Programme Manager

Salary: £43,116 per annum

Hours: Full time/Part-time (minimum 30 hours per week)

Contract Type: Open Ended

Location: Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell, Oxfordshire OR Science and Technology Facilities Council, Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington OR Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh OR Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire

Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians and business support team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it’s sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society.

Come and discover how much you can achieve when you’re surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn and empowered to explore your curiosity.

As part of Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC) within UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Strategy, Planning and Communications (SPC) Directorate brings together the essential functions that are needed to help shape, communicate and monitor progress against STFC’s strategic plans. Our role is to enable the organisation to determine its strategic direction and translate this into a coherent set of plans, communicating these across the organisation.

In SPC, open communication and mutual support are encouraged. We are always looking to build positive change in our Directorate: our teams cultivate a safe environment and are ambitious in our actions to challenge inequities when we find them.

About the role

The role will support the work of the SPC Directorate. SPC is developing a flexible way of working to give staff the chance to work on a range of opportunities, and ensure staff are working on the most impactful and important work for STFC and UKRI. The role will initially be focused on work across the Evidence and Impact and Strategy teams but in the future could be deployed on projects across the department. The main areas of work are likely to include:

• supporting the development of business cases to bid for new major investments
• reporting to key internal and external stakeholders including Government on STFC’s portfolio of major investments
• supporting the management of key STFC data, associated processes and systems
• implementing project and programme processes to maximise value of STFC’s project investments for example our Benefits Realisation Management Framework
• leading or supporting the development of cross-cutting science and technology strategies, working with experts across STFC/UKRI
• supporting the operation of STFC’s Science Boards, including the planning and preparation of meeting agendas and papers, meeting notes and reporting

The role covers a range of areas including business cases, project and programme management, data management and supporting strategy processes. Experience in at least one of these and enthusiasm for developing in the other areas is essential.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Whatever our role, we have the freedom to explore, learn and connect, as part of a community that loves to share knowledge and support one another.

As one of Europe’s largest research organisations, this is a place where there’s always something new to learn - about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself. Join us and discover what’s possible.

STFC values their employees by offering a benefits package designed to provide an excellent work/life balance including 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege holidays, flexible working hours, exceptional average salary pension scheme, social and sporting activities and societies and a subsidised restaurant.

Person Specification

The criteria below will be assessed at Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I)

1. Experience: Your experience in one of the role areas or similar type of programme management will be assessed (S&I)
2. Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills with keen attention to detail; ability to develop and deliver well-structured and clearly-articulated documents and presentations for internal and external audiences (S&I)
3. Planning & Organisational: An ability to plan and prioritise your own work and the work of others to deliver successful outcomes, as well as respond flexibly to changing requirements as required (S)
4. Team working & Collaboration: Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively to identify challenges, develop creative solutions and implement changes within a team setting (S)
5. Strategic Thinking: Proficiency in developing and executing strategic plans, setting priorities, allocating resources and driving initiatives aligned with organisational goals (I)
6. Leadership Skills: Demonstrate the capability to make well informed decisions, seek opportunities, articulate a clear vision, convey ideas, whilst providing direction and motivation (I)

Additional Information

To apply for this position, please submit a CV, and a covering letter in which you describe your motivations for applying and how you meet the criteria in the person specification. In shortlisting for interview we will assess applications against areas 1-4 of the person specification. At interview, we will assess you against areas 1,2, 5 and 6.

You are advised to write no more than 4 pages for the CV and covering letter combined, and applications without a covering letter will be excluded from shortlisting.

Candidates may have backgrounds in research, industry, or the third sector, including those considering returning to work from a career break, health change or caring responsibility.