Programme & Project Mgmt Practice Lead

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Salary: Salary in the region of £47,000 per annum.

Closing Date: This opportunity will close when we identify a suitable candidate. We will contact you within 5 working days of your application to advise you of the shortlisting outcome.

The Role

We have reimagined the way we deliver our University IT Services, building a world-class IT department responsive to the needs of our global community. We’re growing significantly and we’ve created new opportunities and made changes to how we work. Our people have been at the centre of this change, with a particular focus on development and opportunities to learn new skills.

An exciting opportunity within the dynamic and ever-evolving IT Service awaits the right candidate.  This is a busy, high-volume but friendly environment that will suit an organised person with a passion for developing talent, a great eye for detail and plenty of team spirit.

Reporting to the Head of the Project Management Office, you will be adept at overseeing multiple projects and have extensive experience in project management methodologies and technologies, and a familiarity with the full systems development lifecycle.

Leading a team of project management professionals, you will prioritise their continuing professional development, exhibiting a coaching / mentoring style of leadership. 

The Programme and Project Practice Lead will also establish a consistent and scalable approach to programme and project management based on industry standard best practices, validating, documenting, and disseminating project management related knowledge.

The University is an exciting and dynamic place to work, dedicated to world-leading education and research. Benefits include excellent pension; flexible working options; a minimum of 37 days holiday (including public holidays); discounted travel for the Metro and local bus services; and discounts for national retailers. You can find out more on our benefits web page.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment and we would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working.

Informal enquiries may be made to Jonathan Taylor, CTO, at jonathan.taylor@newcastle.ac.uk
 

Key Accountabilities

• Defining and delivering programme and project management goals and objectives
• Identifying and implementing programme and project management best practice for the IT Service
• Providing line management and subject matter expertise to programme and project managers within the practice
• Providing programme and project management coaching and mentoring to staff either directly within their team or in a broader matrix organisation. 
• Ensuring availability of the required programme and project management skills and competencies, escalating where appropriate
• Managing key stakeholder relationships and activities at all levels of the organisation (and externally) across the programme and project lifecycle, from concept through to service transition
• Carrying out programme and project health-checks, providing support and remediation where necessary

The Person

You must possess:

• A passion for developing talent
• The ability to work well with others  
• Strong communications skills  
• Strong meeting facilitation skills  
• Strong project and time management skills  
• A degree in information systems, business administration or an equivalent qualification or experience
• A recognised programme or project management qualification (e.g. MSP, PMI, PRINCE2, Agile) 

You must also be:

• A respected leader and team player  
• More interested in results than personal preferences  
• Motivated by a long-term perspective  
• Intellectually inquisitive 
• Commercially adept
• Able to build awareness of all relevant factors (the ‘big picture’) to support strategic and tactical decision making
• Benefits focussed
• Able to balance delivery across the triple constraints of time, cost and quality
   

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains staff from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University also holds the HR Excellence in Research award for our work to support the career development of our researchers, and is a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

#LI-LF1