowledge of French, German, Dutch and/or Spanish will be valued.
Personality Trades Ability to establish and maintain positive and impactful relationships with key stakeholders in an international organization.
Demonstrates curiosity and flexibility in various topics (e.g. digital, operational, and regulatory) and can transition smoothly between them.
Commitment to outstanding quality, attention to detail and service.
Naturally inquisitive with a drive for constant enhancement and self-development.
Diversity and Flexible Working at Hiscox At Hiscox, we care about our people. We hire the best for the job and are committed to diversity and a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success. We recognize that working life does not always need to be office-bound. We operate on a hybrid work model to foster a healthy work-life balance, with time spent both in the office and working remotely. This approach combines structure and sociability with independence and flexibility.
Work with amazing people and be part of a unique culture Why work here? If you want to help build a brilliant future; work with amazing people; be part of a unique company culture; and, of course, enjoy great employee benefits that take care of your mental and physical wellbeing, come and join us.
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About us We're a global, specialist insurer headquartered in Bermuda and listed on the London Stock Exchange. With 3,000 employees and 32 offices in 12 countries we're a business with lots of opportunity for people with talent, spark and lots of ambition. If you want to build a great career with a company that prioritises strong values – such as integrity and courage – where our people always pull together to do the right thing for each other and our customers, then we'd love to hear from you.
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