Project Manager, Project & Program Management, Operations Management

Role

Title:

Project Manager

Grade and Salary range: Grade 8, £47,389 - £58,225 per annum

FTE and working pattern: Full Time (1

FTE), Open ended (flexible working on request).

Annual Leave: 33 days, plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday). Use our total rewards calculator:  to see the value of benefits provided. (flexible working on request).

Established in 2022, the Global Project Management Office (GPMO) provides a centralised, professional project management capability to deliver strategically significant initiatives aligned to the University’s priorities. Based at the Edinburgh campus within the Strategic Planning, Performance & Projects directorate, the team leads a complex portfolio of transformational change, requiring strong leadership, stakeholder management and governance assurance.

The Project Manager is responsible for the successful end-to-end delivery of one or more complex change initiatives, from early concept, business case development and governance approval through to delivery, transition into business-as-usual and benefits realisation. The role operates with a significant degree of autonomy, applying established good practice while adapting approaches to suit context, risk and organisational maturity.

Projects may involve technology, process, organisational or infrastructure change and require close collaboration across academic, professional services and external partners.

• Select, tailor and apply appropriate project life cycle approaches, exercising professional judgement to respond to uncertainty, complexity and risk
• Establish, operate and maintain effective project governance and reporting arrangements, ensuring clear accountability, robust decision-making and timely escalation in line with organisational standards
• Lead the development, approval and ongoing refinement of the project business case, ensuring continued alignment with strategic objectives, affordability and value for money
• Produce, baseline and maintain an integrated project management plan, incorporating scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risks, issues, communications and benefits
• Actively manage delivery performance against agreed baselines, using data and insight to forecast outcomes, manage tolerances and recommend corrective action
• Take responsibility for project financial management, including estimation, budgeting, forecasting, cost control and financial reporting, within agreed delegations
• Identify, assess and manage risks, issues, dependencies and assumptions proactively, implementing agreed response strategies and escalating emerging threats or opportunities
• Secure, lead and coordinate multi-disciplinary project teams, applying appropriate leadership styles to motivate performance, build capability and maintain momentum. Potential line management of staff
• Manage internal and external resources and suppliers as required, including contributing to procurement, contract management and performance oversight
• Design and deliver structured stakeholder engagement and communication activities, influencing effectively at all levels and managing expectations in complex or contested environments
• Plan and manage transition activities to ensure that project outputs are successfully embedded into business-as-usual operations, minimising disruption and enabling adoption
• Define, monitor and report on benefits realisation, supporting benefit owners to understand, track and optimise the value delivered by the change initiative
• Ensure that sustainability, equality, ethical and compliance considerations are embedded into decision-making and delivery practices
• Capture, share and apply lessons learned to support…