Scheme Project Manager

1 week ago Be among the first 25 applicants

Department Name: Supply Chain Operations – Strategic Programmes

Location: Milton Keynes, GB

About Network Rail

Join Our Team at Network Rail! Are you ready to make a difference in people’s lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We are an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us! We’re dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we’re committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce. Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone. Discover more about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail by clicking here. Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you’re passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you!

About our people and the recruitment process: We’re an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don’t always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we’ll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance. We’re also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we’ll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.

Brief Description

Route Services is a division of Network Rail that provides the Routes with services so they can help Network Rail deliver a better railway for a better Britain. We support the Routes with a myriad of services and supplies they need to maintain and operate the railway. This role sits within Supply Chain Operations (SCO), an area of the business which supplies and delivers the logistics, materials, components, rail and road fleet that enable the maintenance and renewal of the railway. SCO keeps the materials, machinery and components required by its customers moving – making sure they are on‑site when needed so work can go ahead as planned and on schedule.

About The Role (External)

We’re looking for an experienced, proactive scheme/assistant project manager or experienced project management assistant looking for the next step in their career. We want someone that has a good understanding of Network Rail and the Electrical Safety Delivery programme. In this role, you’ll provide a professional, consistent and effective project support service, enabling the team to successfully deliver projects. Reporting to the Programme Manager, you’ll support the project and programme manager to manage the delivery of projects to time, cost and quality in line with PACE methodology and Network Rail company standards and other relevant legislation. You’ll be used to working with a diverse and disparate project team, great at networking and utilizing your contacts to enable successful delivery.

What you’ll bring

In this role you’ll manage projects through various stages of the life cycle and support with the delivery of the overall project portfolio managed by the team.

Key Accountabilities

• Deliver individual projects or parts of projects in a safe & environmentally responsible manner to time, cost and quality, in accordance with the GRIP, applicable Network Rail company standards, current legislation and procedures including HMRI guidance where appropriate.
• Provide a professional, consistent and effective project management service including the use of performance indicators and project reporting systems in accordance with Railway Group and Network Rail’s company standards and guidelines.
• Manage the development and delivery of change projects in compliance with company processes and procedures.
• Manage tactical change and risks within the project life cycle for allocated schemes.
• Assist or lead in the provision of a safe working environment in the execution of managed work.
• Comply with the Investment Competence Framework.
• Manage the production of project management plans.
• Manage project budgets within agreed targets.
• Deliver regular progress reports on change projects, including relevant risks and issues, to the Programme Manager.
• Promote and monitor the use of efficiency improvement methods.
• Disseminate lessons learnt.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following criteria

Essential

• Successful relevant experience including project management.
• Educated to HNC/HND or similar standard.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Project safety management experience.
• Knowledge of Oracle Projects.
• Knowledge of safety, quality and environmental procedures.
• Knowledge of commercial and financial procedures.

Desirable

• Membership (or working towards membership) of the Association for Project Management or other professional body.
• A degree or equivalent.
• Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

How To Apply (External)

Vacancy type: Permanent.

Location: The Quadrant: MK (minimum 3 days in the office).

Hours: 35 hours per week with hybrid working and travel as required.

Salary range: £35,582 – £42,218 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

Closing date: 14 October 2025. Late applicants will not be accepted. This role is being advertised internally and externally.

You will need to complete a supporting statement addressing how you meet the essential criteria, please complete this as part of the application process and add this to your CV in one document. Applicants who do not complete this statement will not be shortlisted. Please see attached guide – How to complete Supporting Statement. If you cannot access the guide, please contact RSResourcing@networkrail.co.uk and we will send you a copy.

Click ‘Apply now’ to submit your application. If you would like to speak the Resourcing Team, please contact us using the email address above. If you would like any reasonable adjustments support during your application or throughout the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to contact the Resourcing Team who will happily assist.

Adjustments we can make

• Changing a provision, practice or ‘the way things are done’.
• Changing a physical feature of our workplace. For example, office/room layout can be adapted to accommodate individual needs.
• Providing extra equipment or assistance. For example, we can provide sign language interpreters and support workers where needed. Alternative document formats can be made available.
• There are lots of other adjustments we can consider – please just ask!

Recruitment Process

• Competency Based Interview.

For further information about how we recruit, please visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/how-we-recruit/.

Drugs and Alcohol Standard

For some of our roles, prospective external candidates who are made a conditional offer will be required to undergo and pass a drugs and alcohol test. Your application will be rescinded if you record a positive test. All positive drugs and alcohol test results for prospective candidates will be securely held on Sentinel database and a 5 year suspension from applying for a safety critical role, a role which requires PTS certification or a Key Safety role on Network Rail Managed Infrastructure will be enforced.

You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you’re unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.

Network Rail Benefits

To find out about what benefits we offer, click here.

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks. Click here for more information.

• Some of our roles require face to face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Project Management and Information Technology

Industries

Rail Transportation