Senior Project Manager at Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, Leeds, 18 months, £Contract Rate

On behalf of Defra, we are looking for a Senior Project Manager (Inside IR35) for a contract up to 18 months based remotely which does include occasional visits 1 or 2 days a month to either the Leeds, Birmingham or London offices

In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people's lives. We are responsible for England's environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives. These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out.

The Environment Agency's Commercial and Framework Management team provides Operational Commercial Services, Should Cost and Benchmarking Intelligence, Operational Framework Management, Future Framework Provision and a Centre of Excellence. This role sits in the Future Frameworks team. We work with Defra Group Commercial to develop and procure the operational frameworks needed to enable the delivery of the Environment Agency's asset management activities through our supply chain. You will manage the delivery of one of more of the projects that develop and procure operational frameworks

As a Senior Project Manager, your main responsibilities will be:

• Working in a complex uncertain environment
• Stakeholder engagement at all levels and building working relationships
• Working within commercial management across frameworks
• Managing the delivery of large complex projects
• Change Implementation duties
• Monitor project plan deliverables and prioritize actions
• Plan, monitor, control and prioritize resources to maximize the efficient use of people and resources. Identifies risks and opportunities, taking action to deal with issues and ensuring appropriate allocation of time and effort
• Identifying joint opportunities across the business for delivery.
• Ensuring awareness of other frameworks across the business to ensure joined up delivery.
• Managing project risks and escalating issues through area project governance structures.

Essential Skills

• Extensive experience in the delivery of large complex projects
• Strong stakeholder management skills
• Good communication skills with the ability to collaborate within a dispersed team.
• Ability to quickly pick up organizational ways of working
• The ability to bring big-picture thinking that improves the methods, behaviour 's and processes
• Experience of managing contracts ideally commercial within a large framework
• Experience of managing relationships with suppliers across contracts
• Strong self starter

Desirable Skills

• NEC4 contract experience would be highly beneficial

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, Defra guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.