Senior Project Manager Candidate Pack
The University of Law (ULaw) is one of the world’s largest law schools. With an impressive history dating back to 1876, the University employs over 900 staff and has over 14,000 students studying on their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, along with an alumni network in excess of 100,000. They were the first-ever independent institution to be granted degree awarding powers and in 2012 gained university title. With a rich heritage and a reputation for innovation and contemporary teaching practices, the University continuously focuses on developing the best legal and business minds. In 2016, they opened their leading Business School, further enhancing their reputation as a full service legal, business and educational training specialist, operating from campuses throughout the UK, Berlin and Hong Kong and an Online campus. What really sets them apart from other universities is the guiding principle that future lawyers and business leaders should learn in a realistic, professional and contemporary context, with plenty of practical interactive engagement. That’s why they keep their contact hours high and their teaching groups small. Over the past 5 years the University has doubled student enrolments and continues to grow. They are extremely ambitious and plan to expand and diversify both in the UK and worldwide. As they have grown, the continuing enhancement of their brand and reputation for teaching quality and student satisfaction has been at the core of everything that they do. Whilst their legacy and identity as a specialist legal education provider remains central to who they are, they have successfully diversified their offering into business and accounting dis- ciplines, with a rapidly expanding suite of programmes delivered in their UK and overseas campuses. They plan to expand their portfolio into new applied and professionally accredited disciplines. As a pri- vate university, they are agile and innovative, anticipating the future needs of their students, their client firms and society as a whole. In 2020 their student recruitment exceeded 10,000 for the first time in their history and, whilst they remain a predominantly postgraduate university, their undergraduate numbers are also growing strongly. In 2020 they were ranked 1st for overall student satisfaction in England in the National Student Survey. Their success is driven by their reputation as a specialist university of the highest quality, offering students a unique and practice-led learning experience.
BACKGROUND
Vision and Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan
Vision and mission
Caring for our students is at the heart of everything we do. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them, supporting their ambitions and ensuring they are respected and valued.
In 2025 we will be the leading global university of law, business and the professions with a network of online and worldwide locations. Digital technology will enable us to offer unparalleled flexibility, based around cutting edge facilities and environments, further removing geographical barriers to education. We will offer the same quality of teaching and learning experience, with the convenience to study where, when and how our students want. At the heart of this are our people and values. Many of our staff, stakeholders and students helped to shape our new vision and strategic plan.
We are deeply committed to delivering a high-quality service and education. We support and accept appropriate and managed risks, in the pursuit of growth and progress whilst maintaining quality.
Vision and Mission
Strategic Plan
We are dynamic and future-focused, anticipating and embracing change with creativity and motivation.
We are agile and adaptable, leading change and meeting the changing demands of our students and employers, all the while updating our knowledge and practice to improve our performance and the student experience.
We embrace our challenges as learning and growth opportunities and prepare our students, with confidence and resilience, to do the same.
We work together in a collegiate way, challenging one another whilst treating each other with dignity and respect - embracing diversity of experience and background that allows people to do their best and thrive.
We have a global outlook and connect across different cultures. We are a diverse, inclusive community where everyone is welcomed and valued, and our differences are a source of strength.
Our diversity and inclusion initiatives are at the heart of our strategic plan to empower our staff and student community.
Vision and Strategic Plan
Our International Community
Core components of our Strategic Plan
We will establish new, and strengthen existing, pathways for international students to join us - including through our oversees campuses and our strategic partnerships.
Our Learning Journey
Building on our heritage of outstanding teaching and support for our students, we will deliver excellent standards in innovative learning, teaching and applied research that transforms lives and is globally recognised However, our learning journey does not end in the classroom, and we will continue to grow our support services and technologies, deepening our care for our students and offering ever closer support networks. We were ranked top university in England for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2020 and also achieved top ten placements amongst other universities for eleven further categories across the UK including: ‘The Teaching on my Course’ (4th), ‘Student Voice’ (4th), and ‘Assessment and feedback’ (7th). And in the latest Teaching and Excellence and Student Outcome Framework we were awarded silver for our teaching, learning and outcomes. Our performance in the critical categories of teaching excellence and academic support for students is sector leading.
We will embed inclusivity and multicultural values into the curriculum and develop new modules to define and address ethical issues and the rights of minority and protected groups.
Core components of our Strategic Plan
Through collaboration with our international partners we will create global learning and employability opportunities.
Our Learning Journey
Our Learning Environment
Our People
Our International Community
We will develop, retain and recruit the highest calibre people, increasing the ethnic representation to reflect the diversity in our students.
Our People
By uniting academic and business professionals, we will innovate and personalise our students’ future teaching and learning, bringing knowledge from the front line of practice.
