About Us
The UK Agri-Tech Centre is a new organisation launched on 1 April 2024 and created from three of the original Agri-Tech centres.
Utilising our UK-wide assets, world-class facilities, and expertise, our new organisation is a gateway for funding programmes, such as the Farming Innovation Programme and Horizon Europe and it provides benefits to the whole supply chain, the UK economy and beyond.
We offer a complete life cycle of support, driving Agri-Tech innovation and adoption through world-class facilities, expert knowledge and business support to accelerate progress.
We strengthen the connections between science, business, and funders to accelerate research and development, tackling the industry’s most critical challenges, such as climate change, labour availability, disease mitigation and environmental sustainability.
Job Purpose
The Project Managers are responsible for the successful delivery of high level, complex or multifaceted projects within the UK Agri-Tech Centre portfolio through effective assurance, tracking and reporting.
To succeed in this role, you should have effective communication skills and be able to collaborate with the UK Agri-Tech Centre Partners as well as various industry and academic partners to deliver successful outcomes to set deadlines.
Ultimately, the role of the Project Manager is to support the whole project team to ensure that the project is governed and administered correctly, in line with Innovate UK guidelines and the approved Project Business Cases and Project Management Plans.
Main Duties
* You will take responsibility for leading and running the delivery of a wide range of Agri-Tech research projects including the following responsibilities:
* Ensure the winning bids for project funding are translated into delivery objectives and implemented to agreed outcomes within time, cost and quality standards.
* Maintain and monitor project plans, schedules, and resources to ensure projects remain on track.
* Collaborate with Technical Leads and the Project Accountant to update project plans and conduct resource forecasting.
* Review project finances, risks and opportunities during 1:1 monitoring meetings with the Project Portfolio Manager.
* Conduct monthly internal and external project reviews to track deliverables, timelines and budgets.
* Ensure deliverables and costs align with schedules and invoicing requirements.
* Address resource or project issues promptly, updating the Issues Log and provide updates on action plans.
* Lead stakeholder engagement to understand unique communication needs throughout the project lifecycle.
* Serve as the main contact for project-related queries from stakeholders, providing clarity on project scope, progress and activities.
* Organise and prepare materials for project stakeholder meetings, participating as needed.
* Produce management information data, including reports and dashboards, for the PMO and UK Agri-Tech Centre leadership, supporting governance and oversight.
* Utilise UK Agri-Tech Centre project reporting tools and governance arrangements effectively.
* Ensure the Master Project Portfolio and Business Portfolio Review documents are accurate and updated monthly.
* Maintain entries on project management tools, currently Asana, with correct naming conventions, permissions and up-to-date project details.
* Mentor and develop Project Coordinators, fostering their growth and addressing wellbeing needs.
* Assist with team-related administrative tasks.
* Act as a single source of truth for all assigned projects, ensuring alignment with timelines, resources and responsibilities.
* Attend handover meetings and manage all project start-up activities.
* Anticipate and manage delivery risks, assessing the impact to project delivery and managing mitigation and fallback plans. Highlighting obstacles to delivery in advance and pulling together the activities to overcome them.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience
* Strong track record working in project management, with complex and high value projects.
* APM PMQ / PRINCE2 Practitioner certification.
* The ability to prepare and interpret flowcharts, process maps, schedules, WBS and step-by-step action plans.
* Familiarity with risk management, governance principles and quality assurance.
* Intermediate level Excel skills would be essential.
* Experience of Innovate UK funded project delivery desirable.
* A background in either agriculture, agri-food or research environments is desirable.
* Flexible in applying knowledge and capable of adapting approaches to meet different project needs.
* Able to confidently manage stakeholders, challenging and influencing while maintaining good relationships.
* Strategic thinking, aligning project deliverables with business strategy.
* The ability to collaborate with colleagues effectively.
* The ability to use initiative and have the instinct to review information and breakdown to lower levels.
* Have a holistic view, be able to see the context of projects within the business model.
* Solid organisational skills, including multitasking and time-management.
* Strong client-facing and teamwork skills.
* Ability to translate technical and scientific dialogue into user friendly requirements.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
* Strong attention to detail.
* Strong Line management, mentoring, coaching and development skills.
Additional Information
This role is on a Fixed Term contract for 12 months.
This role will require some travel to ATC offices, partner sites and occasional project meetings.
Application Process
Closing date is January 22, 2025
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 12 months
Pay: £40,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* Casual dress
* Free parking
* Health & wellbeing programme
* On-site parking
* Sick pay
* Work from home
Schedule:
* Monday to Friday
* No weekends
Experience:
* Project Management: 2 years (preferred)
Work authorisation:
* United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in York YO10 5DQ
#J-18808-Ljbffr