Deputy Head of Project Management

Computing and Information Services

Grade 8: – £43,414 – £51,805 per annum

Open-Ended/Permanent – Full Time

Contracted Hours per Week: 35

Closing Date: 31-Oct-2022, 7:59:00 AM

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.

Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University.

Further information about the University can be found here

The Role and Department

The Computing and Information Services (CIS) has an annual operational budget in excess of £12m, multi-million pound programmes of change within year, and approximately 185 staff. The Senior Leadership Team report directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) with the following portfolios: Strategy and Change; Operations; Information Systems, and Cyber Security. CIS work with departments across the university to provide academic, teaching and administrative services that underpin the day-to-day activities of the whole organisation. Details of the Digital Strategy and ongoing work can be found at https://www.dur.ac.uk/cis/digitalstrategy/

CIS is a friendly, but demanding department, where much is expected and can be achieved by competent, self-motivated individuals who work well in teams. The department works in a hybrid capacity depending on the job role and individual personal requirements.

The department’s PMO is a driven and motivated team with a strong vision for what project management can achieve. We are looking for a multi-skilled project manager with a track record of successful project delivery and experience of line management to support the ongoing success of the PMO, wider department and University.-

The Key Responsibilities Of The Role Include
Lead the planning and implementation of project initiatives. Identify and manage project dependencies, risks, issues and the critical path.
Oversee and manage project scope, tasks, goals, deliverables and timelines in accordance with enterprise project management tools and philosophies.
Monitor the progress of projects, highlighting exceptions as required.
Line manage a team of Project Managers.

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:
30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.
The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into this University Superannuation Scheme (USS) which the University will add contributions of 21.4%.
No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
On site nursery is available and children’s clubs in the summer holidays.
Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
If you are moving to Durham, we can help with the removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas

Durham University is committed to equality diversity, inclusion and values

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.

As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What You Need To Demonstrate When You Apply/Person Specification

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.

Your Application Should Cover The Following Criteria

Essential Criteria 
Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally, to support project delivery and influence perceptions of the University.
Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office.
Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
Professional project practitioner with specialist knowledge and expertise used to influence events and activities within the area of Project Management and the wider organisation.
Experience of providing specialist project management advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues. A
bility to contribute to project planning and planning within the wider Project Management area at operational and strategic levels.
Track record of successful line management responsibility and team development, applied across a large service team or teams.
Qualified to PRINCE 2 Practitioner level or equivalent experience of working in a project management environment.
Experience of delivering large and complex IT projects with multiple stakeholders that realise their intended benefits.
Experience of project financial control.
Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
Knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines

Desirable
Experience of IT procurements.
Continuing professional development required to maintain professional recognition.

How To Apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.  

Submitting your application

We prefer to receive applications online.   We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

What You Need To Submit
A CV  
A covering letter or supporting statement which outlines how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification   

Contact details

For a chat about the role or any further information, Claire Henderson (Head of Project Delivery) would be happy to speak to you. Please get in touch by email ([email protected]).

Further information about the role

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery
Lead the planning and implementation of project initiatives.
Create highlight reports with progress, risks and issues and ensure that project boards and the CIS Management Team are kept fully briefed and have the necessary information available to make decisions.
Prepare and communicate project initiation documents and maintain project documentation throughout the project life-cycle.
Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises, and devise contingency plans.
Lead on the design, implementation and monitoring of policy and quality standards, procedures and systems to ensure effective working and continuous improvement.
Ensure all activities, processes and transactions are accounted for accurately and promptly to meet regulatory and professional service and policy standards.
Implement processes to manage the integrity and security of all commercially and professionally sensitive and personal data.
Responsible for allocating and monitoring financial budgets and resources.
Produce communications for promotion and reporting purposes, designing and structuring information and fact, applying creative and innovative principles to influence and engage. 
A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.

Planning and Organising
Identify and manage project dependencies, risks, issues and the critical path at an individual project level and across multiple projects facilitated by CIS PMs.
Oversee and manage project scope, tasks, goals, deliverables and timelines in accordance with enterprise project management tools and philosophies.
Develop and maintain resource plans for the projects, working with relevant managers and team leaders to resolve resource conflicts and monitoring the outputs of individuals to ensure they are contributing effectively to projects.
Maintain an oversight of the service and performance metrics to provide reports for higher level managers and committees.

Teamwork and Team Development
Manage and develop the CIS Project Management service.
Devolve responsibilities to team members to ensure continuity of service provision and encourage skills development.
Ensure all stakeholder-facing staff provide an accessible, friendly and professional service by shaping processes for inducting and developing staff.
Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff Annual Development Reviews (ADR) and performance reviews.
Recruit, induct, train and develop new team members.
Help to shape the skills and expertise of future team members and design work structures to meet operational and strategic goals.
Handle the vast majority of HR issues within a team, referring more complex HR issues to appropriate support services/senior management.
Contribute to operational leadership teams and decision making to shape the nature and level of support services.
Maintain oversight of all people engaged in the project and be responsible for keeping people to project deadlines.
This will require excellent team leadership skills and the ability to negotiate with and influence a large number of people, including senior academic staff, administrative staff, and students.

Communication/Networking
Liaise and engage with key stakeholders and internal and external contractors/suppliers to influence opinion, delivery and reputation of services.
Lead internal business meetings, working groups and sub-committees at operational service level to influence governance, organisational policy and standards for the service.
Analyse stakeholder feedback, implementing and reviewing service provision.
Work with team members and stakeholders to build and maintain excellent working relationships.
Provide professional guidance to stakeholders regarding project management and the associated processes.

Knowledge And Experience
Provide expert professional subject and managerial and leadership expertise.
Promote and develop a deep understanding of organisational policy and external developments.
Deliver professional expertise, make recommendations and identify priorities to achieve business outcomes and objectives.
Develop external relationships, identifying and developing opportunities for communities of practice and ways to engage with other organisations and project management forums.
Any other reasonable duties.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data. 

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.