Project Manager

Job Number

BU04055

School/Department

Digital Services

Grade

7

Contract Duration

Permanent

Responsible to

Business Applications Support Manager

Overview

Digital Solutions and Infrastructure are responsible for providing, developing and maintaining IT facilities and services across the University, supporting staff and students. We have a good reputation within the University, providing reliable and resilient infrastructure, services, systems and facilities. We pride ourselves on being helpful, friendly, and responsive to user needs.

The post of Project Manager is located within the Business Systems team alongside other Project Managers and a Business Analyst. The successful candidate will oversee a diverse portfolio of transformational and operational digital projects, varying in size and scale. They will work with colleagues within the department and across the University, liaising with external vendors where appropriate.

Purpose of the Job

The post holder will take a leading role in the end-to-end delivery and management of digital projects across the University which will install or replace existing IT systems/infrastructure. The successful candidate will work closely with the Business Applications Support Manager, the Head of Business Systems and colleagues across Digital Solutions and Infrastructure.

The postholder will help ensure that projects are properly managed, communicated and that all the technical and administrative tasks are aligned leading to timely delivery to cost.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• To provide professional and effective project management for the life-cycle of projects in your portfolio – procurement to project closure.
• Establish good working relationships with key stakeholders to guide the project delivery, developing appropriate communication links with the University’s Colleges/Directorates.
• Maintain and ensure that overall project plans are adhered to and co-ordinate the dependent tasks.
• Show initiative in problem solving and dealing with challenges.
• Build effective working relationships with vendors, and third-party suppliers
• Maintain project risk registers through effective risk analysis and risk management of work streams.
• Identify training needs (drawn from stakeholder/end user input), facilitate and deliver training across different domains of users to ensure effective workflows and evaluate effectiveness.
• Arrange, facilitate/attend project meetings as required and record the actions and monitor and ensure progress against these actions.
• Analyse and report on the overall progress of projects to management and participate in audits as required.
• Review project delivery methodology with the team to deliver continual improvement to the Directorate and wider University.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role.
• The post holder will be expected to comply with the University equal opportunities policies, Dignity at Work and Study Policy and the University’s Welsh Language Policy and the Welsh Language Standards.
• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for themselves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
• The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

Essential

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject area.

Desirable

• Relevant professional accreditation.
• A postgraduate degree in a relevant subject.
• A recognised Project Management qualification.

Experience/Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of administration of a wide range of projects, including large/complex projects.
• Practical experience of managing projects that cross both business and IT work streams.
• A good understanding of project management tools and techniques, alongside experience of managing and delivering projects to agreed timescales and budgets.
• Experience of providing management information, briefings, updates and reports.
• A good understanding of effective governance practices in project management and tailoring to meet specific project needs, while ensuring alignment with broader internal governance processes.
• Experience of developing and delivering training plans across different users.

Desirable

• Experience of PRINCE and Agile methodologies.
• Experience of working in the Higher Education Sector.
• Experience of having procured goods or services, along with an understanding of public sector requirements.

Skills/Abilities

Essential

• Evidence of excellent IT and numeracy skills including knowledge of MS Office 365 applications.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of the project team, taking a lead role where appropriate.
• Ability to give support/advice in a professional way to all levels of staff in the project team, wider university and external organisations.
• Evidence of the ability to understand and convey information which requires careful explanation, both written and oral.
• Evidence of the ability to organise, prioritise and plan time and resources, including personal time management, working to deadlines and planning work for others Relevant experience of negotiating with a broad range of stakeholders and suppliers to agree work packages and delivery of project activities.
• Evidence of ability to solve problems using initiative and creativity, and of ability to identify, develop and select options independently.

Desirable

• Relevant experience of negotiating with a broad range of suppliers to agree work packages and delivery of project activities.
• The capability to conduct project evaluations and lessons learned activities, along with the implementation of any agreed-upon changes to project management processes.
• The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable for this role.

General

We are a member of Advance HE's Athena SWAN Gender Equality charter and hold a Silver award in recognition of our commitment to and progress towards gender equality within the University's policies, practices, and culture.

The University has recently achieved a Race Equality Charter Bronze award reflecting our commitment to building an inclusive and equitable society for black, Asian and minoritised ethnic staff.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

All members of staff have a duty to ensure their actions are in line with the overall environmental aims of the University and minimise their environmental impact.

All offers are made subject to proof of eligibility to work in the UK and receipt of satisfactory references.