Project Manager

Description

The company is a global technology business with over 83,000 employees across five continents, including more than 7,500 people in the UK, working in defence, space, aerospace and digital security.

The role sits in Underwater Systems (UWS), which provides underwater sensors and decision support to navies worldwide. The UWS work covers Mine Counter Measures, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Services and Future Capabilities.

The project is CUES, a critical programme to develop and manufacture a new sonar type for the Astute class submarines. The team is looking for a Project Manager to join it.

This is a Project Manager role on CUES. The company describes it as a growth opportunity with room for career development and a chance to add real value to the business.

Responsibilities

• Own successful delivery of the project and its work packages across the full development lifecycle, and be accountable for a large part of the project scope.
• Sit at the centre of the core leadership team and shape project governance and implementation.
• Motivate and support the work-package team and the individuals within the project team.
• Model the company Leadership Model behaviours and build a strong culture of delivery accountability and proactive risk and opportunity management at every level.
• Build trust and confidence with stakeholders through open dialogue, and draw on adjacent functions such as engineering, industry and procurement where needed.
• Define execution strategies and lead the creation of schedule baselines and structures for each work package.
• Keep every work package on a robust baseline throughout execution, and make sure forecasts against that baseline are accurate.
• Set and control KPIs for planned outcomes, such as on-time delivery, so forecasts are credible, and make sure project controls are in place and working.
• Present the project at governance reviews and liaise with contributing functions to improve quality, cost and delivery.
• Manage changes to baselined scope, including applying bid governance, leading multi-disciplinary teams and the supply chain on proposals, and protecting the integrity of the baseline.
• Capture lessons from previous work, apply them, and share your own for the wider benefit of the business.
• Make sure all activities follow the relevant the company Chorus 2 process.

Requirements

• A proven record of delivering successful projects in a setting relevant to the company, ideally in a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Experience managing customer and supplier relationships.
• Experience leading how projects are structured and planned, and applying best-practice project controls in a tailored way.
• Experience directing work against the baseline and critical path, with a focus on proactive risk and opportunity management and on controlling variance to time, cost and quality.
• Experience with project financial and contractual management.
• Experience applying demand and business planning in a project context, including reliably forecasting resource needs, critical skills included, and scheduling them with adjacent functions.
• Experience representing projects at governance forums, giving an evidence-based view of progress and summarising key risks, opportunities and support needed for senior management.
• Strong leadership, enthusiasm, professional project management skills, excellent stakeholder management, team building, and a proactive approach to risk and opportunity.

Conditions

Based in Cheadle (preferred) or Templecombe, with a hybrid arrangement of 3 days per week on site, based on full-time hours.

Security Clearance (SC) is required. Holding it already is an advantage. If you do not hold it, you must obtain and maintain SC before you start.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years. In some cases, 3 years of UK residence in the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

Due to the nature of the work, many roles at the company carry security restrictions. Guidance is available on the UK Security Vetting website.

Benefits

• Private medical insurance.
• Ability to buy or sell annual leave.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employee discounts.
• Paid volunteering day.
• Stocks and shares scheme.
• Annual bonus, depending on the role.
• The company states that equal opportunities, pay and working conditions apply to all, and that everyone is valued for who they are.