Our Impact
Our Impact
Graduates will leave ULaw with the experiences and skills to drive change, helping to transform the future of society and the professions.
They will have not only a world class qualification, but also a sense of purpose and empowerment that they can have a positive impact on their environments.
Our Learning Environment
We will transform our study and work settings through the use of the most advanced technology and resources.
Through our pioneering Employability Service we will shape our graduates into the next generation of professionals. They will be digitally confident, have broad project management skills, and strong leadership potential.
By combining our physical and online campus environments and infrastructure, we will create adaptable and flexible spaces for learning and support.
CAMPUSES
1. Birmingham
2. Bristol
3. Chester
4. Guildford Campus
5. Leeds Campus
6. London Bloomsbury Campus
Birmingham
Nottingham
7. London Moorgate Campus
8. Manchester Campus
9. Nottingham Campus
10. The University of Law at UEA in Norwich
11. The University of Law in Exeter
Hong Kong
Guildford
12. The University of Law in Liverpool
13. The University of Law at Reading
14. Hong Kong Centre
All of our campuses are in thriving commercial areas and offer the same fully-resourced facilities, including well equipped IT suites with PCs for DVD and i-Tutorials, comprehensive law libraries with all the latest legal texts, quiet study areas and places to relax.
15. Online
Moorgate
Bristol
16. The University of Law at Chester
17. GISMA Berlin
18. Sheffield
Our Digital Transformation
The University of Law is entering a pivotal period of transformation; accelerating growth in an ever more competitive world to attract students globally, with intensive imperatives on widening access and reducing differences in outcomes related to our students’ backgrounds. Naturally, student expectations are rightly rising with ever heightened perceptions of how their money is being used and what they want for it. At the same time, the University is quickly adapting to changes in the Higher Education sector around regulatory regimes and funding. One of the University’s strengths is its focus on internationalism in our education and employability offer and also the focus on cutting-edge facilities and environments, blending our physical and online learning and working environments. Delivering world-class digital services, skills and capabilities is an integral part of the University of Law’s ambitious strategy for the next 5 years, underpinning every stage of the student journey from recruitment through to teaching and learning to graduation and beyond. Sector-leading IT tools and solutions enable our academic and professional services teams to deliver high quality, flexible learning experiences with the convenience to study where, when and how our students want. Over the next two years, IT will transform our digital landscape, replacing legacy solutions and implementing innovative new technologies and the IT Projects and Change teams play a critical role in this. Working with the Director of IT Innovation and Programme Delivery, the team of project managers, business analysts and business intelligence experts work closely with stakeholders across the University to identify critical needs, design fit for purpose solutions and implement them effectively. Team expertise in project management, data analytics and business analysis is coupled with strong stakeholder skills, focus on delivering high quality services and a passion for innovative ideas and approaches. This fixed term role is an excellent opportunity to experience life at a sector-leading Higher Education organisation, ideal not only for candidates who already have HE experience and are interested in working at a more commercially-focused institution but also for candidates from a commercial background who wish to move into education.
Main Function of Job: Responsible for: Main Function of Job:
JOB DESCRIPTION
• Managing key projects and ensuring delivered to, scope, time, quality & budget • Ensuring that all projects deliver the defined objectives to the specified quality standard and that the sponsor owns the measurement and delivery of the benefits set out in the business case • Building and maintaining effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders to enable successful implementation of projects and change requests • Reviewing and developing project methodology and documentation to ensure that all projects follow a defined process • Providing project management specialist advice and support to colleagues within IT and the business • Monitoring of project costs and expenditure in accordance with organisational guidelines and procedures. • Ensuring that risk management is embedded within projects and that it underpins all decision making. • Supporting the work of the Director of IT Innovation and Programme Delivery by managing the portfolio reporting and driving the assessment of incoming demand requests to IT.
