Associate Director – Project Management

Information

Location

UK

Reporting To

Head of Project Management

Hours

35 h / week - 9-5, Monday to Friday

Key Responsibilities

Commercial and Consulting Expertise

As a commercially minded delivery professional, the Associate Director demonstrates a strong consulting ethos. This role requires the ability to identify and shape new opportunities in both the public and private sectors. The Associate Director brings senior-level credibility and depth of advisory skills, with a proven record of securing and successfully delivering complex programmes within live operational environments.

Project Management Experience

The Associate Director is an experienced Project Management professional, particularly skilled in overseeing multi-disciplinary and multi-location projects. This includes managing complex, high-risk, or lead consultancy projects. The role involves leading projects valued at +£500,000 and assumes responsibility for managing large teams.

Professional Qualifications

A recognised Project Management qualification, such as PMQ or an equivalent certification, is required for this position. In addition, full individual membership of the Association for Project Management (APM) or a comparable professional project management body is considered standard for the Associate Director.

Delivery

• Accountable to the Head of Project Management function for creating and leading the project (‘engagements’) to deliver agreed outcomes agreed in the engagement within the time, cost, and quality constraints.
• Delivers engagements in line with Vercity VMS and SOPs and suggests improvements where appropriate

Project / Engagement Management

• Provides day-to-day management and leadership for the project (engagement) and team. Offers effective leadership and management controls, follows the VMS, sets project controls and ‘stop/go’ decision points, designs the project structure appropriate for its stage, sets delivery methodologies, and manages transitions between project phases.
• Manages the Engagement Delivery in accordance with the financial controls and operational excellence KPIs set by Vercity, e.g., Timesheets, Utilisation, Fee burndown, Invoicing and Billing, Margin and Quality

Business case

• Develops the business case for Client needs as engagement services, e.g., in line with HMT Greenbook or alternatives as required by the engagement.
• Develops specific engagement proposals as the engagement case to detail services for the client via the standard scope of services and terms of appointment.

Budget

• Develops the budget and tracks progress within it.

Resources

• Identifies skill requirements for all project stages, recruits resources within budget, and oversees resource deployment. This includes building the project team, delegating roles and responsibilities, developing capability, and fostering innovation.
• Manages resource forecasting, actuals and controls changes across this via monthly reviews to ensure change management is followed.

Benefits realisation

• Delivers the agreed benefits and outcomes from the business case. Identifies, understands, measures, tracks, and owns benefits. Ensures a benefits realisation strategy is in place and monitors long-term benefit delivery against the client’s business case and the Vercity engagement proposal.

Stakeholder management

• Collaborates with the Head of Project Management to manage senior stakeholders. Identifies and addresses stakeholder interests, manages communications, secures buy-in, and builds collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including, but not limited to, GMs, Trusts, and Local Authorities. Builds consensus among a diverse group of stakeholders.

Risks and issues

• Manages risks and issues, escalating to the Head of Project Management as needed. Ensures strategic and operational risks are identified, prioritised, assessed, and mitigated throughout the project. Keeps senior stakeholders briefed and engaged in risk management monitoring and control.

Governance

• Subject to governance processes and is required to provide reporting to the Head of Project Management. Establishes and manages quality assurance and change management processes.

Assurance

• Engages with assurance reviews and implements recommendations. Organises assurance processes, such as gateway reviews, as required by the Head of Project Management.

Change management  

• Ensures change management processes are in place to agree on and document changes to deliverables with stakeholders.

Guidance and support

• Provides support, guidance, and coaching for the project team, promoting effective individual and team performance.

Project performance and controls

• Develops and agrees on the vision and success criteria with the Head of Project Management. Maintains the project plan and integrates it with other interdependent projects. Monitors progress, enforces standards, applies good practices, and learns from lessons. Defines and agrees on deliverables with stakeholders. Manages project closure and sign-off.

Digital and data

• Ensures the use of digital tools for planning, scheduling, and resource management. Uses data insights to monitor project performance and implement changes.

Sustainability

• Ensures that environmental and social considerations are embedded in programme design, procurement and monitoring processes.

General

• Maintain a programme of personal professional development
• Ensure that confidential information is not disclosed about Vercity or its associated companies (including details regarding patients and staff) to any unauthorised member of staff, or to anyone outside the employment of the company.  In addition, abide by the confidentiality policies of the Trust
• Ensure that HSAW legislation is fully observed at all times and that Vercity’s HSAW policies and procedures are adhered to
• Undertake other duties as requested by Vercity in accordance with Vercity’s delivery of contract requirements

This job description is intended to outline, in general terms, the responsibilities of the post-holder, which may change over time in line with Vercity’s Corporate and local business needs and the particular engagement letters.  It will therefore be subject to periodic review.

This job description is intended to reflect, in outline, the responsibilities of the post-holder which may change over time with the Corporate and local business needs of Vercity and the particular PFI contract. It will therefore, be subject to periodic review.

