Delivery Lead I Programme Lead Strategic Initiatives

Syngenta Crop Protection is a leader in agricultural innovation, bringing breakthrough technologies and solutions that enable farmers to grow productively and sustainably. We offer a leading portfolio of crop protection solutions for plant and soil health, as well as digital solutions that transform the decision-making capabilities of farmers. Our 17,900 employees serve to advance agriculture in more than 90 countries around the world. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and is part of the Syngenta Group.

Our employees reflect the diversity of our customers, the markets where we operate and the communities which we serve. No matter what your position, you will have a vital role in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. Join us and help shape the future of agriculture.

We are seeking an experienced Strategic Initiatives Delivery Lead / Programme Lead to lead the planning, governance and execution of complex, cross-functional technology and business initiatives. This role will work closely with senior business sponsors, Product Managers, Engineering Leads, Architects and external delivery partners to translate strategic priorities into clear, measurable and sustainable delivery outcomes. The successful candidate will bring strong programme leadership capabilities, a structured approach to navigating ambiguity, and the ability to align multiple teams and stakeholders around shared objectives. You will be responsible for establishing effective delivery governance, managing programme plans, dependencies, risks, budgets and resources, and ensuring that strategic initiatives deliver tangible business value. You will operate across technical and non-technical environments, enabling decision-making, resolving delivery challenges and creating transparency for senior stakeholders. The role is suited to a strategic programme leader with experience delivering large-scale technology, digital transformation, enterprise change or R&D-related initiatives within a complex global organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of strategic, cross-functional programmes and initiatives from discovery through implementation and value realisation.
• Partner with senior sponsors and stakeholders to define programme scope, objectives, priorities, governance and success measures.
• Translate strategic objectives into structured delivery roadmaps, milestones, plans and operating rhythms.
• Coordinate multiple teams, workstreams and external partners to ensure aligned and integrated delivery.
• Establish and maintain effective programme governance, including steering forums, decision logs, progress reporting and escalation routes.
• Identify, manage and mitigate programme risks, dependencies, issues and delivery impediments.
• Manage programme budgets, resources, capacity and external delivery partners in line with agreed priorities.
• Ensure delivery approaches are appropriate for the initiative, applying Agile, hybrid or traditional programme-management methods where needed.
• Monitor delivery performance, business outcomes, benefits realisation and value metrics; communicate insights and recommended actions to leadership.
• Facilitate strategic discussions, manage ambiguity and support stakeholders in making timely, evidence-based decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement in delivery practices, collaboration, transparency and programme capability across teams.
• Build trusted relationships across business, product, technology and R&D communities.
• Define and track key performance indicators and delivery metrics to demonstrate programme value and business impact.
• Support change management and stakeholder adoption activities to ensure successful realisation of strategic benefits.
• Develop and mentor delivery teams, fostering capability maturity and promoting best practices in programme leadership and execution.

Experience and Qualifications

• Experience leading complex, cross-functional technology and business transformation programmes using Agile delivery methodologies (Scrum, Kanban).
• Proven track record coordinating multiple technology teams, workstreams and stakeholders across strategic initiatives.
• Strong programme and portfolio management experience, with ability to translate strategic objectives into clear delivery roadmaps and outcomes.
• Comprehensive understanding of end-to-end software and product delivery lifecycle.
• Experience delivering technology capabilities in complex enterprise, R&D, data-intensive or regulated environments.
• Demonstrated ability to manage programme governance, delivery plans, milestones, risks, dependencies and impediments.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and influencing skills, with ability to build alignment across all organisational levels.
• Strong strategic thinking with experience clarifying scope, managing ambiguity and supporting effective decision-making.
• Exceptional communication skills, adaptable for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience managing budgets, resource allocation and delivery capacity for large-scale initiatives.
• Demonstrated capability in vendor management and coordination of external delivery partners.
• Experience defining and tracking delivery metrics, business value and programme outcomes.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Desirable Experience and Qualifications

• Experience leading enterprise-wide transformation programmes or strategic change portfolios.
• SAFe Agile, Release Train Engineer (RTE) or relevant programme management certification (MSP, PRINCE2, PMP, AgilePM).
• Experience in cloud-based technology delivery or complex global industries (agricultural R&D, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology).
• Postgraduate qualification in Business, Technology, Engineering, Science or Programme Management.
• Experience assessing and improving delivery capability maturity across teams.

Why Syngenta?

• Meaningful impact: help build technology that supports scientific innovation and sustainable agriculture.
• Complex, modern challenges: work on high-scale platforms and systems with room for technical judgement.
• Collaborative environment: partner with global engineering, R&D and product communities.
• Growth: broaden your influence through challenging work, visible outcomes and a global network.

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