Project Manager

Ward Hadaway; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced pension scheme

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Life assurance

Health and wellbeing benefits

Hybrid working (2 days/week in office)

Flexible benefits programme

Job summary

Ward Hadaway in Newcastle upon Tyne is seeking a Project Manager to lead a growing Technology and Change portfolio. You will manage technology and business change initiatives from inception to benefits realisation, ensuring on-time delivery, budget compliance and quality standards.

You will work closely with Partners, IT teams and external suppliers to drive transformation, including cloud, cyber security and enterprise applications, while supporting user adoption and change communications.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering IT and business change projects in a professional services environment.
• Familiar with PRINCE2, Agile and hybrid delivery approaches; certification desirable.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects, budgets, resources, risks and governance.
• Experience delivering technology projects including Microsoft 365, cloud, infrastructure and cyber security.
• Strong planning, organisational and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage full project lifecycle from initiation to delivery, handover and closure.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, budgets, resource requirements and milestones.
• Build strong relationships with Partners and senior stakeholders.
• Facilitate workshops, manage stakeholder expectations and provide clear project updates.
• Oversee delivery of technology initiatives including cloud services, cyber security, and digital transformation.
• Support organisational change activities including communications and training.
• Maintain project governance and documentation and proactively manage risks and changes.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts and supplier expenditure; support procurement.
• Monitor performance, benefits and KPIs; report to sponsors and leadership.
• Promote project management best practice and continuous improvement.

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Project Manager to join our growing Technology and Change team based in Newcastle upon Tyne. In this newly created role, you'll be responsible for the successful delivery of technology and business change initiatives across the firm. You'll manage projects from inception through to implementation and benefits realisation, ensuring solutions are delivered on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.

Working closely with Partners, Business Services leaders, IT teams and third-party suppliers, you'll lead a portfolio of technology projects that support the firm's strategic objectives, operational efficiency, client service delivery and regulatory obligations.

What will I be doing

• Managing the full project lifecycle from initiation and planning through to delivery, handover and closure. Ensuring projects meet agreed scope, timescales, budgets, quality standards, and business objectives.
• Developing and maintaining project plans, schedules, budgets, resource requirements and delivery milestones, using appropriate project management methodologies and governance frameworks.
• Building strong relationships with Partners, senior stakeholders, departmental leaders and the wider Technology & Change team.
• Facilitating workshops, managing stakeholder expectations and providing clear project updates.
• Managing the delivery of technology initiatives including infrastructure upgrades, cloud services, cyber security projects, application implementations and digital transformation programmes. Ensuring solutions meet business requirements.
• Supporting organisational change activities, including communications, training and user adoption, and ensuring the smooth roll out of services and solutions.
• Maintaining project governance and documentation, proactively managing risks, issues, dependencies and changes in line with firm policies and standards.
• Managing project budgets, forecasts, supplier expenditure and contractual deliverables, supporting procurement and vendor selection where required.
• Monitoring project performance, benefits and key performance indicators, reporting progress to sponsors, steering groups and leadership teams.
• Promoting project management best practice and continuous improvement. Enhancing delivery methodologies, governance and reporting standards, and capturing lessons learned across the project portfolio.

You'll have

• Proven experience delivering IT and business change projects within a professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of project management methodologies, including PRINCE2, Agile and hybrid delivery approaches, with relevant certification desirable.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects, competing priorities, budgets, resources, risks, and project governance.
• Excellent stakeholder management, commercial awareness, communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence and engage confidently at all levels, and explain technical concepts clearly to end users.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and delivery partners, with strong commercial awareness and a focus on business value.
• Experience delivering technology projects, including Microsoft 365, cloud, infrastructure, cyber security or enterprise applications. Knowledge of legal technology platforms would be advantageous but not essential.
• Strong planning, organisational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing demands effectively.
• A proactive, collaborative and resilient approach, with strong attention to detail, a customer service mindset, and a commitment to high standards of delivery.

About us

We're proud to be an independent, full-service law firm providing exceptional legal expertise to businesses, the built environment, healthcare, the public and third sectors, and private individuals. With several office locations around the UK we're one of the UK's Top 100 law firms. When you join us you’ll be part of a team of over 500 passionate and talented individuals who take pride in offering an exciting and supportive environment allowing you to thrive.

We're passionate about promoting wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion, with dedicated committees to support ongoing efforts. We recognise that a healthy and thriving Firm filled with individuality and differences strengthen our teams, our clients and our communities.

What we can offer you

We’re committed to being a firm focused on support, development, wellbeing and inclusion and we’re always striving to improve. Our commitment to this has been recognised by our achievement of our Gold Investors in People award and by our Hive HR Employee Voice certification.

We reward our people with a whole range of benefits, some core and some flexible, designed to shape a reward package that’s right for you – now and in the future. Our core benefits include:

• An enhanced pension scheme with employer matched contributions of up to 6%.
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays (increasing to 28 days with length of service). There is also the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
• Life assurance cover of 4 times basic salary, with the option to purchase additional cover.
• A range of health and wellbeing benefits.
• Hybrid working with a minimum requirement of 2 days per week in our Newcastle office.
• We also have a flexible benefits programme where you can purchase a wide range of additional benefits.