Reporting Line:
• Senior Project Manager reports directly to the Director of IT Innovation and Programme Delivery
Job Title: Senior Project Manager Career (R&R) Level: Team Member
Department: IT
Reporting to Director of IT Innovation and Programme Delivery Location Home Working
Direct Reports None
JOB DESCRIPTION
Client Service
Specif c Responsibilities i
• Provide an excellent project management service to internal stakeholders • Ensure all projects deliver outcomes that have a positive impact on internal and/or external customers • Promote and sustain a constructive, supportive and friendly working relationship with all customers, external and internal, senior management and other work colleagues. • Build and establish strong working relationships with the business to enable collaboration on projects
• Produce Project Initiation Documents (PIDs) for all projects • Prepare Project Plans, Stage plans and (if necessary) Exceptions Plans • Ensure that all tasks on the plan are allocated to individuals and monitor progress to ensure they are delivered on time and that milestones are met • Deliver projects and change requests to agreed timescales ensuring: • Deadlines are realistic • Benefits are managed and delivered • Issues are identified and managed • Risks are logged and mitigation and contingency plans are in place • Solution is fit for purpose • Solution is documented so that it can be maintained and supported • Solution is thoroughly tested before being released to live environment • Progress is reported on a regular basis via highlight reports and progress meetings
Specific Responsibilities
Business Focus
• Ensure that projects do not exceed cost, time or quality tolerances as specified in the Project initiation Documents • Ensure that project business cases are reviewed regularly and any significant changes are reported to the Project sponsor / executive • Ensure 3rd party costs are minimized and adhere to agreed budgets, escalating any risks to the appropriate governance structure. • Ensure a sound understanding of business developments and priorities. • Work closely with stakeholders to obtain agreement on project and change request deliverables • Ensure that communications are active, bi-directional and embedded in the decision-making process. • Ensure communications are measured, relevant and trusted. • Communicate and obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders following delivery of projects and change requests, analysing comments and requests, and prioritising if action is required Professional Skills • Actively take responsibility for your own personal career development in all respects. • Through active networking and research develop an awareness and knowledge of the legal and commercial market nationally. • Maintain knowledge of Project Management best practices (through networking, training and technical journals) • Ensure your performance review takes place on a timely basis and that objectives are set and agreed. In addition to the responsibilities listed above, the job holder may be required to perform other duties as assigned by members of the IT management team from time to time.The job holder has a duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons with whom they come into contact at work. The job holder also has a duty to co-operate with the University in complying with any statutory duty or requirement concerning health and safety at work. In particular, they must familiarise themselves with the Health and Safety Policy and its safety and fire procedures. This job description is to be read in conjunction with the relevant Roles and Responsibilities Career Level document. This job description is correct at September 2021. It may vary in consultation with the post holder to reflect changes within the market place, in IT and the University.
• Project finances managed ensuring:
• Funds for the project are scheduled optimally • Business case at the core of decision making • Financial tolerances monitored effectively across all projects • Risks evaluated in financial terms and economically viable response plans formulated and agreed.
• Create lessons learned and project closure reports • Maintain project methodology and ensure it is followed for all projects. • Support IT portfolio management through: • Managing high-quality, timely portfolio reporting with contributions from other PMs in the team • Report on portfolio progress and the incoming pipeline at IT senior management meetings • Contributing to initial assessment of new requests to the IT pipeline
PERSON SPECIFICATIONS
Training & Education Essential • PRINCE 2 or similar Project management methodology • MS Project • Proficient Microsoft applications user, in particular Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Visio
Behavioural Skills
Essential • Good interpersonal skills and be able to communicate effectively with clients, colleagues and technical staff • Ability to multi-task and work on multiple projects at one time • Commitment to see tasks to completion • Positive (“can do”) and helpful attitude • Team player; happy to work unsupervised • Works well under pressure • Logical and adaptive • Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to prioritise work effectively. • Sense of ownership and responsibility for the work deliverables
Education
Experience
Desirable • Graduate level or equivalent • Prince 2 Practitioner Experience
Special Skills & Knowledge
Behavioural Skills
Special Circumstances
Essential • At least 5 years’ experience of working as an IT Project Manager • Working under pressure to meet demanding targets • Liaison with internal and external customers and building effective working relationships • Managing, prioritising, scheduling of own tasks
Special Circumstances
Essential • Flexibility in working hours will be required to meet the demands of the role. • Remote working with occasional trips to London/Guildford (eg 1 per month)
Desirable • Worked in an educational establishment • Experience of selling ideas to management Skills & Knowledge Essential
• Excellent Project Management skills • Excellent People management skills • Project & workload planning • Excellent standard of written and oral communication (good spelling and grammar, clear and concise)
Desirable • Problem-solving
Application Process
The University is being supported on this recruitment campaign by the search consultancy The Management Recruitment Group (MRG) .
To arrange a brief conversation please contact our advisor s Sian Gardiner ( 020 3962 9900 / 07932 717 458 / sian.gardiner@mrgpeople.co.uk ) or Charlotte Turedi (020 3962 9900 / 07852 131 794 / charlotte.turedi@mrgpeople.co.uk) of MRG . Applications should contain a CV and Covering Letter and should be sent to Sian Gardiner or Charlotte Turedi at the Management Recruitment Group . ( sian.gardiner@mrgpeople.co.uk / / charlotte.turedi@mrgpeople.co.uk).
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