Junior Project Manager - Defence & Aerospace

UK Space Jobs; Cliddesden; Hybrid; GBP 76,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

UK Space Jobs is seeking a Junior Project Manager in Reading for a Hybrid role supporting MOD and aerospace programmes. You will assist with planning, coordination and delivery, working with senior managers, technical teams and suppliers.

Candidates must hold active SC clearance; DV clearance is preferred. The role offers a 6-month rolling contract and a rate of £55-£62 per hour Inside IR35.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting project planning, scheduling and governance in defence/aerospace contexts.
• Active SC Security Clearance is mandatory; DV clearance is an asset.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Proficiency with MS Office and project management tools (MS Project, Jira, Trello or Azure DevOps).

Responsibilities

• Support development and maintenance of project plans, schedules and resource allocations.
• Monitor progress against milestones, deliverables and timelines.
• Maintain project documentation including RAID logs and status reports.
• Escalate risks and issues to senior project management.
• Coordinate meetings, prepare agendas and record decisions.
• Provide timely updates to stakeholders and liaise with suppliers.
• Identify risks, assumptions and dependencies and assist with mitigation plans.

Skills

Project coordination

Scheduling

Stakeholder engagement

Risk management

Budget awareness

MS Office

MS Project/Jira/Trello/Azure DevOps

Communication

Organisational skills

Tools

MS Project

Jira

Trello

Azure DevOps

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Location: Reading (Hybrid)

Rate: £55-£62 per hour, Inside IR35

Contract: 6-month rolling contract

Security Clearance: Active SC Clearance mandatory; DV clearance preferred

The Opportunity

We are seeking a motivated and organised Junior Project Manager to support the delivery of sensitive Ministry of Defence (MOD) and aerospace programmes.

Working on-site with Edgewing, you will support project planning, coordination and delivery, working closely with senior project and programme managers, technical teams, business stakeholders and suppliers.

This is an excellent opportunity for a developing Project Manager to build their experience within a complex, fast-paced defence and aerospace environment, contributing to the successful delivery of critical programmes.

Please note: Candidates must hold active SC clearance. DV clearance is preferred.

Key Responsibilities

Project Planning & Coordination

• Support the development and maintenance of project plans, schedules and resource allocations.
• Monitor progress against milestones, deliverables and agreed timelines.
• Maintain accurate project documentation, including plans, status reports and RAID logs.
• Identify potential delays and escalte risks to senior project management.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Coordinate project meetings, prepare agendas and record actions and decisions.
• Provide timely project updates to stakeholders.
• Facilitate communication between technical teams, business users and external suppliers.
• Track actions to ensure commitments and deliverables are met.

Risk & Issue Management

• Identify and document project risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies.
• Support the development and implementation of mitigation plans.
• Monitor outstanding actions and escalat[e??] concerns appropriately.

Budget & Resource Management

• Assist with monitoring project budgets and resource utilisation.
• Support purchase order and invoice processing where required.
• Help maintain accurate records of project expenditure and resource requirements.

Governance & Delivery

• Ensure project activities align with organisational governance frameworks and delivery standards.
• Support audit, compliance and approval processes.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and effective project delivery.

Apply appropriate project management methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall and hybrid approaches.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Demonstrable experience in a project coordination, project support or junior project management role.
• Experience within UK aerospace, defence or MOD environments, ideally involving architecture-related delivery.
• Active SC Security Clearance.
• Strong organisational, planning and time-management skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• A sound understanding of project management principles and delivery methodologies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Familiarity with project management tools such as MS Project, Jira, Trello or Azure DevOps.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams and manage competing priorities.

Desirable Experience

• Current DV Security Clearance.
• Experience supporting projects within MOD, Defence Digital or UK aerospace organisations.
• Exposure to digital transformation, technology or architecture-related programmes.
• Knowledge of Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Project management qualifications such as PRINCE2 Foundation or AgilePM Foundation.

What Success Looks Like

• Project milestones and deliverables are effectively coordinated.
• Risks, issues and dependencies are documented and escalated promptly.
• Project records and governance documentation remain accurate and up to date.
• Stakeholders receive clear, timely progress updates.
• The project team benefits from improved coordination, communication and delivery efficiency.

Rate: £55-£62 per hour, Inside IR35

Contract: 6-month rolling

Location: Reading, hybrid working