Project Manager needed in Portsmouth, £352 per day PAYE - Reference: 5296480 Lead full lifecycle delivery of the Housing Management System (HMS) transformation, from mobilisation through implementation, testing, cutover, and post‑go‑live stabilisation. Provide line management and day‑to‑day leadership for project delivery resources, including the Project Coordinator, Data Lead, Business Analyst, Test Lead and any contracted specialists, ensuring clear accountability, prioritisation, and effective collaboration across all workstreams. Function as the primary bridge between Housing, IT & Digital, Data, Procurement, Finance, corporate governance teams, external suppliers, and delivery partners, ensuring effective communication, aligned priorities, and timely decision‑making. Drive strategic alignment with PCC’s cloud, data protection, information governance, cyber security, and IT architectural standards, ensuring project alignment across all required IT checkpoints such as IT Change Board (CAB) and Architecture Review Board (ARB). Work with the stakeholders to ensure the new HMS fully supports regulatory and compliance requirements. Own and manage the programme plan, overseeing scope, milestones, interdependencies, risks, issues, budget, change control and resource planning, ensuring effective reporting into project and governance boards. Lead procurement engagement where required, ensuring supplier deliverables meet contractual expectations. Oversee all technical and functional workstreams, including data cleansing, migration from multiple legacy systems, integrations with Repairs, Community Safety, Finance and corporate platforms, environment management, and configuration. Manage testing cycles end‑to‑end, including SIT, UAT, defect tracking, quality assurance, and readiness assessments to ensure a robust and stable solution at go‑live. Coordinate business change and transformation activity, ensuring redesigned processes, operating models, and workflows are embedded and aligned with the Client's wider digital ambitions. Lead organisational readiness, including training planning and delivery, user support models, communications, impact assessments, and transition to BAU support teams, including Hand Over to Service (HOTS) activities with IT. Championing data quality and governance, working with data owners and analysts to establish a single authoritative dataset, improve reporting capability, and support emerging regulatory expectations. Promote strong stakeholder engagement, ensuring tenants, residents, staff, members and partner agencies are considered throughout solution design and implementation. Ensure benefits realisation is defined, tracked, and delivered, including improvements in compliance, efficiency, customer experience, and digital adoption. Embed continuous improvement, applying lessons learned, seeking opportunities to streamline processes, and ensuring the HMS supports long‑term transformation within Portsmouth. This is a full time role on a temporary contract basis. If you are interested in the role please apply on our website with your CV, alternatively you can email your CV to katie@essentialemploy.co.uk quoting the reference number. Essential Employment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. Essential Employment is an Equal Opportunities Employer. All our roles may be subject to pre-employment checks including references so please be prepared. Due to high volumes of CVs received we are not able to respond to all unsuccessful applications. You will always however hear from us by phone if we are able to take your CV forward to the next stage. You can also follow us at Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn or via our website www.essentialemploy.co.uk.