Project Manager

Overview

In this role you drive end-to-end delivery of complex change initiatives within Heriot-Watt’s Global Project Management Office. You will work across academic, professional services and external partners to realise benefits from technology, process, or infrastructure changes. The role combines governance, planning and financial oversight with autonomous delivery and stakeholder engagement. You will join a strategic portfolio that supports the university’s priorities and impact across campuses.

Pay / Benefits

• 33 days annual leave
• 9 buildings closed days
• flexible working on request

Responsibilities

• Tailor and apply project life cycle approaches to match context and risk
• Establish and maintain governance and reporting aligned with standards
• Develop and refine the business case to align with strategy and value for money
• Create and maintain an integrated project management plan (scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risks, issues, communications and benefits)
• Monitor delivery performance, forecast outcomes, and take corrective action when needed
• Oversee project financial management including budgeting, forecasting and cost control
• Identify and manage risks, issues, dependencies and assumptions with proactive responses
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams, possibly including line management, and coordinate internal/external resources
• Design stakeholder engagement and communication strategies for complex environments
• Plan transition activities to embed outputs into business-as-usual operations
• Define and monitor benefits realisation and support value optimization by owners
• Ensure sustainability, equality, ethical and compliance considerations in decision-making
• Capture and share lessons learned to improve delivery capability

Key requirements

• Degree in a relevant discipline (or equivalent professional qualification or demonstrable experience)
• Experience delivering change in higher education/academic sector
• Substantial experience delivering complex projects across full life cycle
• Strong governance, planning, risk and issue management, financial management and benefits realisation
• Demonstrable experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and coordinating matrix resources
• Sound professional judgement within a governance framework
• Highly effective stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills with senior stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability with data-driven decision making

• stakeholder engagement
• influencing
• communication
• project governance
• integrated planning
• risk and issue management

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