Person Specification

EXPERIENCE and KNOWLEDGE

• Proven experience in project management, including all aspects of process development and execution in a high-profile, high-volume environment
• Understanding of the relationship between client, SPV and service provider
• Proven record of service delivery
• Experience of PFI Projects
• Ability to work under own initiative with minimal supervision
• Excellent report writing skills
• Relevant professional qualifications in respect to Hard FM
• All-round experience of construction disciplines

Desirable

• Worked in a PFI Healthcare environment
• Led and managed staff or service providers in either a direct or indirect setting
• Qualified to Authorised Person level in an appropriate discipline
• Thorough knowledge and experience of Whole Life Costing

SKILLS and COMPETENCIES

Association of Project Management (APM) Competency area Level Commercial and procurement The ability to work with commercial colleagues to procure goods and services and manage contracts effectively to deliver the work. Practitioner Requirements management The ability to capture stakeholder needs, assess, define and justify those needs to arrive at an agreed schedule of requirements for the work. Practitioner Planning The ability to define the fundamental components of the work in terms of its scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and budget. It also includes the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of the work. Practitioner Resource management The ability to identify, profile, secure and manage the resources required to deliver the work. Practitioner Budgeting and cost management The ability to estimate costs, produce a budget and control forecasts and actual spend against budget. Practitioner Risk and issue management The ability to systematically identify and monitor risks and issues, plan how to mitigate or respond to those risks and issues and implement the responses. Practitioner Quality management The ability to plan, develop, maintain and apply quality management processes to ensure adherence to those standards throughout the lifecycle of the work. Working Business change and implementation The ability to integrate the solution into operations, ensuring that activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits. Practitioner Governance The ability to clearly define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities and establish controls and approval routes appropriate to each stage of the work to monitor progress and compliance. Expert Frameworks and methodologies The ability to identify and amend appropriate frameworks and methodologies to enable a consistent and efficient approach to delivery at all stages of the lifecycle. Practitioner Stakeholder engagement The ability to systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders, using appropriate channels, to ensure all those impacted by the change are engaged, taking account of their levels of influence and particular interests. Expert Assurance The ability to establish, plan and manage reviews at appropriate points through the life cycle to provide confidence that the work can be delivered to the agreed outcomes and benefits within time, cost, quality, and other constraints. Practitioner Change control The ability to establish protocols to manage and document all requests for changes to scope, timescales, costs, benefits or other approved baselines for the work. This includes the capture, evaluation and approval or rejection of change requests. Working Business case development The ability to prepare, develop, commission and update business cases to justify the initiation and continuation of projects in terms of benefits, value for money and risk. Practitioner Benefits management The ability to identify, value, plan and track benefits to justify investment and ensure the expected outcomes and social value are realised. Practitioner Knowledge management The ability to identify, share and promote best practices and lessons learned to create a culture of learning and good practice that supports continuous improvement to optimise project delivery. Practitioner Digital and data The ability to effectively leverage digital tools and data analytics for better project delivery outcomes. Combining an understanding of digital technologies with the ability to manage, interpret and utilise data to make informed decisions, improve efficiency and achieve outcomes and benefits. Practitioner Sustainability The ability to incorporate environmental and social considerations into the strategic objectives of the work and to effectively identify, assess and manage these throughout the lifecycle, seeking to maximise benefits and mitigate negative impacts. Practitioner Computer literate across the Microsoft suite and project management software packages Ability to solve problems in complex environments Good communication skills and an ability to communicate complex issues in an easily understandable and persuasive manner Strong report writing skills Strong planning and organisation skills with the ability to prioritise and work to deadlines with excellent attention to detail Ability to use initiative and manage situations effectively Ability to work under own initiative with minimal supervision Excellent written and presentational skills Ability to apply effective management of internal and external relations using tact, persuasion and teamwork, exchanging routine and non-routine information clearly so that the recipient can understand and act upon it as required Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to utilise these to build trust and confidence

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Competency area Level Visible leadership The ability to engage, motivate and coach others. To act as a role model and inspire and empower others. Aligned with the leadership Expert Credible action The ability to promote the wider public good in all actions and to act in a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner at all times. Challenges unacceptable behaviour. Aligned with the leadership Expert Working with ambiguity The ability to work in an environment of uncertainty and continual change. Able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the whole picture and re-focus as details emerge. Can apply knowledge and techniques to reduce ambiguity. Aligned with making practical decisions Practitioner Collaboration The ability to establish and develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit the project. Aligned with working together Expert Influencing The ability to influence, change and impact decisions with both internal and external stakeholders. Aligned with the communicating and influencing Expert Conflict resolution The ability to recognise, anticipate, and effectively deal with existing or potential conflicts at an individual, team or strategic level. Aligned with working together and leadership Expert Inspiring others The ability to create and present a compelling vision and set a clear direction that motivates others to work towards a common goal. Aligned with the leadership Expert Resilience The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and adverse situations whilst remaining calm, reassuring others and maintaining performance. Aligned with the delivery at pace Expert Innovation The ability to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. Encourages and supports others’ innovations, and is willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation. Aligned with the changing and improving Practitioner Culture change The ability to plan, lead and effect positive cultural change, securing commitment and buy-in, and promoting a positive long-term vision. Recognises when a broader cultural shift is necessary to deliver a project. Aligned with seeing the big picture, and changing and improving Expert Can do attitude with a flexible approach to work and time management High level of integrity Possessing a high degree of self-confidence and resilience to withstand criticism of the compliance process, as it may identify areas where poor practice has been the previous norm   Qualifications Degree-level education or equivalent experience PRINCE2 Practitioner Agile Project Management Practitioner APM Chartered Project Professional APM Project Management Qualification Membership – CIOB, RICS or similar

 

 

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