About us
Salford City Council is embarking on a transformative journey to strengthen its governance framework through the Governance 360 Improvement Programme. We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead and coordinate this ambitious two-year programme, which aims to embed excellence, transparency, and continuous improvement across the Council’s democratic, compliance, and learning functions.
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of governance in a high-performing local authority that values innovation, collaboration, and community impact.
As a people centred and values based organisation Salford Council really is a great place to work. With a positive permission culture and can do approach, we embrace innovation and encourage high performance. Our values of Pride, Passion, People and Personal Responsibility underpin everything we do and our employees demonstrate these values every day. We take pride in working together as #OneTeam by always supporting one another - that's the spirit of Salford!
We are looking for individuals who are passionate about delivering excellent service to our customers by providing strong, effective and supportive project management skills, ensuring rigour and governance is embedded in your approach. You will embrace change and understand how to support teams through this.
About you
You will embody our values of Pride, Passion, People and Personal Responsibility, and will be tenacious, positive and resilient with the ability to manage and lead change.
You need to be comfortable to work at pace, balancing competing priorities to provide high-quality project management, including management of risks, issues and project benefits.
You will have proven experience in managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects within public sector or governance settings, along with a strong understanding of local government structures, decision-making processes, and statutory governance duties.
You will possess the ability to lead change and promote a culture of continuous improvement, and have a deep familiarity with project management methodologies and tools.
You’ll be able to build strong relationships and generate positive collaboration, whilst always staying focused on outcomes.
Experience working with elected members and senior officers is highly desirable.
About the role
* Lead the delivery of the Governance 360 Programme, including thematic projects on:
o Constitutional reform
o Compliance and assurance
o Learning and development
o Information asset review
* Develop and manage detailed project plans, timelines, and resource allocations
* Coordinate cross-functional working groups, including elected member and officer engagement forums
* Ensure effective communication and reporting to the Programme Board, Executive, and wider stakeholders
* Monitor risks, dependencies, and performance metrics to ensure successful delivery
* Support the development of toolkits, frameworks, and training materials to embed governance improvements
* Liaise with external partners such as the LGA, CIPFA, and CfGS for benchmarking and best practice
You will work closely with Senior Responsible Officers and project leads and you’ll manage, support and coach Project Officers to enable their learning and development.
You will be proactive, with the ability to work independently, prioritising a busy workload and a large number of stakeholders, being able to work flexibly in line with changing demands.
What will you get from us?
You’ll be part of a supportive, nationally recognised Digital, Data and Technology department, where everyone is encouraged and empowered to personally develop and achieve their best in an inclusive and flexible environment
What we need from you
The PMO is a team who demonstrate the following values and behaviours, at an appropriate level for their grade:
* Be credible - have personal and professional credibility at all levels of the organisation, showing how project management can help deliver excellent services.
* Be values-based - follow and show the City Council’s values.
* Be flexible and driven - help develop the project management office, have the knowledge and skills, and be flexible to handle changing demands on time and resources.
* Be technically proficient - know basic project management methods.
* Be delivery-focused - understand the local setting and deliver solutions that meet local needs.
* Be policy focused - work within Salford City Council procedures, understand the methodology, public contract regulations, and political environment.
* Be a people person - show integrity, build and maintain rapport, and gain trust and confidence to influence team performance.
* Be an achiever - have a proven drive to achieve outcomes and deliver organisational priorities.
* Be a skilled communicator - deliver clear verbal and written messages across all levels of the council with enthusiasm and conviction that builds trust and confidence.
* Be assured - work well as part of a team, be self-motivated, show initiative, confidence, and take personal responsibility for actions.
* Be a negotiator - manage in-house and external relationships that need resolution.
* Be a solutions seeker - show a flexible, creative, and innovative approach to finding solutions.
If you have completed the GM Elevate Leadership Development Programme within the last 2 years, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
We will not be accepting candidates who require a sponsorship for this position.
Want to know more about Salford?
As an authority we are dedicated to improving the lives of our residents, and as an employer we are passionate about helping individuals to thrive in their work. We are committed to developing a diverse and inclusive culture and are proud of our professional accreditations which champion this.
Find out about our city as a place to live, work & grow, and learn more about the amazing work we are doing. You’ll also find out about the wealth of benefits we have to offer you here !
Continuous Service commitment
New employees can keep their service related benefits when moving between a whole host of public sector organisations within Greater Manchester, which include: Councils, NHS, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, Transport for Greater Manchester, as well as many others under this scheme. Find out if this applies to you here .
Guaranteed Assessment Schemes
We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel by way of a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme. Our application forms ask you to indicate if you meet any of the criteria within this scheme, and so to find out more and if you qualify please click here .
Privacy Statement and Data Protection
Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s primary Recruitment and Employment Privacy Notice which can be found at .