Project Manager

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Economic and Social Research Council

Project Manager

Salary: £34,905 per annum
Hours: Full-time or 0.8 FTE role. ESRC have a wide range of policies to support work/life balance. As such, we welcome full time/part time/compressed hours applications for this role
Contract Type: Fixed term until 31 March 2026 (towards the end of the assignment candidates will move into the UKRI redeployment pool and be supported in finding suitable alternative work within the organisation). A proposal has been submitted for the extension of the ADR UK programme, but the outcome is unknown at the time of this advertisement.
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire (hybrid working)
Grade: UKRI Band D
Closing Date: 8th May 2024

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About the role

The Project Manager will be responsible for driving and overseeing the delivery of their projects to ensure that:

• they are completed on time and within budget.
• the project's objectives are met.
• risks and issues are effectively managed.
• the correct governance and reporting procedures are followed.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure projects deliver agreed outcomes within time, cost, and quality constraints.
• Track delivery within budget as necessary, and recommend how financial and other resources should be allocated between projects to best support strategic objectives.
• Identify and monitor project risks and issues, and develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate.
• Set project controls, select and apply appropriate delivery methodologies, and support the agreed assurance requirements through project delivery.
• Stakeholder engagement and partnership working - identify key stakeholders and develop effective relationships to influence, change, and impact decisions.
• Monitoring delivery against the approved business case, in order to justify the continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk.
• Contribute to the development and promotion of the Programme Management Office (PMO), including supporting and advocating the use of PMO standardised processes and documentation.
• Operate effectively within a matrix management environment on one or more assignments with the flexibility and resilience to respond to the changing demands of a fast-paced environment.
• Attention to detail in the creation and maintenance of a range of control documentation including but not limited to; business case, programme plan, risks, issues and actions logs/registers, monitoring and evaluation, and budget management.
• Collation of documents and co-ordination of audit and assurance activities, including formal project gateway reviews, audits, and deep dives.
• Actively contribute to the PMO supporting the development of templates, guidance notes and documentation for a range of programme management tools and techniques.
• Represent the programme for queries relating to PMO administration and the use of templates.
• The project manager will also prepare and present updates to relevant groups within the established governance structure.

This is not a comprehensive list, and we may require you to undertake other duties within the Strategic Hub commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post.

Shortlisting and Interview Criteria (Person Specification)

Essential:

• Experience of working in a complex programme/project environment, or qualification in a recognised project/programme management methodology, e.g. PRINCE 2, MSP, AGILE etc.
• Excellent written communications skills, including a good working knowledge of MS Office Packages, and project management software tools.
• Able to evidence an understanding of project methodologies and lifecycles.
• Able to evidence how to manage, plan, monitor and coordinate projects or change activities.
• Experience communicating with multi-level stakeholders.
• Experience of working both as a member of a wider team, or as a specialist or workstream lead in a smaller team.

Desirable:

• An understanding of the processes through which ESRC funded researchers currently access data for research purposes.
• Experience of working with relevant policy, government, or other stakeholders in the research data landscape
• Experience of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Gateway Review and Healthcheck process

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter. We ask that you state how your skills and experiences meet the criteria in a covering letter (maximum 2 pages). You are encouraged to use the STAR method as described by the National Careers Service to demonstrate your skills and experience. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded.

Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

Additional information

Developing talent :

We are committed to developing employees in their roles throughout their career. Learning and development plans enable employees to continue their professional development through training and development opportunities such as e-learning, classroom training and on-the-job experiences. We encourage our employees to share their learning across teams and organisations .

Benefits:

UKRI can offer the successful candidate:

• Flexible Working
• 30 days annual leave Public Holidays
• Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme
• Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider

About the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The ESRC is the UK's largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science. It supports the development and training of the UK's future social scientists and funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policy-makers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective.

For more information about ESRC, please visit https://esrc.ukri.org/

About UK Research Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce' .

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.