Project Manager Or Associate Project Manager

Project Manager or Associate Project Manager
 

Science and Technology Facilities Council
Salary:  Band E S2 £46,700 - £51,370 per annum, Band D (associate) S2 £37,500 - £41,250
pro rata if Part Time (dependent on skills and experience) 
Hours: Full time or Part time considered
Contract Type: Open Ended
Location: Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire 
Closing Date: Sunday 18th February 2024

Multiple positions available

Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it’s sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society. 

Come and discover how much you can achieve when you’re surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn and empowered to explore your curiosity.

The RAL Particle Physics Project Office manages many of the UK’s national and international collaborative particle physics experiment construction projects which contribute to fundamental understanding of the universe.  As a member of the Project Office you will contribute to these UK projects, our growing portfolio includes DUNE, Hyper-K, CMS, SWIFT-HEP, LHCb.  

You will work alongside a Principal Investigator and a diverse team to deliver UK contributions, often to international programmes.  The projects are a mixture of waterfall and agile to plan, design, construct, deliver and commission technical and scientific components and software.  You will ensure reliable planning, informed decision making and accurate and informative reporting.  A proactive, rigorous and formal approach to project management is essential as is an analytical approach to project management and financial data.

The main challenge for this role is the management of the collaborative aspects of the projects and ensuring that formal management methods are adhered to.  You will use your technical background and interpretive skills to develop an appropriate understanding of assigned projects and to translate technical or scientific requirements into achievable project plans.  Most projects involve a national collaboration of university physics departments and STFC: you must be pragmatic towards the work of others, particularly in the collaborative environment where there is no line-management control of participants.  

The Project Office follows closely the approach promoted by the UK Association for Project Management and you will contribute to the development of the office (processes etc) as a member of the team.

The Band E roles are intended for a Project Manager qualified in project management and experienced in managing projects formally.  The Band D roles are for an individual perhaps without full formal PM qualifications and/or experience as a Project Manager but who has worked in a professional, perhaps project-like, environment and would like to step up to being Project Manager.

You will gain excellent experience of formal project management in a collaborative environment and there is considerable scope for personal and professional development, aiming to reach Chartered Project Professional within a suitable time frame, for which we can provide mentoring.  Some travel will be required in the UK and abroad.

Person Specification

In addition to a CV candidates must submit a separate cover letter which clearly and individually identifies how you meet each of the essential criteria. Applications without this will not be considered. 

Essential criteria (Shortlist/Interview/Band D/Band E):

• Project management qualification equivalent to APM PMQ (Band E) (S)
• Bachelors degree (or equivalent experience) in a STEM subject (S)
• Experience of delivering projects as Project Manager (Band E) or experience in a professional project-like environment (S&I)
• Up-to-date understanding and evidence of applying formal project management methods, controls and processes (Band E) (S&I)
• Demonstrable enthusiasm for our projects and strong desire to take ownership of delivery of technical aspects (S&I)
• Strong communication and personal skills, good writing style (cover letter), experience of comprehensive reporting and presenting, ability to integrate into a highly collaborative and semi-structured environment and work as part of a team.
• Pragmatic and flexible approach (S&I)
• Analytical approach (for example in the use of project scheduling and data analytical tools) (S&I)
• Commitment to continuous improvement (projects and personally) and to be challenged (I)

Employee Benefits:

We are offering a permanent position with a whole host of benefits including:

• 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days).
• Flexible working hours.
• An excellent defined average salary pension scheme.
• Employee shopping/travel discounts.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

We are committed to sustaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are invested in creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive of all, to help us achieve the highest possible standards in our work and organisation together. In this regard, we encourage applications from under-represented groups.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Whatever our role, we have the freedom to explore, learn and connect, as part of a community that loves to share knowledge and support one another. 

As one of Europe’s largest research organisations, this is a place where there’s always something new to learn – about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself. 

Join us and discover what’s possible.

About STFC 

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people – and more broadly to the world. 

One of Europe’s largest research organisations, we’re trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we’re driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale. 

For more information about STFC please visit https://stfc.ukri.org/

You can also visit our careers site https://www.stfccareers.co.uk/ 

How to Apply 

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit your CV and a covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation to join STFC and the role you’re applying for. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit your application without a covering letter may result in your application not being considered. You will only be assessed on the content of your CV and covering letter and not the ‘experience’ section of the application. 

About UKRI 

Launched in April 2018, UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). 

Our organisation brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, and a vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

How we support EDI in the workforce 

At UKRI we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to flourish and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community.  For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’  

Disability Confident Employer 

As a Disability Confident employer, UKRI will offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for the job (this is the description of the job as set by the employer). To enable us to do this we ask the appropriate questions within the candidate application.