Lead Technical Assurance Manager

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Job Description

Base salary: £61,622pa to c.£83,191pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

As Lead Technical Assurance Manager you'll be responsible for leading a team of Technical Assurance Managers

The correct and consistent application of technical assurance processes and collations of evidence across multiple workstreams and groups of contracts, resulting in acceptable self-assurance of the works by the delivery organisations, and successful assurance of integration activities and system functionality undertaken by HS2 as Primary System Integrator and appointed lead integrators, resulting in the delivering of the operational high-speed railway.

About the role:

• Facilitate a consistent application of technical assurance processes by the supply chain, HS2 project teams, and system integration design, test & commissioning management teams, across multiple contracts, workstreams and delivery phases.
• Facilitate adequate Supply Chain planning and progressive self-assurance of their own works, undertaking review and acceptance of technical assurance completion evidence submissions made at stage completion milestones.
• Likewise facilitate progressive self-assurance of activities undertaken by HS2 project teams and discipline subject matter experts (SMEs) in relation to their own deliverables, as well as planned reviews and acceptance of technical assurance stage completion submissions made by the Supply Chain Contractors.
• Assist the Head of Technical Assurance with the development of the department's own business as usual and process improvements workstream planning.
• Maintain reporting metric against key performance indicators and provide regular progress reports on contracts and aspects of system integration responsible for receiving acceptance of technical assurance.
• Co-ordinate and manage the Senior Technical Assurance Manager(s) and Technical Assurance Managers under their line management in undertaking additional department tasks instructed by the Head of Technical Assurance, such as supporting continuous improvement through the further development, improvement, or communication throughout the business of technical assurance process, procedures, and guidelines in use.
• Monitor and review ongoing levels of resource capability and competency within the supply chain and HS2, identifying areas requiring attention to de-risk the delivery of the works and associated technical assurance products.
• Oversee the HS2 application of mandatory and additional verification activities undertaken by HS2 and their delivery partners of the contracted works ensuring that it is commensurate with a justifiable risk-based approach to ensure a fully assured product is received by HS2.
• Liaise with other HS2 functions, such as safety, risk, requirements, configuration management, documentation control, information management (BIM) and inter-related engineering discipline SMEs to ensure sharing of information, the acceptance of technical assurances and the resolution of issues.
• Support the HS2 Head of Engineering and/or Environment or other Technical Lead appointed in reviewing and accepting Contractor's L3 self-assurance evidence and the management of additional L2 system level verification activities.
• Assist the Technical Audit Team with preparation, planning and undertaking of technical assurance reviews/audits, and the recording of observations and action;
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
• General line management of teams, planning future resource needs, undertaking performance assessments, and holding regular team and individual one-to-one meetings, etc.
• Planning and management of team workloads in relation to assigned workstreams / tasks.
• Assessment and consolidation of the team's performance through monthly HS2 reporting to the Head of Technical Assurance.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI..

About You:

Skills:

• Possess technical competency in one or more engineering discipline or inter-related engineering support discipline;
• Possess a good understanding of system engineering, quality assurance control, configuration management, technical governance techniques, safety hazard and risk analysis and practices as applied to major infrastructure and/or railway transportation projects;
• Competent in working within a digital data and information environment;
• Ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and able to manage input from SMEs, providing specialist technical support and leadership;
• Capable of defining and developing strategy, and authoring technical process, procedure and planning documentation;
• Ability to deliver educational briefings/presentations;
• Possess general commercial awareness, and ideally possess NEC3/4 contract management experience/knowledge;
• Able to provide technical support and take ownership of technical assurance aspects of multiple contracts. but also knowing when to seek further guidance from department management, SMEs or others support role personnel;
• Responsibility for collation of technical assurance evidence from appointed Delivery Organisation Contractors and/or HS2 workstream discipline engineers and project teams.
• A good team player, able to supervise others, mentor and guide other Technical Assurance Managers working with/for you.
• Ability to consolidate teams reporting to inform HS2 monthly reporting requirements to the Head of Technical Assurance.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of problem solving and integration using systems engineering techniques within major infrastructure or railway transportation sectors.
• Knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques;
• Knowledge of system V lifecycle approach to planning, designing, implementing, managing, operating, and decommissioning complex systems;
• Chartered Engineer/Membership of an appropriate professional institution or the equivalent experience.
• An understanding of CENELEC EN 5012x series of standards covering railway functional safety and software related objectives and processes;
• Knowledge of the principles of ISO 9001 - Quality Management Systems;
• Knowledge with the principles of change and configuration management, such as ISO 10007;
• An understanding of the roles and responsibilities under Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations and of the European derived Common Safety Methodology (CSM) legislation;
• Knowledge of working within an NEC3/NEC4 contract environment
• Knowledge of technical governance, safety hazard and risk analysis practices as applied to major infrastructure and/or railway transportation projects.
• Knowledge and experience in undertaking technical requirements compliance verification and validation management of design and construction on infrastructure or railway transportation projects.
• Understanding and application of system-domain integration, test and commissioning of hardware, software and application data configuration management and change control.

Type of Experience:

• Experience in using desk-top application tools HS2 utilise, such as: Microsoft Office / 365 suite, Microsoft Teams, Bentley AssetWise ALIM or eB, Bentley Project Wise, IBM DOORS, Relatics, CEEMAR, Xactium-Riskonnect, and AIMS;
• Experience in implementation and delivery of technical assurance within a data-centric environment demonstrating the evidence captured meets the criteria of the delivery plans and needs of key stakeholders that will use the information for the authorisation of the railway, in particularly for interoperability and safety, among of user case needs;
• Experience of managing and implementing quality assurance and/or system engineering principles on large scale infrastructure or railway/transportation projects, with emphasis on applying principles relating to requirements and standards compliance, safety and the environment, and the ability to articulate others.
• Experience within a technical environment liaising with Contractor's design, construction and project management personnel;
• Experience of managing competing project and engineering demands and deliverables with cost and schedule implications;
• Experience of multi-discipline programmes within any of the following fields:
  Civils, Mechanical & Electrical, Signalling , Control systems or system engineering and integration;
• Experience in process and procedural improvements development;
• Experience in preparing technical assurance evidence cases;
• Experience in the day-to-day line management of teams, planning future resource needs, performance assessments etc.
• Experience of planning team workloads and workstreams / tasks.
• Experience in collating, reviewing, analysing, communicating and reporting progress and issues to a wide range of stakeholders.

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect

It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK's new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain's major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others' health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our 'Safe at Heart' programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.