The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our food and farming industry, and maintaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in everyday life, from the food we eat and the air we breathe to the water we drink.
The Geospatial (Land) Programme seeks an experienced project manager to lead the delivery of Defra’s Land Model Workstreams.
The purpose of the Geospatial (Land) Programme is to support Defra’s outcomes by improving efficiencies and reducing data debt across the group. This ensures policy and delivery teams use consistent data to make informed decisions, reducing conflicting policy impacts. The successful candidate will:
* Deliver an authoritative land use and boundary map for England, supporting real-time land use change monitoring.
* Provide a common land map to facilitate collaboration across government departments, local authorities, and land managers, supporting land use frameworks and planning reforms.
* Provide accurate data for innovative technologies like drone surveillance and AI.
* Streamline grant processes by providing better land use data for targeted subsidies and reducing fraud and errors.
* Integrate existing foundational land datasets from various sources into a single data repository to prevent duplication and support data sharing across Defra.
* Develop and implement a geospatial data standard framework in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
* Establish a Centre of Excellence to enhance skills in exploiting the land model and geospatial capabilities, working with the Government Geography Profession.
As a Project Manager at DEFRA, your key responsibilities include:
* Leading the Land model workstreams to deliver outcomes on time, within budget, and to quality standards, using Agile methodologies.
* Managing the project and team daily, ensuring adherence to Defra’s project controls and acting as the liaison between the programme and external delivery teams.
* Designing and refining the project structure appropriate to each stage.
* Planning and coordinating the development of Business Cases at all stages, ensuring proper assurance and resource allocation.
* Ensuring quality delivery according to milestones.
* Collaborating with Commercial leads on procurement and tender development.
* Managing resources to meet key milestones.
* Identifying, measuring, and tracking benefits, developing a Benefits Realisation Strategy, and engaging specialists as needed.
* Developing effective stakeholder relationships and supporting communication plans.
* Ensuring robust governance and project assurance processes.
* Managing Business Change throughout the project lifecycle, utilizing Change management expertise as needed.
Project Performance & Controls:
* Developing and applying project and programme delivery plans.
* Setting and tracking project controls and milestones.
* Leading reporting efforts to support governance and decision-making.
* Managing risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies, with escalation and mitigation strategies.
* Forecasting and tracking project delivery within budget, with regular reviews.
* Implementing effective Change Management processes, including stakeholder engagement.
* Travel to Crewe may be required for stakeholder meetings.
#J-18808-Ljbffr