Programme Assurance Manager

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA),
Are you an experienced assurance leader ready to influence high‑impact programmes across the West Midlands Combined Authority? We’re seeking a Programme Assurance Manager to play a pivotal role in strengthening WMCA’s second line of defence, ensuring our programmes and projects are robust, well‑governed, and aligned with the Single Assurance Framework. In this senior role, you’ll lead the development and delivery of an Integrated Programme Assurance Plan, provide expert guidance to project sponsors, and drive continuous improvement across WMCA’s diverse investment portfolios.

Managing a team of Programme Assurance Specialists, you’ll work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to embed best practise, enhance decision‑making, and support the successful delivery of outcomes that matter to the region.
Please note, interviews are scheduled to take place on 9th – 11th March 2026.

• Keep abreast of and evaluate the effectiveness of new programme assurance tools and techniques and governance best practice.
• Work with the Centre of Excellence lead to ensure regular reviews of Directorate Project Pipelines to enable effective planning of assurance activity and resource capacity.
• Work with the Head of Internal Audit to ensure an integrated, risk‑based approach is adopted for all Assurance Plans and that the outcome of any assurance activity feeds into the strategic risk management process.
• Work with key internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective assurance of WMCA projects and programmes is implemented in accordance with WMCA Single Assurance Framework (SAF).
• Provide specialist advice, information and, where appropriate, challenge to Directors, Senior Managers and internal/external project leads, to identify and develop effective processes and controls across all Directorates; ensuring an effective three Lines of Defence approach is adopted across WMCA.
• Act as an escalation point for the Assurance Specialists.
• Develop and implement Assurance toolkits and processes, standard templates and guidance to enable delivery of an effective second line of defence assurance function.
• Deliver an integrated annual plan of assurance activity, across all WMCA Directorates, ensuring an independent, risk‑based approach is adopted based on best practice and following SAF and wider Government requirements.
• Report high level outcomes of assurance activity to relevant WMCA Boards including Project, Programme, Directorate and Audit Risk & Assurance Committees – focusing assurance reporting on its impact and any improvement activity recommended and undertaken, common themes, best practice identified and progress against any recommendations made.
• Work with the Internal Audit lead to ensure an integrated approach is adopted for all Assurance plans and that the outcome of any assurance activity feeds into the Internal Audit planning process.

• Experience of programme / project delivery and HMT assurance models, ideally in the areas of WMCA’s Investment Programme and wider Combined Authority related projects.
• Experience of supervising professionals.
• Analysis and evaluation of complex data in order to translate into improvement / assurance planning and effective reporting to senior managers / WMCA Boards.
• Liaising with senior management & demonstrating specialist best practice / assurance knowledge with the ability to constructively challenge in order to drive service/project improvement.
• Excellent interpersonal and persuasive skills with the ability to work and build rapport with internal/external stakeholders at different levels.
• Management of priorities and ability to meet deadlines.
• Proactive approach to problem‑solving.
• PRINCE 2 Practitioner.

The location for this role is 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3SD
with at least 2 days a week spent in the office.

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