Project Manager

Core Talent Recruitment; Hawton; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Core Talent Recruitment is seeking an experienced Project Manager to deliver a portfolio of complex, high-value defence engineering projects. You will work with customers, multidisciplinary teams and senior management to ensure delivery on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.

The successful candidate will coordinate project activities from concept to production, maintain strong stakeholder relationships and drive continuous improvement across programmes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing the full project lifecycle, from concept and development through to production, delivery and in-service support.
• APM qualification (or progress towards one).
• Strong leadership, delegation and teamwork skills, with a collaborative approach to project delivery.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills at all levels.
• Strong commercial awareness and a clear understanding of customer requirements and business objectives.
• A customer-focused approach, with an ability to identify opportunities for further business and develop long‑term relationships.
• The resilience and sound judgement required to manage complex projects under challenging time, cost and resource constraints.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering projects.
• Experience in systems engineering, systems integration and/or manufacturing would be highly advantageous.
• Previous experience within the maritime, defence or wider advanced engineering sector would be beneficial.
• Willingness and ability to undertake regular UK travel and occasional overseas travel.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for customers throughout the project lifecycle.
• Manage a portfolio of related or technically complex projects, ensuring delivery against agreed scope, schedule, budget and quality requirements.
• Monitor project performance, costs, schedules, risks and deliverables, implementing corrective action where required.
• Conduct regular cost, schedule, performance and risk reviews.
• Identify, prioritise and secure the resources required for successful project delivery, including people, facilities, equipment and tools.
• Provide accurate project cost, resource and schedule information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead and motivate multidisciplinary project teams, establishing clear objectives, responsibilities and priorities.
• Manage customer interfaces and communicate effectively with senior management, customers, project teams and wider stakeholders.
• Establish a clear project vision and delivery plan, ensuring all stakeholders have a common understanding of objectives and expectations.
• Develop a collaborative team environment, providing direction, mentoring and support to enable successful project outcomes.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and contribute to the development of future business and customer relationships.
• Undertake other reasonable duties and responsibilities relevant to the position.

Skills

Full project lifecycle

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Commercial awareness

Customer focus

Resilience

Microsoft Office

Education

APM qualification or progress towards one

Job description

Project Manager – Defence Complex Engineering Projects

Location: Staffordshire 2 days

Employment Type: Permanent

Sector: Engineering / Defence / Maritime

Security Clearance: Candidates must meet the relevant security vetting requirements

About the Opportunity

An established and growing engineering organisation is expanding its project delivery team following continued business growth and increasing demand from customers across the UK and internationally.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Project Manager to take responsibility for the successful delivery of a portfolio of complex, high-value projects, working closely with customers, technical teams, senior management and other key stakeholders.

The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.

The Role

Reporting to the Programme Manager, you will coordinate and lead project management activities across a number of complex projects.

You will act as a key customer interface while providing effective leadership to multidisciplinary project teams. You will be responsible for managing the complete project lifecycle and ensuring customer expectations and wider business objectives are achieved.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for customers throughout the project lifecycle.
• Manage a portfolio of related or technically complex projects, ensuring delivery against agreed scope, schedule, budget and quality requirements.
• Monitor project performance, costs, schedules, risks and deliverables, implementing corrective action where required.
• Conduct regular cost, schedule, performance and risk reviews.
• Identify, prioritise and secure the resources required for successful project delivery, including people, facilities, equipment and tools.
• Provide accurate project cost, resource and schedule information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead and motivate multidisciplinary project teams, establishing clear objectives, responsibilities and priorities.
• Manage customer interfaces and communicate effectively with senior management, customers, project teams and wider stakeholders.
• Establish a clear project vision and delivery plan, ensuring all stakeholders have a common understanding of objectives and expectations.
• Develop a collaborative team environment, providing direction, mentoring and support to enable successful project outcomes.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and contribute to the development of future business and customer relationships.
• Undertake other reasonable duties and responsibilities relevant to the position.

About You

We are looking for an experienced Project Manager who can demonstrate a strong track record of successfully delivering complex projects from initial concept through to production, delivery and ongoing support.

You are likely to have:

• Proven experience managing the full project lifecycle, from concept and development through to production, delivery and in-service support.
• A recognised project management qualification such as APM (or equivalent), or demonstrable progress towards one.
• Strong leadership, delegation and teamwork skills, with a collaborative approach to project delivery.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills at all levels.
• Strong commercial awareness and a clear understanding of customer requirements and business objectives.
• A customer-focused approach, with an ability to identify opportunities for further business and develop long‑term relationships.
• The resilience and sound judgement required to manage complex projects under challenging time, cost and resource constraints.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering projects.
• Experience in systems engineering, systems integration and/or manufacturing would be highly advantageous.
• Previous experience within the maritime, defence or wider advanced engineering sector would be beneficial.
• Willingness and ability to undertake regular UK travel and occasional overseas travel.

What We Value

The organisation places strong emphasis on the following values:

Integrity – Acting honestly, taking ownership and doing the right thing.

Safety – Putting the safety of colleagues, customers and others at the heart of decision‑making.

Quality – Maintaining high standards and delivering work that meets or exceeds expectations.

Innovation – Seeking better ways of working and applying technical expertise to overcome challenges.

Customer Service – Keeping customers at the forefront of decision‑making and consistently delivering on commitments.

Teamwork – Working collaboratively and supporting colleagues to achieve shared objectives.

Security Requirements

Due to the nature of the work, candidates will be required to satisfy the relevant security vetting and clearance requirements.

For reasons relating to national security, applicants must be British nationals. Dual nationals may be considered in exceptional circumstances, subject to the applicable security requirements.