Senior Project Manager

At Smith Institute Project Management requires leading the planning, development, management and delivery of projects.  As well as building strong relationships with our customers to understand their needs and requirements, you will also communicate with and engage necessary staff to ensure that specific projects are conducted with integrity and in line with budget and customer expectations. Project Managers should aim to lead the team so that the entire project operates smoothly from start to finish. 

Specific project management duties include the following:

• Working with colleagues to support the development of new business opportunities and the preparation of proposals for new projects
• Being a project management mentor to support and guide new or less experienced project managers
• Maintaining appropriate risk management records for live projects
• Undertaking project audits with the QA Manager and responding to any observations or non-conformances.

In general, duties include but are not limited to the following activities:

• Promoting positive working relationships with the customer and our project teams; working alongside Account Managers to engage with clients and manage expectations 
• Planning, influencing, and supporting the delivery of great project outcomes for our customers; ensuring project work and deliverables are completed to appropriate quality standards 
• Allocating tasks between project team members in conjunction with the Technical Lead, where possible based upon the team’s technical preferences and development goals 
• Being adaptive and dealing effectively with changes as they occur, and where possible pre-empting changes required to enhance our customers’ experience of working with us 
• Reviewing and reporting progress against time and budget; providing up to date resource forecasts & end of month project checks; monitoring and managing project risks; participating in the project management group’s fortnightly meetings 
• Identifying and sharing lessons learned with colleagues and promoting lessons learned in future work 

The successful candidate will exhibit the following attributes:

• Minimum 3 years’ experience as a project manager 
• STEM background at degree level 
• Experience in customer engagement, giving great presentations and understanding customer requirements 
• Experience delegating 
• Demonstrable ability of managing and motivating a team remotely 
• Proofreading reports 
• External contract management including change management  
• External client experience on large, complex projects 
• Multiple and senior stakeholder management with both internal and external parties 
• Ability to appropriately use PM best practices for the type and size of project 
• Risk and Opportunity management experience  

Desirable attributes also include:

• Experience managing projects related to energy systems and networks is advantageous 
• PM qualification (Prince2 / Agile / APM)
• MS Project experience
• Sector experience in Energy
• Experience in software or technical consulting business

• Flexible working for all – work your contracted hours at times that best suit you and our customers, at home, in the office or as a mixture of both
• Health and well-being support – the Smith Institute provides up to three months’ contractual sick pay, have qualified Mental Health First Aiders, a Mindful Employer Plus membership and offer additional leave allowance to care for close family members
• Social events – most months our Social Committee organise events and we also have ongoing activities, including pub socials, a book club, a fantasy football league and a board games library
• Employee benefits – employee discount platform and Employee assistance programme
• Enhanced leave – bereavement, dependency, maternity, paternity & shared parental leave
• Mentoring – from colleagues and leading academics
• Generous pension scheme with Life Assurance and income protection
• All IT equipment provided and maintained
• Interesting and challenging work with purpose

We operate an Equal Opportunities Policy. We currently have a rolling recruitment programme so applications will be reviewed as they are received, with a view to interviewing selected candidates when sufficient numbers are shortlisted. We hope to make appointments as soon as possible thereafter.