Project Manager

Astuco Ltd; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Astuco Ltd is seeking a senior Project Manager to own delivery of a Federated Mission Networking (FMN) Spiral 6 data-centric interoperability pilot for a major UK Defence customer. You will manage the full lifecycle from mobilisation through to transition into service, ensuring on-time delivery within governance and security rules.

The role requires five+ years leading complex ICT/infra/interoperability projects, with DV clearance and strong leadership of multidisciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• DV clearance required.
• 5+ years delivering complex ICT, infrastructure, networking or secure information systems.
• End-to-end project ownership from initiation to formal closure.
• Leadership of technical teams spanning several disciplines.
• Strong delivery methodology and governance experience.
• Management of schedule, budget, RAID and resources.
• Stakeholder handling from engineers to senior leadership and partners.
• Governance papers, risk logs and delivery metrics are produced.
• Able to work under pressure and meet tight timescales.
• Proficiency with MS Office and MS Project.

Responsibilities

• Own the project end to end - mobilisation, execution, control and closure.
• Maintain and update delivery plan, schedule, resource forecast and roadmap.
• Drive outputs from design to demonstration and handover.
• Direct a mixed team across architecture, infrastructure, security and interoperability.
• Ensure delivery meets scope, governance and contractual commitments.
• Maintain live risk/issue/assumption/dependency views and act timely.
• Keep regular reporting to programme leadership and Authority stakeholders.
• Manage project finances, resource utilisation and delivery performance.
• Coordinate reviews - technical, design, risk and governance.
• Maintain configuration management and change control documentation.
• Engage Defence Digital, NATO and partner organisations.
• Track milestones and recover schedules as needed.
• Oversee artefacts, test plans and transition materials.
• Support demonstrations and acceptance activities.
• Capture lessons and feed back into delivery approach.
• Conclude with artefact handover and final reporting.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Degree in project management/engineering/computing

PRINCE2 Practitioner

PMP or equivalent

Tools

MS Office

Microsoft Project

Job description

About the role - Overview

Astuco is recruiting a Project Manager to take delivery ownership of a Federated Mission Networking (FMN) Spiral 6 data-centric interoperability pilot for a major UK Defence customer. The capability runs the full arc - design, development, integration, validation, Authority-witnessed demonstration, then transition into service - and landing all of it sits with you: on time, through governance, against the acceptance criteria, and inside the security rules that apply.

This is the senior delivery seat. You'll direct multidisciplinary engineering teams, hold the risk, dependency and financial picture, and be the principal interface to Authority stakeholders for the life of the work.

Responsibilities

• Own the project end to end - mobilisation, execution, control and closure.
• Build and keep current the delivery plan, schedule, resource forecast and roadmap.
• Drive each output over the line, from design and build through to demonstration and handover.
• Direct a mixed team drawn from architecture, infrastructure engineering, security, interoperability and test.
• Hold delivery to the agreed scope, outcomes, governance and contractual commitments.
• Keep the risk, assumption, issue and dependency picture live, acting on it before problems land.
• Maintain a reporting rhythm that keeps programme leadership and Authority stakeholders sighted.
• Steer project finances, resource utilisation and delivery performance.
• Convene the review cycle - technical, design, risk and governance.
• Keep configuration management, change control and documentation in good order throughout.
• Work the stakeholder map across Defence Digital, NATO, coalition partners, suppliers and partner delivery organisations.
• Track milestones and step in early where the schedule needs recovering.
• Shepherd the major deliverables through approval, from design artefacts to test plans and transition material.
• Support demonstrations, acceptance activity and project reviews witnessed by the Authority.
• Capture lessons identified and feed improvement back into the delivery approach.
• Run closure properly: artefact handover, final reporting and transition recommendations.

Candidate Requirements - Essential

• Current DV clearance.
• Five years or more, within the last five, running complex projects in ICT, infrastructure, networking, interoperability or secure information systems.
• Projects owned end to end, from initiation through to formal closure.
• Leadership of technical teams spanning several disciplines at once.
• A firm grounding in recognised delivery methodologies and frameworks.
• Command of the delivery mechanics - schedule, budget, RAID, resource planning.
• Delivery inside large, complex organisations with competing stakeholder interests.
• Managing against contractual outputs, milestones and formal governance gates.
• Assured stakeholder handling, from engineering teams up to senior leadership and out to customers and partners.
• Producing the governance paper trail: plans, reports, risk logs and delivery metrics.
• Strong analytical and organisational instincts, sound judgement under pressure, and excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.
• Comfortable delivering to demanding timescales.
• Competent across MS Office, Microsoft Project included.

Candidate Requirements - Desirable

• Time spent on MOD, Defence Digital, NATO or coalition interoperability programmes.
• Working knowledge of Federated Mission Networking standards.
• Secure or accredited solutions delivered into Defence or Government.
• Familiarity with data-centric interoperability, identity and access management, Public Key Infrastructure and secure information sharing.
• Projects spanning enterprise platforms, networking, identity services or cyber security.
• Agile (SAFe), Waterfall and hybrid delivery models.
• An understanding of how MOD governance and design assurance actually work in practice.
• Atlassian toolset (JIRA, Confluence).
• A degree in a project management, engineering or computing discipline.
• Professional qualification - PRINCE2 Practitioner, MSP, AgilePM, APM PMQ, PMP or equivalent - and ideally Chartered Project Professional status.