Senior Project Manager - Ref : 6888 )

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

The Project & Change Team provides professional project delivery and change management support across Natural England. The Senior Project Manager sits within the Business Partnering & Assurance function and acts as a trusted adviser to the Services, Functions and Area Teams.

The successful candidate will provide expert guidance, coaching and practical support to project leads, enabling them to adopt effective project and change management practices and to consider the people impacts of change throughout delivery. Senior Project Managers play a vital role in building confidence across the organisation and increasing our capability to successfully deliver projects and manage change.

Job description

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

• Provide support to Project and Change Managers across the organisation, by signposting them to best practice guidance, tools, templates, frameworks and learning resources provided by the Project & Change Team.
• Engage with project leads, sponsors and stakeholders to assess the scale, complexity and organisational impact of projects, including the impact on people, processes and ways of working. Apply expertise to determine the level of project and change support required and advise on proportionate interventions.

• Apply project management expertise, broadly aligned to Level 2 Project Manager within the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF), to provide coaching and mentoring so that projects are well governed, effectively delivered and supported by appropriate change planning.

• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Business Partnering & Assurance Team to manage, prioritise and respond to requests for advice, ensuring customer expectations are managed and support is delivered effectively.

• Promote awareness and understanding of project & change management best practice across the organisation, helping to build organisational capability and improve the way projects and change are planned, delivered and communicated.

• Capture lessons learned, customer feedback and emerging best practice, including insight into change readiness, engagement and adoption, to inform the continuous improvement of Project & Change Team products, services, tools and methodologies.

• Contribute to the success of the Project Management and Change Champions Networks through active participation, knowledge sharing, capability building and the promotion of professional standards across Natural England.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Practical experience of working on projects and programmes with knowledge of project planning methodology, business cases, risk management and benefits management, together with an understanding of how effective change management supports successful delivery and benefits realisation - Essential.
• A strong track record of adapting communication styles and approaches to engage, influence and build credibility with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, project teams and operational colleagues - Essential.
• Demonstrable ability to build constructive and trusted relationships, working collaboratively across organisational boundaries to bring together evidence, insight and diverse perspectives that support the delivery of Natural England's strategic objectives - Essential.
• Experience of operating successfully within complex, fast-paced and evolving environments, demonstrating sound judgement, effective prioritisation, resilience and appropriate risk management - Essential.
• A strong track record in displaying personal excellence and corporate responsibility; understanding the importance of good governance and role modelling the right behaviours to your team, customers, and stakeholders - Essential.

• Experience of coaching and mentoring to provide advice, guidance and support to project leads, ensuring project delivery and associated change activity are planned and delivered in a proportionate and effective manner - Essential.

• Hold a recognised Project Delivery practitioner level qualification, e.g. APM PMQ, Prince2 Practitioner, Agile Project Management Practitioner or MSP Practitioner - Essential.
• Practical experience of supporting organisational change, including stakeholder engagement, change impact assessment, readiness or adoption activity - Desirable.

• Knowledge and application of Power BI and Microsoft Lists - Desirable.
• Hold, or be willing to work towards: Managing Benefits Practitioner, Better Business Cases Practitioner, Change Management Practitioner, Management of Risk Practitioner, Planning and Change Control Practitioner or P3Offices Practitioner - Desirable.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

1. Personal effectiveness

Description

- Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective.
- Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act.
- Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together.
- Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience.

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

1. Putting people at the heart of the environment

Description

- Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England.
- Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims.

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

1. Work delivery

Description

- Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures.
- Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines.

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

1. Technical Skills & Knowledge

Description

Candidates should demonstrate practical knowledge and application of project management methods, tools and techniques, including how they would identify and respond to the people and organisational impacts of project delivery.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,550, Natural England contributes £12,037 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Brian Dunning
• Email : Brian.Dunning@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07747 761769

Recruitment team

• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

https://networkrecruitment.tal.net/vx/appcentre-7/brand-4/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/8/opp/6888-6888-Senior-Project-Manager/en-GB

Attachments

DEF-001h - Candidate Pack Natural England v3.1 Opens in new window (docx, 550kB)