Project Manager

To support the growth of the University’s research and development activities through the provision of project management services across a range of programmes, and to ensure the successful delivery of such activities as part of the Research & Enterprise Directorate (R&E).

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Responsible for developing and implementing appropriate project management processes and procedures for EU programmes and other regional, national and international funded programmes being delivered through Faculties in association with the Research and Enterprise Directorate.
• Provide high quality project management support and guidance to a number of different project teams on a concurrent basis to support staff to plan and implement projects in a systematic manner to ensure successful outcomes.
• Liaise with individual academics and project teams to ensure that project resources are correctly allocated at the proposal stage and efficiently utilised in the implementation stage to achieve agreed project deliverables.
• Develop and maintain processes to support project teams in recording project documentation and procedures including progress against milestones, deliverables and budget.
• Support individual academics and project teams in the development of research commercialisation plans and associated material at the proposal stage.
• Support Principal Investigators in managing project risk, including capturing, analysing, reporting of risk and developing mitigation actions as required.
• Support project teams in the co-ordination and management of appropriate information for reports and audits for a range of programmes.
• Develop a Project Management Framework that can be applied across a range of University projects for recording project outputs and achievements and to provide consistent best practice and guidance to help project teams to successfully deliver projects. Foster, develop and enhance relationships with key stakeholders e.g. funding organisations, national / international academic and industrial partners.
• Contribute to the R&E wider knowledge exchange activities through engagement and coordination with academic staff, companies and partner institutions. 1 Carry out any other duties which are appropriate to the post as may be reasonably requested by senior management. Planning and Organising: Develop and implement appropriate project management processes and procedures for a range of funded programmes and services to ensure successful delivery of proposed outcomes.
• Evaluate and monitor projects with respect to risk, costs, deliverables and milestones in conjunction with the Principal
• Investigator and project teams.
• Manage multiple tasks according to the relevant priorities, to take the initiative working in a self-directed fashion and to be very well organised.
• Manage and prioritise time in a dynamic environment.
• Carry out routine administrative tasks associated with projects to ensure that they are completed on time and within budget.
• Participate as a member of the Research & Enterprise Directorate in contributing to overall strategic planning and implementation. Resource Management Responsibilities: Required to set and prioritise personal day to day activities in order to realise project goals and deliverables within agreed timescales and budgets.
• Provide monitoring and support for academic staff in order to maximise their performance within projects.
• Manage allocated resources to ensure maximum value is delivered for resources deployed.
• Support co-ordination and delivery of Claims, Reports and associated Audits as required to a variety of funding bodies and government agencies.
• Contribute to resource and budget planning within R&E, particularly in the context of strategic external project initiatives.

Internal and External Relationships:

• Liaise and network with staff, across all levels of the University on issues related to the project management of related services.
• Build credible and effective relationships with senior project investigators.
• Facilitate key relationships with organisations and individuals in the public, private and community sectors as partners and funders to ensure effective delivery of key services.
• Coordinate with management in order to generate a project specification and then subsequently to acquire the necessary information from the customer to accomplish a project’s goals and objectives.
• Communicate the significant project activities and issues to project teams and internal and external contacts during the project through regular project review meetings.
• Disseminate the key outcomes from relevant projects by means of case studies including demonstrating the impact of projects.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Honours Degree or equivalent.
• Recognised Project Management qualification e.g. Prince
• Significant relevant experience (minimum of 3 years) and expertise in the successful provision of project management services within a business or academic environment including:
  • Experience of working with Higher Education funding from Europe, RCUK or Government bodies.
  • Experience of developing and implementing project management processes and procedures for a range of commercial or EU / government funded programmes.
  • Experience in developing research commercialisation plans and associated material.
  • Co-ordination and delivery of Claims, Reports and associated Audits to a variety of funding bodies or government agencies.
  • Experience of successfully developing and cultivating partnerships and alliances.
• Experience of networking and building relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including industry and commerce, government departments and agencies and business and public bodies, to deliver, influence and impact organisational strategy.
• Ability to manage and prioritise time in a dynamic environment.
• Well-developed analytical skills and an ability to analyse complex information to inform decision making.
• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing and relate to others at all levels both internally and externally.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills with a well-developed critical and analytical approach to reviewing documentation.
• Good inter-personal skills & demonstrable intellectual ability.
• Full Driving Licence.
• Willingness to Travel abroad.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA:

• Relevant post-graduate qualification. Substantial experience of working at a senior level in businesses or academia; and experience in the successful management of large scale government funded projects.
• Experience of delivery at least 2 large scale European funded programmes in the last 3 years.
• A working knowledge and experience within a university, a research environment or experience in a knowledge transfer environment. Experience in preparing relevant case study materials for publication and presentation.