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Senior Project Manager

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

Job Introduction

Job Description for Senior Project Manager:

NNL is where your project management helps deliver our purpose. As part of our Project Management Authority, you’ll play a critical role in managing projects that deliver nuclear science to benefit society. Your project management skills and attention to detail will enable industry-leading scientists, engineers and analysts to work together to deliver unique projects using cutting edge technology. It’s a challenging role but it’s an opportunity to grow, adapt and develop new skills in a fast-moving area.

The role will involve working in the Defence Account area of NNL. The work in this area is strategically important and of national importance. The role will see the Senior Project Manager work closely with both an existing project delivery team and an existing bid team. The role will be more biased in the short term to the bidding activities and transition into a delivery role. 

The individual will be responsible for ensuring engagement with supporting functions within the business, interface with the client, adherence to NNLs internal governance and development of the submission (cost, schedule, risk, etc).

The location for this role is flexible and can be based at Risley, Workington, Preston or Sellafield.

Role Responsibility

Main Responsibilities for Senior Project Manager:

  • Management Accountabilities 
    • Support bid development, including designated authority for approval of delivery proposals and allocation of resources, prior to works moving into the delivery phase.
    • Maximise NNL’s performance against internal NNL and customer KPIs.
    • Manage the interface with customers with respect to matters relating to potential new work opportunities and the delivery of contracted work, ensuring that there are agreed communications and reporting methodologies in place.
    • Engagement and management of a competent, effective and integrated Project Team, including management oversight, motivation and monitoring of the team’s performance; quality assurance and addressing areas of under-performance.
    • Inputting into the bid / sales process (for new work) as required and assisting (when requested) in the preparation and coordination of NNL fee proposals and submissions.
    • Provision of leadership; coaching and support to other project team members as required.
    • Line management and leadership responsibility for Project Management resources to ensure that high quality Bid and Project Management services are being delivered regionally.
    • Provision of direction and leadership to ‘senior’ regional SPM team on matters relating to PMA operational initiatives, goals and NNL performance targets, including responsibility for ensuring adherence to PMA systems and processes, e.g. the project delivery framework. 
    • Provision of senior leadership on complex Bids, Projects and Programmes to ensure that they are delivered in a safe manner to the specified functional criteria, goals, and objectives compliant with all relevant Client, NNL, EHSS&Q, regulatory and legal assurance requirements.
    • Ensuring that financial performance is managed to achieve maximum revenue and profitability of the Bid, Project or Programme.
  • Delivery Accountabilities
    • Delivery of Bids, Projects or Programmes in a safe manner to the specified functional criteria, goals and objectives compliant with all relevant Client, NNL, regulatory and legal assurance requirements.
    • Development, maintenance and management of Bid, Project or Programme Execution Procedures and control documentation in line with the NNL ‘PMA project delivery framework’ to ensure that all work is delivered within approved project baseline; scope; cost; schedule and quality constraints and in a safe manner.  
    • Ensure adequate Health Safety & Security (HS&S) supervision is in place at all times in all locations where work is being carried out and that Nuclear Safety is not compromised.
    • Preparation of relevant ‘health and safety’ related documentation for projects and promote a health and safety aware culture.
    • Establishment of clear and robust communications and meeting strategies to ensure effective communication across the project team and key stakeholders, implementing regular reviews and controls to monitor project progress.

The Ideal Candidate

Essential Criteria for Senior Project Manager:

  • Bid and Proposal Management Experience of mid to high complexity bids of significant values £10m+.
  • Experience of drafting, validation and sign off of Estimates including Work Package drafting.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and able to work independently as well as part of an effective team.
  • Ability to demonstrate initiative and a proactive approach to daily tasks.
  • Strong Risk and Opportunity Management acumen.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills – articulate and diplomatic manner.
  • Able to work to tight deadlines.
  • Resilient to coping with conflicting demands, able to prioritise duties and work under pressure.
  • Ability to think analytically with some level of commercial / financial awareness.
  • Ability to operate with conflicting, ambiguous, or unclear objectives and / or requirements.

Desirable Criteria for Senior Project Manager:

  • Project Management professional qualification (APMP, IPMA Level D or above) or working towards.
  • Suitable level of experience in a Project Management/delivery role (ideally as a Project Manager).
  • Demonstrable track record of successfully leading and delivering small-medium scale/reasonably complex projects.
  • Experience of using typical project management tools, processes and software.
  • Proficient in use of Microsoft Office Suite (incl. MS Work, Excel, Powerpoint and Project / EPM).
  • Ability to utilize project scheduling software for the purposes of controlling and monitoring project works (e.g. MS Project, EPM, Primavera P6, etc.)
  • Demonstrable financial acumen and experience of using financial monitoring and performance tools / processes.
  • Experience of different contracting models, involving the management of commercial risks.

About the Company

Grounded in robust science and decade of experience, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is the authoritative voice in the UK and beyond for technological development within the nuclear power sector.

Our unparalleled understanding of the science, challenges and opportunities makes us an unrivalled authority and partner in the field, providing experts, technologies, and access to cutting-edge facilities to organisations around the world.

Harnessing potential technologies and translating them into to industry-ready solutions means our pioneering approach spearheads international improvement and technological progress.

We work on projects as small as drilling a hole to analyse underground wastes with our integrated micro drilling technology, or as large as developing state-of-the-art power systems for spacecraft, based on radioactive materials

NNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (ED&I) where NNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures. We want you and the diverse mix of people that we employ, customers that we service and stakeholders that we influence to feel valued. We encourage a workplace culture where everyone can thrive with a sense of belonging.

Recruitment Agency Notice

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of recruitment services. Only agencies on our PSL may provide CVs and only when the role is released to them by our recruitment team. We will not accept unsolicited CVs from suppliers not currently on our PSL. We explicitly reserve the right to add candidate details from unsolicited CVs from non-PSL agencies into our own candidate database and to pursue/hire such candidate(s) without any obligation, financial or otherwise, to the agency concerned.

National Nuclear Laboratory

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