[Hiring] Senior Project Manager - Data @Public Sector Resourcing

Role Description

On behalf of DEFRA, we are looking for a Senior Project Manager - Data (Inside IR35) for a 3 month contract. This is a remote working role.

Job Purpose:

This role sits within the Natural Capital & Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme. The NCEA Programme delivers evidence, tools and guidance on:

• The extent and condition of terrestrial natural capital assets;
• The ecosystem services they provide;
• The trade-offs involved in realising the natural capital benefits of greatest importance to society.

The programme works collaboratively with Defra and wider Arm's Length Body (ALB) partners to develop and deliver products that support the mobilisation, visualisation and use of environmental data, enabling informed conservation and policy decisions.

This Project Manager role is focused on data generated from the England Ecosystem Survey (EES), the largest environmental monitoring programme undertaken by Natural England. EES collects extensive ecological and environmental data across England's habitats, landscapes and ecosystems.

The role will lead the project management of EES data outputs, including data publication, science assurance and associated business change activities. The postholder will manage a defined portfolio of interdependent projects and workstreams, ensuring the coordination and management of complex, interdependent milestones, dependencies and delivery schedules.

As a Senior Project Manager - Data, your main responsibilities will be:

• The development, maintenance and coordination of comprehensive project plans that support the successful delivery of EES data outputs.
• Integrating activities across multiple teams, suppliers and stakeholders into a coherent delivery schedule, ensuring that dependencies, critical activities, resource requirements and governance milestones are clearly identified and managed.
• Providing structure, visibility and oversight necessary to ensure project deliverables are achieved to agreed timescales, quality standards and programme objectives.
• Developing and maintaining a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and project plan across multiple workstreams, ensuring work packages, dependencies, milestones, ownership and delivery timescales are clearly defined and integrated into a single schedule.
• Ensuring project plans remain accurate and up to date, reflecting resource requirements, governance and assurance activities, delivery assumptions and key deliverables.
• Monitoring progress against plans, identifying potential slippage and implementing corrective actions to maintain delivery schedules.
• Working closely with technical, scientific and operational teams to ensure planning assumptions remain current and deliverables remain achievable.
• Providing project boards and programme leadership with clear visibility of delivery forecasts, emerging risks and impacts to planned outputs.
• Promoting continuous improvement in project management practices across the workstream, identifying opportunities to strengthen planning, coordination and reporting arrangements.

Qualifications

• Experience of managing complex projects involving multiple interdependent workstreams, milestones, stakeholders and delivery dependencies.
• Experience in developing and managing integrated project plans and critical path schedules.
• Strong understanding of dependency management and its application within large, complex programmes.
• Ability to identify delivery risks early and implement effective mitigations to maintain progress against key milestones.
• Experience coordinating delivery across multidisciplinary teams, suppliers and partner organisations.
• Strong project governance, reporting, budget and contract management experience.
• Project Management qualification (PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM PMQ or equivalent).

Requirements

• Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Benefits

• As a Disability Confident employer, DEFRA encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates.
• Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review.
• As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, DEFRA welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners.