Project Manager

Good Growth is responsible for delivering and implementing the Mayor’s environment, transport and economic strategies and for the effective implementation of the London Plan. The Directorate is also responsible for regeneration (where the programme is not housing led), enterprise, growth, capital projects and design work.

The Partnerships and Climate Leadership team is a team of five people sitting within the wider climate and water team in the Mayor's environment and energy unit. The team accelerates climate action across London by creating the conditions for change. Through partnerships, leadership, capability-building and governance, the team supports action that accelerates London's progress to net zero, improves climate resilience, embeds climate into decision making and delivery across the GLA group and positions London as a world leading climate city.

The project manager will be responsible for a portfolio of projects including managing the GLA's submission as part of the climate budgeting process. This involves working with teams across the GLA to collate and provide analysis of how the Mayor's spend is helping to drive decarbonisation and improve London's resilience to climate change. The role will also involve managing our work with external sub regional, national and international climate partnerships. The project manager will be responsible for the management and co-ordination of a number of Environment and Energy Team projects and programmes as needed. They will ensure that the Greater London Authority (GLA) and all London project partners deliver their programme obligations, objectives, outputs and outcomes in line with any agreed plans, partnerships, or agreements. The project manager will drive forward tangible outputs for London and ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, achieving agreed outputs.

The project manager will work with the programme lead to input into the strategic policy development of the team and support the production of timely and relevant evidence and guidance for senior decision makers across the GLA.

What your day will look like:

• Manage a portfolio of work including preparation with the Treasury team, of the GLA’s climate budget and management of the GLA’s work with climate partnerships including the London Climate Ready Partnership.
• Drafting and maintaining project plans, initiation documents, risk registers, monitoring records and other project management tools to ensure projects are set up and managed effectively and are on time and on budget.
• Inputting into strategic policy development and delivery within the team and supporting the programme manager as the next most senior member of the team.
• Active collaboration with colleagues internally and partners across London to deliver the required outputs and outcomes of the Environment and Energy programmes as needed; taking responsibility for progress, initiating corrective action where necessary and accelerating the resolution of programme blockers.
• Establishing and maintaining a budget for the team's relevant activities, working closely with finance colleagues and the budget holder to ensure responsible use of resources and delivery of outputs within budget.
• Represent the team to external audiences, to maintain a high level of visibility for our projects and partnerships and ensure that stakeholders understand the outcomes and benefits of the programme.
• Establish and maintain good working relationships within and outside the GLA and the wider GLA Group to ensure opportunities for integration and inter-disciplinary working is realised.
• Provide high quality support for relevant senior stakeholders in the GLA, including for example: drafting timely responses to Mayoral questions and correspondence; providing concise briefings and responses to questions; and making timely responses to the London Assembly’s scrutiny function.
• Contributing to various performance monitoring arrangements, including quarterly reports, and ensuring that the GLA’s projects and programmes are operating in line with agreed governance procedures.
• Deliver partnership activities including convening and managing partner meetings and events and liaising with senior stakeholders to align partner and mayoral work and priorities.

Skills, knowledge and experience:

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

• Experience of working in partnership with academic institutions, public sector agencies, voluntary and community groups and the private sector.
• Good understanding of UK and international climate and environment policy and practice and familiarity with climate data and how to use it.
• Strong research, analytical and written skills and demonstrable ability to utilise these to assess, interpret, and present ideas, data, and information.
• A track record, and evidence of success, of managing a relevant programme or project and delivering results on target and within budget.
• Experience of utilising appropriate and effective project management skills, methods and tools.
• Ability to support and influence others through high-quality, concise and persuasive written and verbal communication.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING:

• Monitors allocation of resources, anticipating changing requirements that may impact work delivery.
• Ensures evaluation processes are in place to measure project benefits.
• Gains buy-in and commitment to project delivery from a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Implements quality measures to ensure outputs are of a high quality.

BUILDING AND MANAGING RELATIONSHIPS:

• Actively engages partners and encourages others to build relationships that supports GLA objectives.
• Proactively manages partner relationships, preventing or resolving any conflict.
• Adapts style to work effectively with partners, building consensus, trust and respect.
• Delivers objectives by bringing together diverse stakeholders to work effectively in partnerships.

STAKEHOLDER FOCUS:

• Understands diverse stakeholder needs and tailors deliverable accordingly.
• Manages stakeholder expectations so they are high but realistic.
• Removes barriers to understanding the needs of diverse stakeholders, including hard to reach groups.

COMMUNICATING AND INFLUENCING:

• Communicates openly and inclusively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Clearly articulates the key points of an argument, both in verbal and written communication.
• Persuades others, using evidence based knowledge, modifying approach to deliver message effectively.
• Challenges the views of others in an open and constructive way.
• Presents a credible and positive image both internally and externally.

DECISION MAKING:

• Takes decisions as necessary on the basis of the information available.
• Makes decisions without unnecessarily referring to others.
• Involves and consults internal and external stakeholders early in decisions that impact them.
• Identifies potential barriers to decision making and initiates action to move a situation forward.
• Demonstrates awareness of the GLA’s decision making processes and how to use them.

STRATEGIC THINKING:

• Works with a view to the future, prioritising own and others’ work in line with GLA objectives.
• Briefs and prepares team to accomplish goals and objectives.
• Communicates the GLA’s strategic priorities in a compelling and convincing manner, encouraging buy-in.
• Balances own team’s needs with wider organisational needs.
• Identifies synergies between team priorities and other relevant agendas.

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS:

• Proactively seeks new information sources to progress research agendas and address gaps in knowledge.
• Grasps limitations of or assumptions behind data sources, disregarding those that lack quality.
• Analyses and integrates qualitative and quantitative data to find new insights.
• Translates research outcomes into concise, meaningful reports.
• Identifies relevant and practical research questions for the future.

ORGANISATIONAL AWARENESS:

• Challenges unethical behaviour.
• Uses understanding of the GLA’s complex partnership arrangements to deliver effectively.
• Recognises how political changes and sensitivities impact on own and team’s work.
• Is aware of the changing needs of Londoners, anticipating resulting changes for work agendas.
• Follows the GLA’s position in the media and understands how it impacts on work.

This role is based at London Fire Brigade’s Head Office (Union Street SE1 0LL).

Equality, diversity and inclusion: London's diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements.