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Head of Project Management

The Head of Project Management is accountable for leading a team of Project and Senior Project managers in manifesto, delivering a varied portfolio of strategy and production-based projects.

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Applications are submitted through the TPXimpact recruitment platform. Read about our application process

Location:UK Wide (Hybrid)
Salary: £60,000 - £70,000

About the role

The Head of Project Management is accountable for leading a team of Project and Senior Project managers in manifesto, delivering a varied portfolio of strategy and production-based projects.


The role is also accountable for owning the Project Management playbook, defining the consistent ways of working around agile, waterfall and ensuring these are adhered to. Essentially this role owns the PMO heart of the manifesto delivery function, ensuring risks, budgets, planning and resourcing of projects are managed effectively.

The role will work closely with the Programme Director and Portfolio leads, to ensure new projects and programmes receive adequate project management support in the set-up phases and there is seamless transition into delivery and production. Working closely with client services team supporting and acting upon client escalations and project/client budgets.

This role will be billable, taking on client work and delivery that they can add the most value to, and by offering oversight, feedback and direction to their team.

Accountable to the business for:

  • Delivering billable work
  • Line management of the project managers
  • Ensuring project managers (and the wider members of the squads) understand and are trained in our project management systems and processes - performance managing where there are gaps and capability issues
  • Ensuring each project within our portfolio is managed according to those processes
  • Defining and implementing improvements to project management tools
  • Managing and reporting on risk  and budget performance across portfolio
  • Identifying and implementing risk mitigation strategies both within individual projects and across the portfolio
  • Being a point of escalation for project managers and clients
  • Maintaining and showcasing a centre of ‘Project management and delivery excellence’ through working in partnership with the Programme / Portfolio Director
  • Contributing to new business and growth opportunities when needed
  • Promoting the craft of ‘delivery’ across manifesto, TPX and in the public domain
  • Creating thought leadership, blog and marketing content etc.

Key Accountabilities

Hands on delivery of billable work

  • Working with our clients to deliver projects and change initiatives in line with agreed time, scope and budget parameters and to the highest standards (as per the role of Project Manager).

Project Management/PMO

  • Ensuring quality across all our projects; instilling this as a priority in our project managers and the wider teams/squads
  • Ensuring projects within remit are delivered on time and to budget
  • Acting as a PMO for the business, the Head of Project Management will report across the active portfolio of projects in relation to:
    • Budget: burn rates (overburn or underburn) and risk mitigation strategies in relation to this
    • Timelines and potential extensions
    • Overall project governance, particularly in relation to risk management
    • Potential upsell or cross-sell opportunities
    • Resource and capacity management, working with the Production Director.
  • Own and keep up to date the delivery playbook
  • Lead the Project Management community of practice at manifesto with the Programme Director
  • Act as a role model for exemplary project management in all projects you are active in, modelling ways of working, behaviours etc. to the highest standard at all times
  • Ensure each project within the remit meets KPIs for profitability and client satisfaction.
  • Work seamlessly with the Programme/Portfolio Director to ensure consistent adherence to Manifesto's delivery methodologies, governance, and reporting standards
  • Remain highly knowledgeable and up to date, and demonstrate passion and interest, relating to your craft.

People Management

  • Build and nurture a high performing team of Project Managers, ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and support needed to thrive
  • Create and maintain a healthy culture of performance dialogue, team satisfaction and pride, ensuring there are regular and meaningful performance discussions happening and development plans in place
  • Take action to address any performance gaps observed within the team
  • Recruitment, training, development and retention of Project Managers for our squads.

Stakeholder engagement and management

  • Build and maintain productive and collaborative working relationships with all that you come into close contact with, including (but not limited to):
    • All clients
    • Future prospects
    • Programme/Portfolio Director
    • COO & MD (commercial and operational performance)
    • CCO & Client Sector Leads (client satisfaction and existing client growth)
    • Director of New Business and Head of Bid (new business)
    • Design, Strategy, QA and Engineering Directors (collaborative working)
    • Digital Production Manager (resourcing and utilisation)
    • Counterparts in Digital Transformation

Operations, commercial & performance reporting

  • Oversee the budgets across the portfolio, ensuring these are tightly managed to preserve profit and revenue, and projects are delivered to the agreed budget
  • Report on the commercial performance of your portfolio minimum monthly
  • Ensure your own and the utilisation targets for your team are met
  • Run and attend related project meetings
  • Respect the process for managing and agreeing project investment
  • Collaborate seamlessly with the Studio Directors and Production Manager Portfolio Director and COO to ensure effective resourcing and management of all projects across the studio.

Leadership

  • Act on the requirement to work both in the business and on the business by undertaking any related leadership activity required of you, including:
    • Being highly visible in the business, both in person and digitally, modelling the right behaviours and attitudes
    • Representing the leadership team in employee forums, representing the views and interests of the company
    • Contributing to, and owning, parts of the company vision, mission and related strategies
      Attend client and prospecting events, some of which may be out of hours
    • Keeping up to date with trends, changes etc. in all of manifesto, TPXimpact, our competitors and the wider market
    • Be a champion of your craft and manifesto at all times.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Hands-on project management leadership experience, ideally within an agency setting, across a large and fast-paced portfolio
  • Experienced in Agile, Scrum, waterfall and programme methodologies, ideally accredited. Familiar with Product Ownership.
  • Project governance experience
  • Significant commercial accountability & experience, familiar with managing multiple budgets and commercial pressures
  • Proven ability to work in high-pressure, fast-moving environments across a range of disciplines.
  • Proficient with data and metrics, and equally skilled in people management.
  • Outstanding relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
  • Maintain strong relationships across the organisation and lead relevant communities of practice.

Reporting Line

  • Directly reports to the COO from FY25, MD for FY24
  • Works closely with the Programme/Portfolio Director to ensure optimal delivery performance across manifesto

About You

Personal Attributes

  • Passionate about project management as a craft which is transformed into outstanding leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire teams
  • Committed to team success and client satisfaction
  • Highly commercially focused and oriented
  • Comfortable balancing the commercial needs of the business with the needs of the people
  • Works in the pursuit of excellence at all times
  • Outstanding people and communication skills and instincts
  • Highly resilient, able to context switch and work at pace.

This role is integral to Manifesto's mission of delivering high-quality, impactful projects and programmes, ensuring client satisfaction and organisational success.

About Us

manifesto

We are the digital experience agency for changemakers. We are committed to delivering purposeful and positive impact for people, planet and society, in restless pursuit of a better world.

We take pride in creating award-winning digital experiences, products and services that are measurably ethical, inclusive, accessible, sustainable and joyful.

Our changemaker clients include UNICEF UK, Breast Cancer Now, The Trussell Trust, Woodgreen, The Royal Academy of Arts, Zoological Society London, Historic Environment Scotland and Fauna & Flora.

Part of the TPXimpact group - a Certified B Corporation™, we are a team of 130 digital product leaders, creative designers, user experience designers, engagement specialists, software engineers and experience strategists.

TPXimpact

TPXimpact is a digital transformation company, and Certified B Corporation™, on a mission to build a future where people, places and the planet are supported to thrive. Combining vast expertise in human-centred design, data, experience and technology, we help the public, private and third sectors with their digital transformation journey, delivering high quality solutions that improve services, experiences and outcomes. We’re passionate people who work in close collaboration with our clients to create sustainable solutions ready for an ever-evolving world.