Engineering Project Manager – Aviation – 6 month contract

DCS Recruitment; Bournemouth; Hybrid; GBP 83,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

6-month contract

Bournemouth-based environment

Inside IR35

Market-rate day rate

Ownership of projects

Job summary

DCS Recruitment is seeking an Engineering Project Manager for aviation based in Bournemouth on a 6-month contract. You will own significant base-maintenance projects from initiation to delivery, reporting to the Engineering Delivery Manager and coordinating multidisciplinary teams.

The role requires advanced MS Project skills, strong leadership, and the ability to manage scope, cost, quality and safety within regulatory frameworks.

Qualifications

• Proven experience project managing significant aircraft inputs, heavy checks or complex MRO activity.
• Advanced Microsoft Project capability, including baselines, dependencies and recovery planning.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering projects from initiation through delivery, acceptance and closure.
• Define and control project scope, objectives and acceptance criteria.
• Develop and maintain integrated aircraft base-maintenance schedules using Microsoft Project.
• Manage resources, milestones, baselines and critical path.
• Ensure delivery complies with UK CAA, UK MAA, EASA and company safety requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Advanced Microsoft Project

Stakeholder management

Education

A relevant aviation maintenance/engineering qualification

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

Engineering Project Manager – Aviation – 6 month contract
6-Month Contract | Bournemouth | Inside IR35

Location: Bournemouth
Contract: 6 months
Engagement: Inside IR35
Rate: Market rate – open to discussion based on experience

We are currently supporting a leading aviation business in the appointment of an Engineering Project Manager on an initial 6-month contract.

Based at the company’s Bournemouth HQ, you will report into an Engineering Delivery Manager and take ownership of significant aircraft base-maintenance projects from initiation through to delivery, acceptance and return to service.

This is a key delivery role for an experienced aviation project professional who can confidently manage complex maintenance inputs, multidisciplinary teams, challenging schedules and changing priorities in a highly regulated environment.

The Role

As Engineering Project Manager, you will be responsible for the end-to-end management of significant aircraft base-maintenance inputs, including major scheduled checks, structural inspections, modifications, repairs and return-to-service activity.

You will lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver approved maintenance work packages against agreed scope, turnaround time, cost, quality and aircraft availability requirements, whilst maintaining the highest standards of safety, airworthiness and regulatory compliance.

A key requirement of the role is advanced practical experience of Microsoft Project, using it to develop, baseline, resource, update and control integrated maintenance schedules and critical-path activity.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead engineering projects from initiation and definition through to delivery, acceptance, transition and closure.
• Define and control project scope, objectives, requirements, deliverables and acceptance criteria.
• Establish appropriate project governance, reporting routines and escalation processes.
• Develop and maintain integrated aircraft base-maintenance schedules using Microsoft Project.
• Manage task logic, dependencies, constraints, resources, milestones, baselines, progress and critical path.
• Own project performance against agreed scope, turnaround time, cost, quality, technical and safety baselines.
• Identify schedule and delivery variances early and drive appropriate recovery actions.
• Coordinate aircraft-input readiness, ensuring work packages, manpower, facilities, tooling, materials, components and technical data are in place.
• Manage maintenance activity through aircraft induction, inspection, rectification, modification, reassembly, testing, records completion and return to service.
• Control emergent findings and additional work, assessing their impact on technical delivery, resources, cost and schedule.
• Manage project risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies and opportunities.
• Operate effective change control, considering impacts on airworthiness, scope, turnaround time, resources, cost and contractual commitments.
• Act as the primary project contact for customers, sponsors and senior stakeholders.
• Lead project reviews and cross-functional meetings across engineering, operations, quality, safety, finance, procurement and supply chain.
• Monitor supplier and subcontractor performance and manage external dependencies.
• Support commercial and contractual activity including estimates, statements of work, supplier deliverables and acceptance of project outputs.
• Ensure delivery complies with applicable UK CAA, UK MAA, EASA, company exposition, quality and Safety Management System requirements.
• Lead lessons-learned activity and support continuous improvement across project delivery.

About You

We are looking for an experienced Aviation Engineering Project Manager / MRO Project Manager with a proven track record of delivering significant aircraft maintenance inputs or comparable complex aviation activity.

You will ideally have:

• Proven experience project managing significant aircraft inputs, heavy checks, major modifications or complex MRO activity.
• Advanced Microsoft Project capability, including logic-linked schedules, baselines, dependencies, resources, progress updates, critical-path analysis and recovery planning.
• Strong experience managing maintenance scope, turnaround time, cost, resources, materials, tooling, risks, findings and change.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams across maintenance, engineering, planning, quality, supply chain and support functions.
• A relevant aircraft maintenance, engineering or technical qualification, or equivalent substantial aviation experience.
• The ability to obtain and maintain SC-level security clearance.
• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• The ability to make timely, evidence-based decisions in complex and time-critical environments.
• Excellent organisational skills and the resilience to manage competing priorities.
• Strong commercial awareness and stakeholder-management capability.

Desirable

• A recognised project management qualification such as APM PMQ, PRINCE2 Practitioner or PMP.
• Working knowledge of UK CAA, UK MAA or EASA maintenance regulations.
• Experience with Safety Management Systems and quality-management principles.
• Commercial experience covering estimates, budgets, quotations, additional-work approval, procurement or contract management.

What’s On Offer

• 6-month contract opportunity
• Bournemouth-based aviation engineering environment
• Inside IR35
• Day rate open to discussion / market rate depending on experience
• Opportunity to take ownership of significant aircraft maintenance and engineering projects
• A role with direct visibility across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain and senior stakeholders

INDENG

DCS Recruitment and all associated companies are committed to creating a working environment where diversity is celebrated and everyone is treated fairly, regardless of gender, gender identity, disability, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or transgender status, age, or nationality