Principal Project Manager

Owen Daniels; Andover; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Owen Daniels seeks an experienced Principal Project Manager (Defence) for Andover. You will own delivery of £1m–£15m projects, manage complex stakeholder relationships, and drive financial performance in a predominantly defence-focused environment.

You will coordinate engineering, manufacturing and supply chain teams, maintain project governance, and support bid activities. This is an onsite role requiring SC clearance or eligibility.

Qualifications

• Strong project management experience in a technical/engineering environment.
• Experience managing complex engineering/manufacturing projects.
• Experience in the defence sector is highly relevant.
• Solid understanding of project finances and governance.
• SC clearance or ability to obtain clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day delivery of £1m–£15m projects.
• Manage complex customer and stakeholder relationships.
• Own project cost, schedule, quality and delivery.
• Develop and manage project schedules using MS Project.
• Monitor budgets, forecasts and financial performance.
• Identify and mitigate project risks.
• Coordinate engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and project teams.
• Manage subcontractors and external partners.
• Provide regular updates and exception reporting to senior management.
• Ensure projects follow defined project lifecycle and governance processes.
• Support pre-bid and bid-stage activities.
• Identify opportunities for follow-on business with existing customers.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Budget & cost control

Risk management

SC clearance

Defence sector

Education

Engineering background

Tools

MS Project

Excel

Microsoft Office

Job description

Principal Project Manager (Defence) £65,000–£75,000 | Andover | Fully Onsite

Are you an experienced Project Manager with a strong engineering or technical background looking to take ownership of significant projects within a specialist engineering environment?

This is an opportunity to join an established engineering business delivering complex £1m–£15m projects, predominantly within the defence sector.

You’ll take ownership of projects from day-to-day delivery through to financial performance, customer relationships and project governance, while working closely with engineering, manufacturing and senior leadership teams.

The RoleYou’ll be responsible for:

• Leading the day-to-day delivery of £1m–£15m projects
• Managing complex customer and stakeholder relationships
• Taking ownership of project cost, schedule, quality and delivery
• Developing and managing project schedules using MS Project
• Managing project budgets, forecasts and financial performance
• Identifying, managing and mitigating project risks
• Coordinating engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and project teams
• Managing subcontractors and external partners
• Monitoring milestones, costs, schedules and project progress
• Providing regular project updates and exception reporting to senior management
• Ensuring projects follow defined project lifecycle and governance processes
• Supporting pre-bid and bid-stage activities
• Identifying opportunities for follow-on business with existing customers
• Helping develop and strengthen the wider Project Management function

What We're Looking For

• Strong Project Management experience within a technical or engineering environment
• Experience managing complex engineering/manufacturing projects
• Experience within the defence sector is highly relevant
• Strong understanding of project finances and commercial performanceExperience with risk, resource, schedule and stakeholder management
• Confident managing customers, subcontractors and multidisciplinary teams
• Strong MS Project, Excel and Microsoft Office skills
• Excellent communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills
• Engineering or technical qualification/background
• SC clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain SC clearance

The Package

• £65,000–£75,000 depending on experience
• Andover area
• Fully onsite
• £1m–£15m project values
• Predominantly defence-focused programmes
• SC clearance or eligiblity required