Senior Project Manager

About Your New Employer

• Work within a world-class research campus home and be part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary Programme Management Office (PMO) at the heart of a dynamic and forward-thinking research environment.
• Enjoy a culture that champions continuous improvement, knowledge-sharing, and professional development, working alongside experts in facilities, engineering, operations, and research.

About Your New Job

As FM Senior Project Manager, you will:

• Lead and deliver multiple, complex facility, infrastructure, and business improvement projects with full responsibility for all phases from planning and design through to completion and seamless operational handover.
• Manage capital projects ranging from small upgrades (~£100k) to major builds (up to £10m), ensuring delivery to budget, timeline, and quality standards in a regulated, live research environment.
• Establish and implement robust project controls, including detailed schedules, milestones, cost baselines, and risk registers. Track progress against key metrics and initiate corrective actions when necessary.
• Oversee rigorous financial monitoring, prepare cost forecasts, track spends, report variances, and implement solutions to manage financial risk and align with institutional protocols.
• Lead procurement and tendering activity: develop strategies, run compliant public sector tenders, evaluate bids, negotiate and manage contracts to ensure value for money and effective delivery.
• Coordinate project change management, documenting all modifications to scope, timelines or budgets and maintaining stakeholder alignment and accountability at every stage.
• Drive development and continuous improvement of strategic asset management plans and business cases, analysing benefit, cost and risk to inform recommendations and ensure projects support long-term operational resilience and sustainability goals.
• Implement governance, assurance, and risk processes—conduct health checks, audits, and gateway reviews, identify risks early, and design mitigation strategies that protect outcomes and timelines.
• Ensure the highest standards of compliance in health, safety and environmental performance, in line with CDM regulations and robust internal policies. Deliver regular safety reviews and compliance audits, ensuring team training and adherence.
• Lead stakeholder engagement: develop communication strategies to keep all parties informed; build positive, collaborative relationships with senior leaders, operational managers, technical colleagues, and external professionals; resolve concerns constructively and swiftly.
• Lead, coach and mentor cross-functional project teams; foster knowledge sharing and a culture of best practice and innovation within the PMO.
• Identify and manage all project resources, balancing workloads and reallocating as priorities evolve. Work with finance to secure approvals and manage project budgets to avoid overspend.
• Oversee project handover to operations, ensuring asset and information transfer is complete and effective for smooth BAU transition. Conduct post-completion reviews, gather lessons learned, and drive ongoing process and outcome improvements.
• Maintain accurate, audit-ready decision logs and documentation, optimising information flow and governance and ensuring compliance with regulatory and client requirements.

What Skills You Need

• Degree in a relevant discipline (or equivalent professional experience).
• Project management qualification (e.g., PRINCE2, Agile Foundation, APM Project Management) and IOSH Managing Safely or NEBOSH Certificate.
• Demonstrable experience of leading large, multidisciplinary project teams delivering complex capital works in regulated environments such as research campuses, healthcare, or HE.
• In-depth knowledge of project methodologies and lifecycles, project governance, procurement and contract management in a public-sector environment.
• Strong financial management, advanced risk management, and stakeholder engagement/leadership skills.
• Proficiency in MS Project, Visio, Office, and CDE/document management systems.
• Collaborative, adaptable, highly organised, and detail-oriented, with excellent communication, negotiation, and team working abilities.

What's on Offer

• Competitive salary and excellent benefits package, including 31 days holiday with option to buy/sell more, subsidised catering, 10% employers pension contribution, access to private medical, on site free parking, swimming pool and social club.
• Extensive professional development, training opportunities, and support towards achieving Chartered or Registered Project Professional status.
• Work at the heart of a research campus shaping scientific environments, with access to state-of-the-art facilities, innovative projects, and a vibrant PMO.