Principal Project Manager (Capability Lead)

National Physical Laboratory; Teddington; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading standards organization in Teddington is seeking a Principal Project Manager (Capability Lead) to lead project management capabilities in a hybrid working environment. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in science and engineering projects and possess strong leadership and people management skills. Flexible options for full-time or part-time are available.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Great work-life balance

Qualifications

• Experience leading project management capability within a Science and Engineering environment.
• Knowledge of project management in research environments supporting complex science and engineering projects.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships across functions.

Responsibilities

• Drive effective project management skills development across projects.
• Manage the performance and potential of your team.
• Coach and mentor junior project managers.

Skills

Leadership in project management capability

Project management in scientific environments

Collaborative relationship building

Proficient in project management techniques

Strong people management skills

Education

Degree-level qualification (or equivalent)

Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ or equivalent)

Tools

Microsoft Office (specifically MS Project)

Job description

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Principal Project Manager (Capability Lead), Teddington

Client:

National Physical Laboratory

Location:

Teddington, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

EU work permit required: Yes

Job Reference:

a0c59c4dd8e3

Job Views:

13

Posted:

12.08.2025

Expiry Date:

26.09.2025

Job Description:

About the Role

Whether you’re talking about length, mass, time, temperature, electric current, amount or the brightness of light, the National Physical Laboratory sets the standards by which these things are all measured. At NPL, we touch ordinary lives in extraordinary ways, and you could too.

About the Role

As a Leader in Project Management Capability, you will be a key member of the Project Management Office (PMO) Leadership team. You will drive effective project management skills development, decision-making, accountability, and oversight across the Science and Engineering medium to high-risk project portfolio. You will work with the PMO team to embed robust project management standards and best practices to develop and mature the Project Management capability to deliver Science and Engineering Projects to our customers.

To be successful in this role, you will need to provide leadership to ensure NPL’s Project Management mission, approach, and plans are articulated and understood both internally and externally for your areas of the business.

• You will manage the performance and potential of your team, building highly motivated, customer-focused, and high-performing teams.
• Guide the development of science and engineering project management approach, skills, and competency.
• Create opportunities to raise the project management function’s profile and capabilities within our Science and Engineering stakeholders.
• Coach and mentor more junior project managers to ensure development, succession planning, and knowledge transfer.

We are now working in a hybrid way, with a mix of remote and office working. We strive to offer a great work-life balance - if you are looking for full-time, part-time, or flexible options, we will try to make this work for the right candidate and where the business allows. This will depend on the role and the part of the business you work in.

About You

Skills and Experience

We understand that great people can come from many backgrounds. While these are the competencies we would like to see, if you don’t match one or two but still think you would be a great fit at NPL, we would still like to hear from you!

Core competencies

• Experience leading project management capability within a Science and Engineering environment (capability assessments, setup, development plans, and supporting training)
• Knowledge of project management in research environments supporting complex science and engineering projects.
• Able to identify the focus and define the required PM capabilities and management systems.
• Able to build collaborative relationships across functions based on trust and respect. Promotes inclusion of diverse knowledge, skills, and experiences to achieve results.
• Highly proficient in project management techniques and their application
• Strong people management skills to work within a cross-functional, multi-disciplinary team and influence others.

Desirable competencies

• Strategic thinker with the ability to take a broad view of the business, industry, and environment to anticipate and plan for the future.
• Proven experience of embracing and initiating change, evaluating what is needed, and being pragmatic about the level of change required.
• Proactively seeks out information and clarity needed to enable strong decision-making.
• Degree-level qualification (or equivalent)
• Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ or equivalent)
• Proficiency in all aspects of Microsoft Office, specifically MS Project

Additional Notes

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but due to the nature of our work, nationality, residency, and security requirements may be more tightly defined. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process.

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the advert's duration; therefore, we may close the application process early. We encourage interested applicants to apply promptly.