Senior Project Manager

Senior Project Manager

Salary: From £51,000 per annum (negotiable based on experience) + comprehensive benefits package

Jisc grade: PRS4

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: Strategic delivery lead

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

About Jisc:

At Jisc, we're driven by a simple ambition: to use technology to transform education, research and innovation.

For more than 30 years, we've been the digital partner for the UK's education and research sectors, providing world-class networks, innovative digital services and expert guidance that help universities, colleges and research institutions thrive.

Our work supports millions of learners, educators and researchers every day, enabling everything from groundbreaking discoveries and life-changing research to exceptional digital learning experiences. While many people may not realise it, the technology and services we provide help power some of the UK's most important educational and research achievements.

Join Jisc and you'll be part of a purpose-driven organisation where your ideas can have a real impact. Together, we're shaping the future of learning, research and innovation for the benefit of society.

Lead Transformation. Influence a Sector. Deliver Meaningful Change.

At Jisc, we're helping shape the future of UK higher education through major digital and data transformation initiatives.

This is more than a project management role!

You'll have the opportunity to lead work that directly impacts institutions across the UK higher education sector, helping to deliver meaningful transformation at scale. You'll join a collaborative, supportive and highly skilled team where your expertise will be valued, your ideas encouraged and your leadership recognised.

If you're an experienced project leader who enjoys stakeholder engagement, thrives on complexity and wants to make a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you.

About the team

The Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) sits within our Transformation Directorate and acts as Jisc's centre of excellence for project and programme delivery.

The team is responsible for delivering strategic initiatives across the organisation, driving change that matters to our members, customers and the wider education sector. As a senior member of the EPMO, you'll contribute not only to delivering successful projects but also to shaping and advancing project management best practice across Jisc.

About the role

This role sits within a major transformation programme introducing In-Year Student Data and Statistics Reporting across the sector.

As a Senior Project Manager, you'll lead large-scale, business-critical projects with significant stakeholder complexity and organisational impact. You'll be responsible for driving delivery, ensuring robust governance, managing risks and dependencies, and building engagement across a diverse stakeholder landscape.

A key focus of the role will be leading strategic communications and stakeholder engagement activities, ensuring the right people are informed, involved and prepared throughout the transformation journey.

This is a role for someone who thrives in complexity, enjoys bringing clarity to ambiguity, and can confidently influence at all levels, from operational teams through to senior executives and sector stakeholders.

What you'll be doing

• Lead the delivery of complex, high-profile projects within a major transformation programme.
• Develop and deliver stakeholder engagement and communications strategies that support programme success.
• Facilitate workshops to identify stakeholder needs, capture insight and shape engagement approaches.
• Create and maintain communications and engagement roadmaps aligned to programme milestones.
• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, influencing, negotiating and driving alignment.
• Identify stakeholder risks, opportunities and emerging concerns, ensuring these are effectively managed.
• Produce insightful reporting and recommendations for programme leadership.
• Drive project governance, including risk and issue management, change control, financial oversight, benefits tracking and decision management.
• Ensure business change is successfully embedded and intended outcomes are realised.
• Support, mentor and guide colleagues within the EPMO, helping to raise project management maturity across the organisation.
• Make informed delivery decisions that balance speed, quality and scope while maintaining focus on strategic objectives.

What we're looking for

We're interested in hearing from experienced project professionals who can demonstrate:

Essential experience

• A proven track record of successfully delivering large, complex projects and programmes.
• Significant experience leading stakeholder engagement, communications or change-focused initiatives.
• Strong workshop facilitation skills and the ability to turn discussions into actionable delivery plans.
• Experience developing and delivering engagement and communication plans for diverse stakeholder groups.
• Success managing stakeholder risks, issues and competing priorities in complex environments.
• Experience delivering projects that combine both business change and stakeholder engagement.
• Strong governance and project control experience.
• Knowledge and practical application of recognised project management methodologies.
• Experience using project management tools, including Microsoft Project.

Essential skills

• Exceptional stakeholder management and relationship-building abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex information for different audiences.
• Strong influencing and negotiation capability.
• Strategic thinking combined with hands-on delivery expertise.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work confidently through ambiguity and complexity.
• Strong project leadership capabilities and a collaborative approach to driving change.
• A proactive, resilient and adaptable mindset.

It would be great if you also have

• Experience working within UK higher education.
• Experience supporting sector-wide transformation initiatives.
• Knowledge of higher education data collections, reporting or regulatory requirements.
• Experience coaching or mentoring project managers.
• The ability to operate comfortably at both executive and operational levels.

Qualifications

You'll bring:

• Education to at least A-Level standard (or equivalent).
• Evidence of continued professional development in project management.
• A recognised project management qualification such as PRINCE2®, AgilePM®, APM PMQ® or equivalent.
• A degree-level qualification would be an advantage.

Don’t meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

Our Guiding Principles:

Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it. However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls!

We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn.

Sponsorship:

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.