24835 - Senior Project Manager

Location: Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester or Newcastle

2-year Fixed Term Contract

Please note, the salary ranges are:

London: £52,064 to £70,356

National: £43,308 to £62,888

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. For an exceptional applicant and under exceptional circumstances, managers have discretion to set starting salaries above the pay range minimum.

The courts and tribunals in England and Wales have been allocated unprecedented funding of almost £1billlion. This will enable HM Courts & Tribunals Service, working in partnership with the judiciary, to create a system that is proportionate and accessible and that better meets the needs of the people it serves. This is the most ambitious programme of its kind anywhere in the world.

The Reform Programme is made up of six pillars that cover the primary areas of courts reform. This role sits within the Infrastructure and Enabling Programme which consists of a series of projects that deliver in the IT infrastructure and supporting capability that will transform operational ways of working. The Infrastructure and Enabling Programme consists of 11 projects at present, including hardware installation projects and software development projects. There are a number of vacancies across the programme and skill sets are expected to include all or some of the following, commercial, technical development, procurement and stakeholder engagement in a project management environment.

As a Senior Project Manager, you will be at the forefront of leading and implementing change in our world-leading justice system. The Reform Programme is ambitious and we need resilient, resourceful and adaptable people to make it happen, who have a proven track record in Project Management.

Senior Project Managers responsibilities include:

• Lead and manage the implementation of a high-profile project within the Reform Programme including defining project scope and start up activities prior to initiation.
• Manage interdependencies between your assigned project and other projects within the Reform Programme to ensure project delivery.
• Produce the Business Cases, take them through governance and deliver the project ensuring that business cases benefits can be realised and offer value for money.
• Plan for and deliver all aspects of the project including related Business Change, put in appropriate project controls.
• Identify and undertake engagement with a full range of stakeholders and manage communications with those stakeholders.
• Provide effective financial management for the project.
• Take an active role in supporting procurement of third party services and ensuring commercials are adequate for delivering
• Ensure all project commitments are tied to firm commercial agreements and the associated project dependencies are clearly understood by the relevant parties
• Take leadership in ensuring projects are correctly scoped with clearly defined outcomes and sponsorship
• Day to day management and leadership of the project and the project team by providing effective leadership and management controls.
• Establish and utilise project controls to control and deliver the project.
• Design the project structure and organisation appropriate to stages.
• Determine appropriate delivery methodologies by managing effective transition between project stages.
• Create viable plans and deployment strategies and lead the project to deliver the agreed outcomes within time, cost and quality constraints.
• Develop and draft the Business Cases, with input from specialists as necessary and take the business cases through the appropriate governance to gain approval.     
• Develop the budget, implement processes to records spend year to date and provide accurate forecast and track delivery within budget. 
• Ensure project delivery enables deliver of the agreed Business Case benefits and outcomes.
• Identify and monitor project risks and issues by developing mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate. Identify and work with related projects to manage interdependencies.
• Put in place effective project governance and decision making.
• Provide reporting and engage in mechanisms that hold you, as Project Manager, to account for delivery.
• Plan for and organise with assurance reviews and support action on recommendations. Organise assurance processes such as gateway reviews, as required.
• Ensure effective Change Management processes are in place to agree and document changes to deliverables as agreed with stakeholders.
• Provide support, guidance and coaching for the project team by showing commitment to personal development and promoting effective individual and team performance.
• Cascade vision and translate into delivery objectives for the team by developing and maintaining a Project Plan.

You will work closely with:

• HMCTS and Ministry of Justice staff; including Commercial, Policy, Digital, Change
• Project and programme senior responsible owners.
• Project and programme managers and the wider change team.
• Customer and supplier representatives.
• Stakeholders in the justice system.
  

Essential Criteria:

• Significant experience of working in a major project / programme, with a proven track record in successfully delivering to time, cost and quality
• To provide direction and leadership in managing the implementation of high-profile projects within a Programme environment including defining project scope, planning, implementation and delivery
• Manage the production of feasibility studies and business cases and be accountable for delivery ensuring identified benefits can be realised and offer value for money
• Exceptional senior stakeholder engagement skills, including preparing reports for Director level.
• Recognised appropriate practitioner level project management qualification or working towards becoming a member of an appropriate project management institution
• Proactive identification and management of high level risks, issues and dependencies
• Experience of procurement of IT solutions and/or managing of IT suppliers to successfully deliver the project.
  

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of managing IT Projects in the past 12/18 months
• Previous experience of managing politically/commercially sensitive projects with complex stakeholder environments
  

Other Duties

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

Application

Whilst completing your application, you will be asked to complete an “Overall Statement of Suitability”. Here, you will need to demonstrate (in a maximum of 750 words) that you have the experience required in delivering high profile projects, ideally within a Programme environment, that you can thrive in an environment that is changing constantly, that you can deal with uncertainty and that you are committed to developing services that are based on the needs of the end recipient of the service provided as well as the needs of those who administer the services provided. We are also looking for specific experience in relation to the ‘Essential Criteria’.

Fixed Term Appointment

This appointment will be made on a fixed term basis, due to the time limited nature of the Reform Programme.

For existing civil servants, whilst the role itself is time limited, at the end of the fixed term period, you will retain your permanent status but will be placed on the re-deployment register.

Secondments and loans will be considered on an individual basis.

Flexible working options

HMCTS offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

Job Sharing and Reduced Hours

All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and on a case by case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess Fares and Relocation Allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

Closing Date: 19th March 2019 at 23:55 hours

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference.