Project Manager - Change

Our client is an independent charity set up initially to deliver Devon County Council's Library Service but expanding and growing into other areas. Their vision is to bring ideas, imagination, information and knowledge to people's lives and communities through public libraries.

They aspire to be a creative, entrepreneurial and digitally-driven provider of library services founded on the principles of trust, neutrality and openness with core values which include:

* Welcoming - they are open, friendly, helpful and inclusive to people and their needs
* Integrity - they work honestly and openly to build relationships based on trust and mutual respect
* Creativity - they are dynamic, socially enterprising and creative
* Collaborative - they are constantly looking for opportunities to work with other people, organisations and communities
* Enjoyment - they make every experience within our organisation enjoyable and rewarding for everyone involved.

As a young 'start- up' organisation, they are now undergoing substantial business transformation, change and modernisation, ensuring high quality services are delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible to meet community needs and aspirations and identifying new approaches which will drive the organisation forward.

An opportunity has arisen to lead a small team and play a key part in the future of our organisation. Reporting to the Head of Commercial & Innovation, this exciting post will oversee a portfolio of projects which are crucial to the success of the organisation, enabling it to transform and grow in a financially sustainable way.

Main duties and responsibilities:

The Project and Programme Manager will manage a diverse portfolio of projects, within an overall programme of agreed change, providing oversight, co-ordination and completion of business change projects, delivering the required outcomes and benefits to time and budget and effectively applying the agreed standards, methods and processes for project management. Projects are wide ranging and will enable the successful candidate to be involved in developing many aspects of our business, including: leading on exciting new-builds and refurbishments as part of our capital programme; business process re-engineering to improve efficiency of our expanding organisation; supporting the process of service planning for the organisation; delivering new ICT infrastructure for the organisation; developing systems and processes/mobilising new contracts to support business growth as the organisation expands to deliver new contracts and new opportunities.

The postholder has a key role to play as a 'change agent' in the new organisation, driving a more entrepreneurial and innovative culture.

The Project Manager will have responsibility for across a wide and varied business change programme portfolio from inception through to delivery. The post holder will work with stakeholders from across the organisation, partners, contractors/suppliers and community representatives.

Managing projects.

* In managing projects, the Project and Programme Manager is responsible for performing a variety of tasks (concurrently in the case of multiple projects within an overall programme), reporting progress to the Project Sponsor and/or their line manager and, where appropriate, the Senior Management Team and the Board of Trustees.

Planning and problem-solving

* The Project and Programme Manager is responsible for creating and executing project work plans, and revisions as appropriate to meet changing needs, in order to deliver the project within constraints such as time, cost and agreed quality standards.
* On a day-to-day basis the Project and Programme Manager manages the operational and tactical aspects of multiple projects within an agreed programme of change.
* The Project and Programme Manager will normally be responsible for maintaining the project budget, with support from the organisation's finance team, and ensuring that projects are delivered within budget constraints.
* The Project and Programme Manager must continuously monitor progress in terms of the status of the plan and the budget and report back to the Project Sponsor, via regular suitable progress reporting.
* The post holder should identify, log, analyse and, in discussion with the Project Sponsor, manage issues and risks, including change requests, taking corrective or mitigating action where required.
* The post holder should be able to create and use Gantt charts, spreadsheets and other appropriate tools to plan, manage and monitor resource and tasks.
* The Project and Programme Manager is responsible for bringing the project to a close, which will include creating an end of project report or evaluation document, contributing to post implementation review meetings and activities, and capturing and using relevant lessons learned.

Communicating

* The Project Manager will articulate and negotiate consensus on a final vision of the product and/or the core project goals. This will be achieved by scoping the requirements of all stakeholders.
* The post holder will work with the Project Sponsor, Project Board and other managers to define acceptance criteria for project deliverables and will work towards achieving stakeholder acceptance of deliverables.
* The Project and Programme Manager is courteous and polite in written and oral communication, and able to get ideas across in a non-confrontational manner in one-to-one situations, small groups, and before large audiences.
* The Project Manager willy need to generate many types of document, including requirement specifications, contracts, schedules, personnel records, project reports, communication (email) records, design specifications, meeting agendas, minutes and status reports.
* The post holder will create a structure for the organisation's project documentation. The post holder must remain conscientious in using it and ensure that project team members understand and use it, ensuring project documents are complete, current, and stored appropriately.

Team supervision

* The Project and Programme Manager will identify the need for resource, and work with the Project Sponsor and other managers to manage the resource available to the project.
* The Project and Programme Manager will matrix manage team members, working with their line managers to estimate effort and plan activities on their appointed tasks.
* The Project & Programme Manager will also manage or work with third party contractors
* The Project and Programme Manager will raise issues relating to performance with relevant managers, and issues of resource availability with the Project Sponsor.

Technical and quality

* The post holder must have an expert understanding of relevant methodologies, processes and standards for programme and project management and ensure that all project team members understand and follow these also.
* The Project and Programme Manager is responsible for the project's commitment to quality.
* The postholder manages the risk logs for projects and will liaise with the Head of Finance and Operations to ensure relevant risks feed into the corporate risk log

Best practice and innovation

In addition to managing projects, the Project and Programme Manager will contribute to the development of a stronger culture of project management within the organisation. This will include:

* Promoting the benefits and standards, methodologies and processes for project management across the organisation.
* Effectively conveying organisational objectives and service targets in both written and verbal business development discussions.
* Managing the process of innovative change effectively.

* The postholder is a key member of the organisation and brings ideas, proposals and insights to the Leadership Team of the organisation.

This position is a fixed term opportunity for around 9-12 months