Connected Place Transformation Manager; FTC

Directorate:
Strategy & Innovation
Contract Type: 18 Months Fixed Term Contract

Hours:

36
Salary: 71,713 - 79,409

Location:

Colindale
Closing Date:
Midnight March 9th 2026

About Barnet Council
Barnet is a borough with much to be proud of. Our excellent schools, vibrant town centers, vast green spaces and diverse communities all help make it a great place to live and work. As a council we want to build on these strengths as we move into the future. We are growing and developing as an organisation to meet the challenges facing our borough and we are committed to working with partner organisations and residents to make Barnet even better.

As an organisation, our staff are committed to Our Values:
Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative - which drive everything we do.

About the role
As Barnet's Programme Manager for Connected Places and IoT, you will lead one of the council's most ambitious and strategically important transformation agendas. This role positions you at the forefront of digital infrastructure, smart city innovation and technology driven service improvement in one of London's largest and most complex boroughs. You will take responsibility for an established, fully funded programme and drive forward its delivery, shaping how Barnet leverages telecommunications, data and emerging technologies to improve quality of life, support economic growth and future proof council operations.

You will lead the Connected Places team and be accountable for a broad suite of work streams-including gigabit broadband, 4G/5G networks, public Wi Fi, IoT solutions, imagery analytics, cyber security and major corporate wide integration programmes. Working across departments-from street services and housing to libraries, town centres and adult social care-you will deliver cross cutting transformation that enhances resident experience, unlocks operational efficiencies and supports meaningful digital change.

A central part of the role is shaping the future direction of the Connected Places agenda. You will take a leadership role in refreshing the programme, ensuring it remains aligned with organisational priorities and delivers maximum value from infrastructure and limited funding. You will manage a 2.35m budget, secure additional grants and investment, navigate commercial negotiations, and maintain strong relationships with providers, partners and stakeholders across the public, private and regional ecosystem.

This position also plays a wider leadership role within Barnet's Strategy & Innovation directorate. You will model best practice, drive cross council collaboration, and support the delivery of broader digital, data and technology outcomes. You will champion a user focused, ethically aware and secure approach to smart city development-embedding high standards of data governance, cyber security, interoperability, accessibility and inclusive design.
This is a newly created role with significant scope to shape how Barnet adopts new technology, and offers the opportunity to influence strategy, set standards, and deliver meaningful impact for residents. It is a hybrid role - you will be expected to be in our Colindale offices an average of once a week. We also come into the office as required to meet service
Please  to download the Job description for this role.

About you
You are an experienced and visionary programme leader, capable of operating in complex environments and driving transformation across multiple services and stakeholder groups. You bring strong experience in either telecoms infrastructure deployment or digital adoption and organisational change, with a proven ability to deliver ambitious programmes at pace and at scale.

You combine strategic insight with hands on programme management expertise-able to coordinate multiple work streams, manage budgets, lead teams, develop business cases, and secure tangible outcomes across a diverse technical and organisational landscape. You are commercially astute, confident in procurement and negotiation, and able to manage key relationships with vendors, suppliers and delivery partners.
Your leadership style is collaborative, supportive and influential. You can inspire and guide multi disciplinary teams; confidently engage with senior leaders, elected members and external bodies; and communicate complex programmes in ways that build understanding, trust and alignment. You bring experience of people management, stakeholder engagement at all levels, and steering organisations through large scale change.
You are comfortable navigating emerging and advanced technologies, even without being a technical specialist. You can translate technological complexity into meaningful outcomes, enable teams to deliver complex projects, and ensure adherence to standards including the GDS Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, Electronic Communications Code and NCSC Connected Places Cyber Security Principles.
You bring political acumen, excellent communication skills and the ability to work…