Project Manager - Intellectual Property Office - SEO in Newport, Wales

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks, and copyright. We operate and maintain a clear and accessible IP system in the UK, which encourages innovation and helps the economy and society to benefit from knowledge and ideas. We help people get the right type of protection for their creation or invention.

Job summary: The role sits in the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) within the Strategy directorate. The post holder will be part of a team of project professionals responsible for delivering the Portfolio to support the IPO Strategy and corporate priorities. This will consist of a variety of IT and Business change initiatives across the IPO.

Working Style: This role will be carried out in line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 20% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. The role is based in our Newport Office. The requirement for attendance at an office location can vary by role so we would encourage candidates to discuss working arrangements with the recruiting manager to agree a reasonable balance between working from home and the office.

Main duties consist of but are not limited to:

• Deliver end‑to‑end IT projects, ensuring outcomes are achieved within agreed time, cost, quality, and aligned to the organisation’s System/Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
• Maintain and assure detailed project plans using MS Project, Azure DevOps, or similar toolsets, running planning sessions with technical teams to sequence work, identify dependencies, and keep plans accurate and up to date.
• Manage technical risks and issues, proactively identifying technology‑related impacts and ensuring effective tracking, escalation, and mitigation.
• Provide clear leadership to multidisciplinary technical teams, maintaining delivery direction, scope, and alignment with the business case.
• Produce concise and accurate delivery reports, including progress summaries, performance metrics, and time and cost forecasts for governance purposes.
• Work with resource owners and technical leads to manage forward demand, secure required skills, and ensure capacity for key delivery milestones.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience delivering complex IT projects using Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid methodologies within structured governance frameworks, with strong knowledge of project management principles and proficiency in digital delivery toolsets such as MS Project, Azure DevOps, and related technologies.
• Demonstrable experience across all levels of testing, from unit and integration testing through to system testing and UAT, with the ability to develop comprehensive test plans aligned to organisational testing strategies.
• Extensive experience working with technical teams — including developers, engineers, testers, and architects — with the ability to interpret technical information and manage complex technical dependencies effectively.
• Demonstrable ability to manage technical risks and issues, including identifying emerging technology related risks, assessing impact, securing appropriate technical ownership, and producing and maintaining high‑quality delivery artefacts (such as PIDs, Gantt charts, POAPs, Level 0 plans, milestone trackers and technical delivery roadmaps) to support governance and assurance.
• Skilled in technical dependency management, with sufficient understanding of architecture and system design to identify, validate, and coordinate interdependencies across multiple teams, services, or platforms.
• Must hold a recognised project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, APMQ, Agile Practitioner, or equivalent.