Project Manager – Biosecurity for LIFE

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Biosecurity for LIFE team and help establish biosecurity measures on the UK's internationally important seabird islands to safeguard ground-nesting seabirds from mammalian predators.

Biosecurity for LIFE Project Manager - Flexible in UK
Reference: OCT20225051
Location: Flexible in UK
Salary: £28,420.00 - £31,529.00 Per Annum
Contract: Fixed term until 31^st July 2023
Benefits: Pension, Annual Leave, Life Assurance

As the project manager, you will work with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver an extensive and innovative programme of activities across the UK. This role may involve travel to remote seabird islands and is an opportunity to work with inspiring individuals and help build resilience in threatened populations of burrow-nesting seabirds. 

The purpose of this role is to direct a team of biosecurity officers to deliver the outputs and outcomes of the Biosecurity for LIFE project and to see it to a successful conclusion. The project manager will be responsible for all aspects of project management. A key part of this role is to work with volunteers, partner organisation staff, and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure their participation in the project and to create opportunities to contribute to the project's outputs and outcomes.

Responsibilities of this role include:

• Produce relevant project documentation (including highlight reports).
• Ensure that stakeholders are kept fully involved and informed.
• Ensure the timely completion of the project on 31/07/2023.
• Identify, record, manage and communicate risks and issues, putting in place appropriate contingency actions -to reduce the likelihood of events that might prevent project outputs and objectives from being delivered on time.
• Manage the project budget against forecast, estimate costs, and ensure that exceptions beyond tolerance are escalated and approved to keep project costs within agreed tolerances.
• Ensure that all changes made to project baselines are managed effectively to prevent scope creep.
• Take responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiate corrective action where required – to keep the project on track.
• Manage handover to ‘business as usual by formally bringing the project to an end, preparation of any follow on actions required, and communicating to others where relevant.
• Contribute to sharing of project management best practices across the RSPB.

What we need from you

Essential skills and experience:

• Competent IT user (e.g. MS packages, Outlook etc).
• Demonstrable leadership ability, able to lead without line management authority.
• An ability to produce clear written communications.
• Demonstrable ability to manage changes within projects.
• Able to work under pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Proven time management and organisational skills.
• Experience of working to a standard project management approach (eg RSPB Project Management Framework, Prince II).
• Cost and budget management.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Demonstrable experience of developing and working in partnerships to achieve shared outcomes.
• An ability to persuade and influence a wide range of people, internally and externally.
• Logical & methodical, analytical and a good eye for detail.
• Experience of delivering a number of projects.

Closing date: 23:59 Monday 31^st October 2022

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.  Apply here.