Project Manager

Local Government Chronicle; Woking; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Woking seeks a Project Manager to oversee transformation projects in Children’s Social Care. The role requires managing stakeholders, ensuring project milestones are met, and maintaining project documentation. The successful candidate will have a degree or equivalent experience and relevant project management qualifications. A competitive salary and benefits are offered, with a contract lasting until March 2027.

Benefits

26 days’ holiday increasing with service

Local government pension

Carer’s leave and volunteering days

Qualifications

• Degree qualification or significant vocational experience in progressively demanding roles.
• Knowledge of business planning, financial and organizational management.
• Proven ability to manage projects to completion.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end delivery of assigned projects.
• Track project progress and provide updates on performance.
• Manage internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving

Education

Degree or significant vocational experience

Relevant project management qualification (Prince2, APM, MSP)

Job description

Project Manager – Fixed Term (31 March 2027)

This fixed‑term role has a starting salary of £47,142 per annum, based on a 36‑hour working week.

About the Role

As a Project Manager you will support priority programmes within the CFLL Transformation Team, focusing on Children’s Social Care transformation. Your responsibilities include:

• Oversee end‑to‑end delivery of assigned projects, ensuring they are completed on time, within scope, and in line with the Council’s transformation objectives.
• Track project progress, ensure milestones are met and provide regular updates to senior leadership and stakeholders on performance, risks, and issues.
• Manage a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, ensuring their ongoing support and involvement throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including plans, schedules, and status reports, ensuring accuracy and alignment with project goals.
• Support the Corporate Parenting Programme to improve outcomes for looked‑after children in Surrey, including increasing the number of in‑house foster carers and improving carers’ retention.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years’ service and 31 days after 5 years’ service.
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave.
• A generous local government salary‑related pension.
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year.
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave.
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing.
• Learning and development hub with a wealth of resources.
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel and shopping.
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application should clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Degree qualified or significant vocational experience demonstrating development through progressively more demanding relevant roles.
• Knowledge of principles, practices, policies and procedures relating to business planning and financial and organisational management.
• Proven problem‑solving skills and the ability to exercise high levels of initiative to develop, devise and implement workable solutions.
• Proven ability to manage a range of projects through to completion.
• Relevant project management qualification (Prince 2, APM, MSP).

Satisfactory DBS clearance is required for this role and must be able to travel across the county to attend stakeholder meetings.

To apply, submit a CV and answer the following four questions:

• Describe your experience in successfully delivering a complex project to time and to budget. What issues or risks did you experience and how did you overcome these?
• Can you provide an example of when you developed and delivered an effective approach to stakeholder management within a project?
• Please tell us about a time you managed multiple competing deadlines to ensure the success of a project. What did you find particularly challenging and how did you address this?
• Please tell us about a project that you led that had a demonstrable impact and why. Please set out the approach you took to evidence this impact.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and our Life at Surrey handbook to gain insight into working at Surrey.

Contact Us

Please contact Helen Kay, Senior Programme Manager, for any questions relating to the role, including flexible working requests, transferable skills or barriers to employment.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two‑tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1 April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Commitment Wording

We are a disability‑confident employer. If you disclose a disability on your application and meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview. We are committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need and to building a workplace where everyone belongs.

Location: Knaphill, Woking, UK
Contract type: Contract
Notice: Published on 20 Nov 2025. The job advert closes at 23:59 on 4 December 2025 with interviews planned to follow.