Senior Project Manager (Scientific) in Birmingham

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) prevents, prepares for and responds to infectious diseases, and environmental hazards, to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods. We provide scientific and operational leadership, working with local, national and international partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability.

We are looking for a Senior Project Manager (Scientific) to join the Pathogen Genomics Programme team within Clinical and Public Health. An interest/knowledge in genomics with an education in a scientific discipline is preferred. The team are responsible for:

• Progressing the metagenomics programme, including monthly reporting on risks, issues and milestones, chairing the operational meetings, and ensuring actions are progressed in a timely manner.
• Engaging with cross-group stakeholders for updates on the programme.
• Providing updates on monthly programme finances and resourcing.
• Drafting business cases where required to support the programme and achieving approval for these.
• Aligning work to the aims of the 5-year Genomics Strategy.

As Senior Project Manager you will lead on the day-to-day running of scientific projects that are typically moderate to high in complexity. These are likely to influence the UKHSA long term outcomes, goals or in year strategic objectives. You will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the projects, ensuring that the objectives are clearly defined and achieved within the agreed time, cost, and quality constraints. You will have effective leadership, interpersonal and communication skills and will play a key role in project governance, working with stakeholders to ensure the agreed project outputs are delivered to enable benefit realisation.

You will take ownership of risk management within the programme and ensure the risk process is standardised for the team. The above is not an exhaustive list.

Working for our organisation, we pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• Lead the day-to-day running of the science projects, with ownership and accountability for delivering agreed outcomes within time, cost, and quality constraints.
• Provide effective leadership to the project team.
• Develop and maintain project plans. Setting project controls, managing performance and report progress to Senior Programme Manager, escalating where appropriate.
• Lead the development of the budget and track project spend, attending monthly forecast of outturn meetings.
• Identify skills requirements and deploy suitable resources.
• Deliver the agreed business case benefits and outcomes. Monitor the longer-term delivery of benefits against the business case, ensuring the Benefits Realisation Strategy is updated.
• Identify key stakeholders, internal and external, and effectively manage these relationships.
• Lead on the programme risks and issues. Develop mitigating actions, escalating as appropriate. Identify and manage project assumptions and dependencies.
• Support effective governance and decision making.
• Provide project reports and updates at the monthly portfolio meetings, engaging in processes that hold you accountable for delivery.
• Engage with assurance reviews and support recommended action. Co-ordinate project assurance processes and gateway reviews.
• Set up effective change management processes, including documenting agreed changes to the project deliverables.
• Role model commitment to personal development, promoting individual and team performance through support, guidance, and coaching.
• An active member of the UKHSA Project Delivery Profession Community.

The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by your line manager. The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.

Essential Criteria:

• Educated to degree level in science or health related subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
• Knowledge and experience of Project Management Methodology supported by professional qualifications such as: PRINCE2 Practitioner, Agile Project Management Practitioner, APM Project Management Qualification, APM Chartered Project Professional, Project Leadership Programme, PMI Project Management Professional.
• Experience of successfully managing medium complexity projects covering planning, scheduling, budget management, resource management, risk and issue management.
• Detailed knowledge and experience of project methodologies and frameworks, governance, assurance, planning, requirements management and change control in a project or programme environment.
• Experience in delivering scientific projects within a collaborative or multidisciplinary environment.
• Appreciation and understanding of the public health / public sector with the ability to extract key messages from complex scientific information and analysis.
• Working knowledge of business case development, benefits management, and commercial and procurement processes.
• A visible leader with experience of promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting differences.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, collaborating across boundaries.
• Excellent communication skills demonstrated through the ability to influence and challenge effectively at a senior level.
• Ability to work well under pressure, with multiple tasks, in a fast-changing and ambiguous environment, with keen attention to detail.
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.

Desirable Criteria:

• Awareness of UK government departments, intergovernmental organisations and devolved administrations involved in pathogen surveillance and genomics activities and generally of the health and social care environment and roles and responsibilities within it.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service as well as internal applicants.

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our core HQs in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London Canary Wharf. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce.

Benefits of working at UKHSA include:

• Generous annual leave: -26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service -28 days after 5 years of continuous service -32 days after 10 years of continuous service -Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours).
• Generous maternity/paternity and adoption leave package.