Project Manager - West Midlands Air Quality Project

The Project Manager will manage the £5.0m NERC-funded “WM-Air” West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme.WM-Air is supported by the NERC RISE (Regional Impact of Science of the Environment) scheme, to apply existing air quality and environmental science expertise to deliver economic and societal impact related to air quality and health in the West Midlands region.The programme is funded for five years, with additional legacy support provided by the University of Birmingham.The Project Manager, based in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, will report to the WM-Air project lead (Professor William Bloss) and support other project staff (including impact fellows), providing organisational support and management for project delivery and day-to-day activities.

For more information about the WM-Air project, see www.birmingham.ac.uk/wm-air

As Manager for the project, the post holder will be responsible for day to day operational management, including budgetary oversight, and the successful delivery of project outputs. The task will necessitate co-ordinating and managing the efforts of ca. 12 staff based within the University of Birmingham and across partner organisations, including within the West Midlands Combined Authority, local authorities, consultancies and industry bodies.The role will also include external representation of the project, including development of new relationships with additional partners.

The Project Manager will be responsible for monitoring and recording progress and impact, and ensuring that all NERC requirements for reporting and auditing are met for the duration of the project, in line with University policies.The Project Manager will also contribute to identifying appropriate opportunities for new and follow-on activities that emerge during the delivery of the project, with support from existing University Research & Knowledge Transfer and Business Engagement teams.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Shaping and implementing strategic plans and leading project management of the project.

• Be responsible for delivery of the project to successful conclusion. Duties include:
• Make major contributions to, and shape, the strategic direction of the project as a senior manager involved in the delivery of the project, and through active participation on the Project Management Board
• Create and maintain an overall Project Management Plan for the whole project using well established project management principles and practices (creating schedules using PM software where appropriate).
• Maintain oversight of project process including monitoring of KPI/KSMs
• Maintain a record of engagement, activity and impact to support reporting to the project management board, advisory group and NERC
• Establish and implement reporting procedures which meet the requirements of NERC (e.g. via Research Fish) and ensure all necessary data is gathered in a timely and efficient manner
• Receive, referee and peer review evaluation data on a regular basis to ensure that the project stays on course for successful delivery, and provide early visibility of deviations from the project plan
• Ensure that project participants are appraised of the information reported to NERC, and of any feedback received
• Provide reports and verbal presentations to the Project Management Board and Strategic Advisory Group to ensure that all members are aware of key points of progress and any issues which need senior management intervention
• Attend the NERC Programme Executive Group (alongside the PI) in support of progress reporting
• Constantly evaluate project activities and make recommendations to the academic lead on potential changes to the project plans to ensure the aims of the project are addressed during the delivery of the project and implement improvement solutions
• Plan, organise and maintain a regular schedule of project review meetings, including those of the Project Board and the Strategic Advisory Group, ensuring all relevant parties maintain an adequate level of attendance
• Support activities and cohort-building for research fellows and impact fellows working on the project
• Proactively identify business opportunities that emerge from the project and which are aligned with the ambitions of the School. Work with colleagues in Research and Knowledge Transfer to scope funding opportunities and support proposal development and submission.
• Support the recruitment of project related staff
• Support the Project Director in other administrative tasks as necessary

2. External Partner / Stakeholder Engagement

• Establish effective networking relationships with managers at an appropriate level on other projects and corporate services,
• Be a credible public face for the project, including interacting with key stakeholders and deputing for project leads at internal and external events
• Undertake ongoing review of policy documents and consultations relevant to the project and liaise with relevant bodies to ensure project insights are incorporated
• Liaise with related research activity and leaders within UoB and externally to ensure sharing of best practice.
• Support engagement with current and new partner organisations, including representing the project at external events
• Work with relevant colleagues within UoB to maintain a web presence for the project, including appropriate social media activity.
• Work with relevant colleagues to support stakeholder engagement through the production of publicity materials and arrangement of externally facing events.

3. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Dissemination of Project Activity

• Develop a comprehensive evaluation strategy for the project, which is in line with the proposal
• Ensure that all required measurement and evaluation information is gathered by all project partners in a timely fashion
• Maintain a record of engagement, activity and impact to support reporting to the project management board, advisory group and NERC
• Establish and implement reporting procedures which meet the requirements of NERC (e.g. via Research Fish) and ensure all necessary data is gathered in a timely and efficient manner
• Receive, referee and peer review evaluation data on a regular basis to ensure that the project stays on course for successful delivery, and provide early visibility of deviations from the project plan
• Ensure that project participants are appraised of the information reported to NERC, and of any feedback received
• Provide reports and verbal presentations to the Project Management Board and Strategic Advisory Group to ensure that all members are aware of key points of progress and any issues which need senior management intervention

4. Financial Management and Reporting

• Work with colleagues in UoB finance to ensure records of match funded contributions, planned expenditure profiles, and cash flow are maintained to ensure that the full project value can be recovered from NERC
• Ensure that suitable records of all allowable costs are maintained by the University of Birmingham
• Provide leadership and expertise to colleagues regarding the maintenance of accurate records of expenditure and allowable costs
• Communicate, and where appropriate, determine and delegate budgets to key task managers
• Ensure appropriate monitoring, control and audit of all project expenditure within the University
• Approve expenditure in line with delegations and the project budget, escalating decisions on any contentious issues to the PI

5. Risk Management

• Use own professional expertise to create and maintain a project risk register, Lessons Log and Issue Register
• Determine need to acquire additional independent professional expertise to evaluate risks and/or mitigation options
• Regularly update the Project Director on the status of the risk register
• Communicatethe risk register with all key task leaders both within and outside the University, influencing senior management to ensure risk mitigation and issues resolution plans are in place and implemented as required
• Establish, lead and promote a culture throughout the project team of providing an early warning to the management team of potential risks
• Deploy appropriate resources across the project team to mitigate risks as they emerge using own experience to determine when this approach is appropriate

Person Specification

• An enthusiastic and committed approach to environmental science research, and interest in its application to real-world challenges to deliver impact
• Educated to degree or postgraduate level
• Strong communication skills, suitable for credible interactions with external partners, stakeholders and internal team members
• Project management experience in research oriented environment, particularly having evidence of successful delivery of projects
• Experience of managing financial budgets along with experience of budget planning and forecasting
• Ability to work autonomously and under own initiative, in line with project aims
• Ability to interpret complex guidelines, rules and regulations.
• Experience of working to reporting structures and producing audit trails
• Experience of running projects with significant numbers of staff and motivating staff across a wide range of disciplines to deliver to deadlines
• Excellent team-working and communication skills being able to keep the team fully appraised of key issues, and also comfortable in briefing and influencing senior management
• Proven ability to meet targets, milestones and contracted outputs and work to deadlines
• Ability to rapidly assimilate complex information and present these in a credible fashion
• Competent IT user- Microsoft packages, email, internet, and project management tools

Desirable attributes

• Relevant academic or professional experience / background in air pollution / atmospheric science
• Relevant experience in establishing project budgetary, communication, progress and impact recording and reporting structures
• Experience of working with higher education and/or local government sectors
• Knowledge and understanding of business engagement and knowledge transfer in the context of the HE sector and the objectives of the NERC RISE programme and WM-Air project.

Additional Information

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor William Bloss, w.j.bloss@bham.ac.uk