Project Manager NE Coast & Rural (NICRE)

Salary: £35,608.00 - £37,694.00  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 11 February 2026

The Role

The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) is looking to appoint a Project Manager to support the work of the North East Coast and Rural Taskforce, for which NICRE provides the secretariat.

The North East Environment, Coast and Rural taskforce is a cross-sector stakeholder group, convened by the North East Combined Authority which brings together stakeholders from across different parts of the region and sectors along with representatives of national government.   
The taskforce will work in a joint, place-based and inclusive way to drive forward policy to help address the unique challenges facing coastal and rural communities in the North East, and will operate until September 2027.   This is an innovative partnership approach to coastal and rural policy development. Learning, recommendations and new models developed will be shared across the region and nationally as Coastal and Rural Transformation blueprints.

This role is an exciting opportunity to help drive forward a programme of work with regional and national significance for coastal and rural communities.

As project manager you will

• Project manage delivery of a two-year workplan for the taskforce, working across multiple diverse stakeholders and organisations
• Develop and deliver a programme of meetings and engagement events, with responsibility for end-to-end logistics
• Work with NICRE colleagues and taskforce members to ensure that learning is captured across all strands of the taskforce’s activity and disseminated at local, regional and national level

Subject to the successful candidates’ skills, interests and capacity, this role could also offer opportunities to get more involved in policy development and/or being a facilitator for community engagement events. 

This is a full-time, fixed term role running to September 2027, when the taskforce will complete its term.  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.

NICRE exists to put knowledge to work for an enterprising countryside.  We combine research with practical innovation to find new ways of unlocking potential and supporting thriving rural businesses and communities. We work with a wide range of local, regional and national partners: facilitating knowledge exchange and informing policy development to foster the innovation and resilience of rural areas.

NICRE is led out of Newcastle University, and builds on leading centres of expertise, including founding partners Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy and Business School, the Enterprise Research Centre at Warwick and the Countryside and Community Research Institute at Gloucestershire and Royal Agricultural Universities.  NICRE was established in 2020 thanks to a core grant from Research England, and now delivers a portfolio of insight, innovation and knowledge exchange activities involving a diverse mix of funders and partners. 

To learn more about the National Innovation Centre from Rural Enterprise please click here

How to apply for this role:
Please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples.

For informal enquiries please contact Melanie Thompson-Glen, Head of Business and Innovation.Melanie Thompson-Glen Melanie.Thompson-Glen@newcastle.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and maintain a project plan for the Taskforce’s work, ensuring key milestones are delivered on time and within budget
• Coordinate delivery of activity across multiple organisations and sectors, ensuring effective communication with all stakeholders
• Monitor project delivery, identifying and resolving or escalating risks and issues through project governance structures
• Work with the Project Board and Taskforce to identify success measures and develop tools and processes to ensure feedback and learning are captured across all strands of the taskforce’s work
• Provide regular reporting to the Project Board for the North East Coastal and Rural Taskforce
• Organise four meetings per year for the Taskforce, managing end-to-end logistics from scheduling; booking venue, catering and AV; gathering input to agenda and collating meeting papers and presentations; ensuring chair and participants are fully briefed; taking minutes and managing an action log.
• Plan and deliver community innovation events: coordinating content, promotion and logistics, and engaging and supporting communities and other relevant stakeholders to take part
• Ensure that actions and outcomes from meetings and events are communicated to relevant stakeholders, progressed in good time, and reported back to Taskforce

Dissemination

• Support the preparation of Taskforce meeting papers, briefings and reports – developing drafts and coordinating input and review from internal and external team members
• Contribute to the development and delivery of the communications plan for the taskforce’s work, ensuring it aligns to the overall project plan
• Work with communications colleagues to develop and maintain a section of NICRE’s Innovation Portal dedicated to the Taskforce’s work

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Project Management: Experience developing and managing project plans, coordinating multi-stakeholder delivery, and reporting against milestones.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Proven ability to communicate effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including community groups, public bodies, and partners.
• Event Management: Skilled in planning and delivering meetings and public events, including logistics, agendas, minute-taking, and follow-up.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Ability to identify success measures and implement feedback and learning processes.
• Written Communication: Strong drafting skills for reports, briefings, and meeting papers, with attention to detail and clarity.
• Digital Literacy: Competent in using project management tools, Microsoft Office, and online platforms for communication and collaboration.

Attributes and Behaviour

• Highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Proactive and solution-focused, with good judgement on when to escalate issues.
• Collaborative and confident working across organisations.
• Committed to inclusive and community-led approaches.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience working in rural or coastal community development.
• Familiarity with governance structures and reporting to boards or steering groups.
• Understanding of communications planning and digital content management (e.g. web portals, newsletters).

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent) or able to demonstrate significant relevant professional experience
  
  

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 29032

#LI-SS1