Senior Project Manager

Job Description

Senior Project Manager - Inside IR35

Contract Term: End of March 2025

Contracting Authority: DEFRA

Location: Hybrid Working (every Tuesday & Thursday office based - London)

In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people's lives. We are responsible for England's environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives. These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out.

Our objectives are:

• To pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future.
• To lead the world in food, farming, and fisheries with a sustainable model of food production.
• To be an outstanding organisation focused on making a difference, with world class delivery capability.

Job Purpose:

You will be based in the London team to specifically assist with delivery of the major project, Next Delivery Vehicle. The NDV project team is developing business cases for delivery of the next phase of delivery on the Thames Estuary; we are developing a 15-year programme, designing the operating model and governance, and we are making the commercial arrangements.

As a Senior Project Manager your main responsibilities will be to:

• Take responsibility for the definition, documentation and safe execution of a single major project or a number of smaller initiatives; actively participating in all phases of the project.
• Identify and manage stakeholder relationships at a senior level, asking for support where required.
• Manage internal and external relationships as appropriate. Identify, assess, and manage risks to the success of the project.
• Effectively estimate costs, timescales, and resource requirements for the successful delivery of the project(s).
• Ensure realistic project and quality plans are prepared, maintained and tracked against the plan, providing regular and accurate reports to stakeholders.
• Monitor and forecast costs, timescales and resources used and act where these deviate from agreed tolerances.
• Manage the change control procedure, ensuring that change is captured, impact assessed and approved.
• Ensure that project deliverables are completed within planned cost, timescale, and resource budgets. Provide effective leadership to the project team; take appropriate action were performance deviates from agreed tolerances.
• Actively represent the project team, ensuring effective relationships are built and maintained with the business.
• Ensure that projects are formally closed and where appropriate, subsequently reviewed and lessons learned are captured and actioned.

You'll have:

• Significant experience of delivering projects in Flood Risk Management, or the Water Industry or Waterways (navigation assets). Experience from other infrastructure and construction sectors will be considered (e.g., Highways, Rail, Utilities) as will experience of leading significant change or transformation projects.
• Experience of applying the Green Book methodology to develop business cases using the 5-case model for large or Major Projects or programmes.
• Experience of taking these business cases through assurance would be beneficial.
• Within the team the commercial case is led by Defra Group Commercial (part of the cabinet office commercial function), but knowledge and experience of the Construction Playbook and Delivery Model Assessment would be beneficial.
• Our project team is large and growing. You will lead and work closely with colleagues from across the Environment Agency and our supply chain. In this environment, engagement, communication, influencing and people leadership experience is required.
• Within the team we have a Primavera P6 Planner; experience of working closely with a planner to deliver to programme is required in this role. Experience of project controls would be beneficial.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of using NEC4 contracts and Microsoft Project scheduling tool. Should be familiar with CDM regulations, "CDM Client" role.
• Likely to be qualified to degree level or equivalent in an engineering, environmental or geography related discipline.
• Expectation that you will have Chartered membership of a relevant professional body such as ICE, CIWEM, APMP.
• Should be a PRINCE2 Practitioner or hold an equivalent Project or Programme Management qualification.

If this Senior Project Manager role sounds like something that you would be interested in, please click the link to apply or get in touch with Michelle.floyd@publicsectorresourcing.co.uk

Disability confident

As a member of the disability confident scheme, DEFRA guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

Armed Forces Covenant

DEFRA guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

If you qualify for the above, please notify us on PSRapplications@publicsectorresourcing.co.uk.

We will be in touch to discuss your suitability and arrange your Guaranteed Interview.

Should you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the recruitment process or if there is a more accessible way for us to communicate, please do let me know.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.