Senior Project Manager (Band 3)

Job title: Senior Project Manager

Salary: £65,000 + TfL Benefits Grade: Band 3

Contract type: TfL

Reference: 5722

Number of roles: 2 x Permanent Contract details: Perm, Hybrid, Full or Part-Time Location: Pier Walk Office, London Application closing date: Friday 18th September

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory right‑to‑work checks. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. At the present time TfL is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Job Purpose:

The Senior Project Manager will direct a team of up to 7 project managers and assistant project managers to deliver technology and data change through one or more projects or single programmes as assigned by the Senior Programme Manager or Programme Manager, up to a value of c.£30m and length of up to 2 years, typically, to the required standards of governance and control, ensuring these are applied in a way that is appropriate to the scale and complexity of the change.

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for delivering the programme and/or projects through a strategic blend of in-house capability and external contracts and frameworks. They will shape and develop the programmes and projects with the product or portfolio leads, agreeing project management resource assignments with the Senior Programme Manager and gaining commitment to resource assignments from the T&D delivery functions.

Key Accountabilities:

• Leading a professional project management team of up to 7 people to deliver multiple projects or single programmes as assigned by the Senior Programme Manager or Programme Manager, that implement technology changes, business efficiency improvements and procurement obligations to achieve TfL’s business objectives.

• Shaping and gaining authority for programmes or projects assigned by the Senior Programme Manager or Programme Manager, working with the T&D delivery functions and Portfolio Leads to develop the programme or project execution plan and work breakdown structure to meet the required quality, delivery timescales and cost.

• Allocating project management resource (Senior Project Managers, Project Managers and Assistant Project Managers) to the assigned programme or projects to ensure successful delivery.

• Delivery of the programme or projects to the quality, time and budget tolerances agreed with the Senior Programme Manager or Programme Manager through regular reviews with wider project team members and reviews of project documentation, and ensuring that programme and project risks and dependencies are correctly captured and mitigated.

• Holding internal and external suppliers to account for meeting or exceeding delivery requirements and that issues are escalated where required.

• Influencing supplier contract variations and building relationships to support the delivery of technology projects and programmes to ensure TfL leverages the best value and return when delivering projects and programmes with external partners; authorise project and programme deliverables and contract payments to values agreed with the Programme Manager or Senior Programme Manager.

• Implementation of projects and programmes up to a value of c.£30m and overall length of up to 2 years, typically, to drive TfL and wider Greater London Authority family business.

• Developing effective relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and suppliers at a day-today level and create ways in which the relationships can be developed and improved.

• Setting high standards of programme and project management practice and coaching individuals within their team to meet or exceed those levels of performance.

Essential Skills:

• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and influence people at all levels across the organisation and outside, including negotiating and successfully facilitating joint decision making.

• Proven ability to manage and influence senior and external stakeholders in a delivery capacity.

• Proficient in applying programme or project risk management methods and techniques for the assessment and management of technology and business risk within programmes and across projects.

• A positive, can do attitude and proven ability to deliver cost effective solutions when met with difficult and challenging project and programme impacting risks and issues.

• Proven ability to manage multi-disciplinary teams to deliver effective end to end performance.

• Proven negotiation and problem solving skills including the ability to resolve customer

Essential Knowledge:

• Recognised project and programme methodologies eg APM, Prince 2 or MSP

• Extensive knowledge of planning, project and risk management tools and techniques

• Good knowledge and understanding of commercial and contract issues in a technology and/or transport service environment including knowledge and understanding of different forms of contract.

• Good knowledge of TfL’s governance structure relating to project authorisation, change management and decision making (or commensurate experience within a similarly scaled and complex operational business)

• Good understanding of financial control and procurement processes and techniques

• General awareness of relevant national and international legislation relating to Government/Public Sector IT – e.g. Data Protection Act, EU Procurement Directives, IT security mandates and the Freedom of Information Act .

Essential Experience:

• Extensive experience of personal responsibility for successfully planning, managing and delivering programmes and/or projects up to a value of £30M in a large, complex and regulated organisation, with multiple interfaces, and delivering to time, budget and quality.

• Proven experience of successfully managing and negotiating commercial and contract issues for programmes and/or projects up to a value of £30M.

• Proven ability to manage effective governance activities and managing sponsors including reporting on progress to project & programme board-level stakeholders.

• Substantial experience of programme and project delivery in a 'matrix' type structure where most contributing resources are not directly controlled and evidence of success when working with non-cooperating parties.

Desirable Experience and Attributes:

• Experience delivering projects or programmes within Data & Analytics, Technology Services, Contact Centre Operations, customer service or other operational environments, driving measurable improvements in service performance, customer experience, operational efficiency and business outcomes through technology-enabled change.

• Experience supporting ERP implementations, upgrades or wider business transformation programmes, including process improvement, systems integration, data migration, business readiness, adoption and benefits realisation.

• Experience delivering technology-enabled change across multiple business and technology domains, ensuring solutions align with operational, customer and strategic objectives.

• Experience using data, reporting and analytical tools to generate insights, support decision-making, monitor performance and drive continuous improvement.

• Understanding of the challenges associated with delivering change within business-critical operational environments, balancing transformation objectives with business continuity and service performance requirements.

• Demonstrable curiosity, adaptability and commitment to continuous learning, with an interest in emerging technologies, data capabilities and evolving ways of working.

Application Process:

• Please apply with a CV, maximum two pages, and cover letter, maximum one page, both in minimum 11pt font - applications that do not meet this requirement will not be accepted. Your CV and cover letter should describe how you meet the skills, knowledge and experience in the advert with examples where applicable. PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images.

• We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Equality, diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and aim to reflect the diverse communities we serve. We believe that a diverse workforce enables us to deliver better services and outcomes. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people. As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we aim to offer an assessment or interview to candidates who apply via the scheme where the minimum essential criteria for skills, knowledge and experience has been met. In some circumstances, it may not be practical to offer an interview or assessment to every candidate who applies through the scheme and meet the minimum essential criteria; in these situations, we select candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job rather than interviewing all who meet them.

Across all recruitment activity, we recognise that selection methods may vary depending on the nature and scale of the campaign and will be applied fairly, consistently and proportionately in line with our Disability Confident commitments.  

Benefits:

In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below:

Final salary pension scheme Free travel for you on the TfL network Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow Private healthcare discounted scheme Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme Retail, health, leisure and travel offers Discounted Eurostar travel

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4 week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

Vetting Process:

At Transport for London, safety, trust and fairness sit at the heart of how we recruit. Our Vetting Charter (https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/our-vetting-process) explains the checks we carry out before you join us, helping ensure we create a safe, inclusive and reliable network for everyone who depends on our services. We simply ask that the information you provide is honest and accurate so we can progress your application smoothly. If something doesn’t match or can’t be verified, we may not be able to move forward with your application, but we’ll always treat you with transparency, respect, and clear communication throughout.

TfL is currently unable to provide sponsorship to candidates for this role as the Home Office’s eligibility criteria for sponsorship will not be met. TfL keeps its approach under review in line with changes to UK immigration rules. We are also unable to provide advice or guidance on individual immigration queries and advise candidates to check the Government’s website for further information.

You may be required to undergo a Metropolitan Police NPPV1 (non-police personnel vetting) vetting process.