Senior Legal Project Manager, DCO 12 Month Fixed Term Contract Any UK Office The Opportunity Weâre looking for a Senior Legal Project Manager (DCO) to join our Legal Project Management (LPM) team, working closely with our marketâleading Infrastructure Planning practice on complex Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). This role focuses on the endâtoâend project management of the Development Consent Order (DCO) lifecycle, from preâapplication through examination and, where required, postâexamination activity. Youâll play a critical role in guiding clients and internal teams through the Planning Act 2008 regime, ensuring delivery is structured, compliant and wellâgoverned throughout. As part of Pinsent Masons Vario, our LPM team partners with legal teams and clients to deliver strategically important, highâvalue projects to target margins, while improving efficiency, quality and client experience. The team also supports Varioâs wider mission to deliver commercially and legally sustainable solutions that promote flexible and inclusive ways of working. Please note, this is a 12 month fixed term contract with potential to becoming permanent in the future. What Youâll Do Project Coordination & Delivery Support the strategic planning and dayâtoâday coordination of DCO/NSIP matters, ensuring that timelines, examination deadlines, key activities and dependencies are accurately maintained and communicated Facilitate the delivery of all workstreams by organising inputs, monitoring progress, and ensuring legal teams and workstreams remain aligned to the agreed programme Maintain robust control, including project plans, action logs, risk and issue registers, and specifically designed DCO-reporting tools Track changes in project timelines, resource needs, risks and deliverables, escalating impacts to client Governance, Meetings & Communication Arrange and manage governance forums including KickâOff Meetings, Project Team Meetings and various Workshops as needed Prepare agendas and ensure actions are captured, assigned and followed through Provide clear, consistent communication across project teams, clients, Counsel, and external consultants âensuring all parties understand what is required and by when Stakeholder Management & Process Navigation Apply advanced stakeholder management skills to coordinate complex interactions across legal teams, planning specialists, environmental consultants, and client organisations Guide project teams through the procedural demands of the Planning Act 2008 and the DCO examination process, ensuring deadlines and statutory requirements remain frontâofâmind Promote collaboration between all workstreams and support issue resolution through proactive engagement and crossâteam communication Risk, Issues & Programme Assurance Identify programmeâlevel risks and issues, ensuring they are captured, assessed, monitored and escalated appropriately Contribute to postâproject reviews and lessons learned exercises, feeding improvements back into the DCO PMO and wider LPM processes Tools, Innovation & Continuous Improvement Support the development and enhancement of project templates, trackers, tools and standard operating procedures for DCO matters Promote lean working practices and process efficiencies to improve the consistency and quality of DCO project delivery Identify improvement opportunities and support ongoing innovation within the Infrastructure Planning team Broader Team & Organisational Support Collaborate with pricing and legal teams by providing delivery insights needed to support client proposals and matter initiation Support large bids, and tenders where DCO project management expertise is required Mentor more junior project managers Provide general project management support across other teams/matters where required, while maintaining a primary focus on the DCO portfolio About You Demonstrable experience delivering key stages of Development Consent Orders Experience coordinating complex, multiâworkstream and multiâorganisation projects] A strong understanding of the Planning Act 2008, the NSIP regime and DCO process A project management qualification (desirable) Excellent planning, coordination, communication and stakeholder management skills Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities Confidence using Microsoft Office tools including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, SharePoint and Copilot Commercial awareness, sound judgement and a proactive, problemâsolving mindset The ability to challenge constructively and question assumptions Resilience, flexibility and comfort working with limited supervision Sensitivity to cultural differences across project teams What We Offer Agile working options, including home working Carersâ leave of up to five paid days 25 daysâ annual leave, with the option to buy or carry over up to five additional days Contributory pension (up to 5%) Private healthcare and deathâinâservice cover (4x salary) Access to benefits including an electric car scheme, cycleâtoâwork scheme, and interestâfree loans for season tickets, gym membership, or rental deposits Next Steps Once you apply, our Recruitment team will review your application and keep you updated by email. The interview process typically consists of two stages. Our Commitment to Inclusion Weâre proud to be a Disability Confident employer, a top Stonewall employer, and a signatory to multiple inclusion charters. We value diverse perspectives and encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work. If youâd like an informal conversation about the role, an alternative format of this advert, or to discuss reasonable adjustments, please contact Victoria Greaves at careers@pinsentmasons.com. LI-VG1