Project Manager - Pensions in Preston

(Hybrid or Remote with regular travel to Preston)

An exciting time for an experienced Project Manager to join our growing Change Team and work alongside a passionate team of change professionals to help successfully deliver our Change Portfolio through a period of significant business transformation and continuous improvement. Reporting to our Head of Delivery, this is a fantastic opportunity to join our fast-paced, collaborative and customer-focused business.

The successful candidate will lead on managing multiple key projects and will be responsible for all aspects of project delivery, effective communication with key internal and external stakeholders, project resources, and managing the project budget.

A bit about us: Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) is a multi-award-winning organisation and one of the UK’s leading pension administration companies. We strive to deliver the best experience for over 1,500 employers and more than 700,000 members of Local Government, Police and Firefighter pension schemes, keeping them fully informed about their pensions whilst working closely with employers to continuously educate and support them.

What we can offer you:

• Competitive salary £50 – 55k DOE.
• 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays and 2 additional concessionary days and a half day for your Birthday, with the ability to ‘buy and sell’ leave.
• Access to an excellent pension scheme (Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contributions.
• Access to Health or Dental Plan.
• Access to our Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme for when you or your family might need some support.
• Access to our bespoke Reward Discount Scheme – ‘Your Perk Site’.
• Opportunities to attend Wellbeing webinars and social events.
• Daily free fruit and snacks available to you in our office.
• Free Car Parking in Preston City Centre.

What you’ll be doing:

• Support the pensions administration change programme by producing clear business and system requirements, process maps, testing, training, and implementation plans.
• Identify, manage, and deliver process design changes by conducting business and systems process analysis and design, focusing on quality improvement and operational efficiency.
• Provide and support the implementation of business solutions by building relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders; identifying business needs; determining and carrying out necessary processes and practices; monitoring progress and results; training to ensure maximum value is realised, recognising and capitalising on improvement opportunities; and adapting to competing demands, organisational changes, and new responsibilities.
• Be the interface between the business and IT, translating business requirements into functional specifications.
• Collaborate closely with developers to implement the requirements, and work with IT and the business to ensure testing of solutions is robust and thorough prior to all system change releases.
• Proactively identify system improvement opportunities.
• Understand and negotiate the needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders.
• Collaborate with others; articulating ideas and viewpoints to senior management, peers, and others; identifying and initiating solutions; managing resources; driving the resolution of issues; and holding self and team accountable for results.
• Prepare clear and timely management information reporting to relevant stakeholders as appropriate.
• Develop project plans, including agreeing the project scope and timescales with key stakeholders, and maintain all project documentation.
• Actively lead the project team and manage activities end-to-end during the project life cycle to ensure delivery of project commitments within budget.
• Work in partnership and develop relationships with all stakeholders in each project, including our clients, suppliers and colleagues involved in the project.
• Take ownership of projects and communicate individual accountability to all project stakeholders.
• Provide regular and high-quality progress reports to key stakeholders.
• Proactively identify risks and issues, developing strategies to mitigate risks and resolve issues related to the project, escalating where appropriate.
• Make decisions and adapt plans to changes that occur during the project lifecycle.

What we need from you:

• A proactive, self‑motivated team player who can work independently with minimal supervision, manage a high personal workload with multiple deadlines and continually strive for system improvements in quality, efficiency, and presentation.
• Proven project management experience and project management qualifications, with proven ability to successfully deliver multiple projects in a fast‑paced environment, on time, on schedule and within budget.
• Must have experience in and the ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels to understand and document requirements.
• The ability to problem‑solve and be confident to present reasoned and convincing arguments to support and/or challenge a proposal.
• Excellent leadership, communication (written, verbal and presentation) and interpersonal skills.
• Experience leading, motivating and managing project teams, including internal and external resources, while holding the team accountable for performance and deliverables.
• Excellent level of numerical, analytical, and report writing skills to assist in the communication of key messages and to facilitate discussions and decision‑making.
• Proficiency in MS Office (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio & Dev Ops).
• The ability to handle multiple demands in a fast‑paced environment.
• Competent with various project management methodologies.
• The ability to demonstrate a structured project approach.
• Experience in monitoring budgets, project scope, and change control.
• An understanding of developing and implementing communications plans.
• Proven delivery of large strategic projects, on time, on schedule and to budget, sometimes multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ideally, a minimum of five years’ project management experience.
• Experience of managing customer relationships and resolving project risks and issues.

Nice to have:

• Knowledge of working in the public sector is preferred but not essential.
• A background in pensions or related financial services is preferred but not essential.