Role: Project Manager
Grade and Salary: Grade 8, £47,389 - £58,225 per annum (pro-rata)
FTE and working pattern: 0.5FTE, 17.5hrs per week
Contract: Fixed Term until 31 July 2027 (potential for a secondment opportunity)
Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday) (pro-rata)
Project Background
The Trusted Research and Secure Innovation (TReSI) Network is a new project, led by Heriot-Watt University and funded by the Scottish Funding Council as part of a portfolio of four projects under its Research and Innovation Shared Services Fund. The aim of the project is to build scalable, sustainable capabilities across Scottish universities to implement transparent and responsible Trusted Research and Secure Innovation practices.
Leveraging collaboration across Scotland’s universities, the project will develop a customisable digital toolkit comprising scalable processes, case studies, decision-support and audit materials. Using agile, sprint-based project management, it will;
1. Define minimum requirements for due diligence, monitoring and reporting across different research contexts
2. Create adaptable tools for identifying and managing high risk research areas
3. Build a case study bank to support decision-making and researcher awareness
Key Duties & Responsibilities
4. Responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the project on behalf of the University, including assessing project needs, preparing timelines, identifying key milestones and project work plans, and ensuring that deadlines and deliverables are achieved.
5. Ensure deadlines work with key internal and external reporting requirements
6. Proactively manage close working links with key internal and external stakeholders
7. Identify and resolve of a wide variety of complex issues using specialist knowledge and a high degree of initiative
8. Monitor and produce collated reports for all work packages and external projects, anticipating and documenting project risks and delays to minimise adverse impacts
9. Prepare reports on project status for the Project Lead and Project Sponsor
10. Ensure effective communications are in place with all stakeholders including consultation and management of expectations
11. Develop and regularly review performance against the project’s milestones and to be responsible for management of risk and issue management,
12. Manage the project’s stakeholder engagement activities within the framework of the project
13. Prepare and deliver written and oral reports on finances and project outcomes for the Sponsor, Project Board and other stakeholders as required
14. Assess critical situations accurately and use judgement to quickly make decisions.
15. Line and matrix manage staff working on project activities as required
16. Liaise with the University’s internal administration units.
Essential & Desirable Criteria
Essential
17. Degree (or equivalent qualification or relevant professional experience) in a business, financial or scientific discipline
18. Significant experience of successfully managing projects that involve complex planning and/or significant digital / IT implementation
19. Demonstrable track record of successful staff leadership and/or senior management with ability to motivate project team members and to develop strong working relationships at all levels;
20. Experience of working in an academic/HEI environment.
21. Project and financial management skills, applicable to both small and large projects;
22. Organisational skills, relating to own work and that of others with analytical and problem solving skills, as applied to technical and non-technical hurdles;
23. Ability to see the bigger and political picture, and direct effort to key areas, relating the competing needs of various stakeholders;
24. Proven high level presentation, communication and IT skills, obtained through representational, influencing and/or negotiating activities
Desirable
25. Project Management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, AMPQ)
26. Postgraduate Degree or equivalent in project management or subject matter area
27. Experience with implementation of systems in an educational setting
28. Proven ability to apply project management methodologies across projects of varying complexity
29. Flexible approach to work and responsibilities
30. Energy and enthusiasm for the project
31. Understanding of HWU processes and systems