Project Manager - Agriculture and Food Team

Innovate UK; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

Innovate UK recherche un Project Manager pour le domaine de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation afin de gérer le Programme d'Innovation Agricole. Ce rôle central implique la gestion efficace des projets en collaboration avec diverses parties prenantes et le suivi des processus de gouvernance. L'opportunité s'adresse à des gestionnaires expérimentés avec des compétences variées, souhaitant participer à la transformation de l'agriculture britannique.

Benefits

30 jours de congés annuels

Horaires de travail flexibles

Pension à prestations déterminées

Qualifications

• Excellente gestion de projet avec une expérience dans des projets publics.
• Capacité à gérer plusieurs parties prenantes et exigences concurrentes.
• Compréhension des cycles de vie des projets avec une expérience prouvée.

Responsibilities

• Soutenir la gestion des programmes tels que le Programme d'Innovation Agricole.
• Suivre les délais, les finances et les risques.
• Assurer le développement des documents de gouvernance.

Skills

Gestion de projet

Communication

Analyse

Education

A levels ou équivalent

Diplôme de premier cycle (souhaité)

Job description

This is the Internal Only Recruitment Site for UK Research and Innovation Staff for roles within Innovate UK (UKRI).

Please apply for jobs via this site only if you are employed by UK Research and Innovation (employees with access to Innovate UK's Workday system may apply via the "Careers" application within the system).

If you are not a current UKRI employee you can view vacancies at the externally advertised stage at the links given in the "About Us information on the right". If you wish to apply for the position below, please ensure that you comply with the requirements of the recruitment process by submitting both a full CV and application letter. Ideally, you should also advise your manager of your application.

Applications must be submitted by
04-07-2025

Project Manager - Agriculture and Food

The vision of the HLA Domain is to drive business growth by inspiring and unlocking innovations that make life better. The Agri-Food Systems theme does this through delivery of a portfolio of programmes that focus on innovation that enables resilient, sustainable agricultural systems that deliver heathy and tasty food for all.

*Please note this advert will close on the 3rd July 2025 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video "Why Join Innovate UK?" here

Title: Project Manager - Agriculture and Food

Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £45,272 per annum

Reports to: Programme Manager

Location: Field based

Contract: Fixed Term (Until 31st March 2029)

Fixed Term Roles:

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place.

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context:

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a governmental organisation with the vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. Innovate UK (IUK) is the UK's innovation agency and is a partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation.

The Project Manager will operate within the Healthy Living and Agriculture (HL&A) Domain AgriFood Systems Team.

The vision of the HLA Domain is to drive business growth by inspiring and unlocking innovations that make life better. The Agri-Food Systems theme does this through delivery of a portfolio of programmes that focus on innovation that enables resilient, sustainable agricultural systems that deliver heathy and tasty food for all.

As part of this portfolio the theme is responsible for the delivery of Defra's Farming Innovation Programme. This programme with over £270m of funding up to March 2029 provides a pathway of support for businesses, farmers and growers to develop innovations that will address on farm productivity, sustainability and resilience challenges.

Job Purpose:

The Project Manager will work with all members of the AgriFood Systems Theme and will contribute to the effective delivery of the Farming Innovation Programme. They may also support other Programmes in the AgriFood Systems portfolio. Reporting to the Programme Manager the post holder will apply structured management to the Farming Innovation Programme and effectively manage relationships with Government and industry stakeholders including Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Reporting to the Programme Manager, the Project Manager will manage the day-to-day delivery of the Programme, working closely with project teams and the wider Portfolio Support Office function to ensure timely delivery of key milestones and objectives. The Project Manager will also support the implementation of appropriate programme and project management functions, ensuring effective Risk Management, governance, assurance, impact management, etc. in line with Core PSO guidance and best practice.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Provide project management support for the Farming Innovation Programme activities, working with relevant delivery teams. Activities include but are not limited to: competitions launch, delivery of events, programme reviews, impact and evaluation frameworks and others as indicated.
• Support the Programme Manager in the day-to-day delivery of Programme/Domain/IUK/UKRI Governance functions, setting up the appropriate project/programme assurance functions.
• Support the development of governance papers and provide secretariat for governance meetings as required.
• Support and deputise for more senior members of the delivery, such as the Programme Manager and Portfolio Manager as required.
• Track and record timelines, finance, risks and impact metrics. Generating and updating management information and reports as required to support effective governance.
• Support the embedding of monitoring, evaluation, and impact management across projects, ensuring impact metrics are identified, understood, measured, tracked, and owned.
• Support the Programme Manager in the set up and maintenance of Programme management products and processes: RASCI matrix, plans, actions and decisions log, programme update reports, risk registers, communications plans, finance reports, impact dashboards, lessons learnt logs, amongst others.
• Work with the Programme Manager to support recording and reporting of all necessary management information.
• Generate and update management information and reports as required to support effective governance.
• Support maintenance of appropriate information management frameworks such as shared inboxes, SharePoint folders.
• Take part in project/programme management meetings and keep track of actions, decisions and communicate those to team members.
• Ensure effective change management processes are in place to agree and document changes to deliverables as agreed with stakeholders.
• Support Programme Manager in the management of internal and internal team's stakeholders
• To support knowledge sharing and best practice across the PSO function and wider Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain Directorate.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) - Assessed at shortlisting

(I) - Assessed at interview

(S&I) - Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

• This focused and highly-effective individual will be an excellent project manager with a proven track-record, used to working without close direction and able to manage multiple streams of work
• They will be highly flexible, capable of identifying the right approach to the challenge in hand and translating that approach into effective delivery
• They will have been exposed to many different project management approaches and be able to implement project management approaches to risk management, cost management, planning, benefits management and management reporting.

Experience & Qualifications:

(S&I) - Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Essential -

• 'A' levels or relevant equivalent qualification or previous relevant experience
• Knowledge of the full project lifecycle with a proven track-record
• Considerable experience of providing project management support for large public sector projects
• Experience of working in a complex multi-organisation environment with varying cultures
• Experience of delivering projects within a programme structure
• Experience of monitoring risks and managing risk escalation processes
• Experience of creating governance papers and minutes
• Experience of creating management reports for a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Experience of achieving results through influencing skills rather than direct control
• Experience of successfully managing multiple stakeholders with conflicting demands and priorities
• Experience delivering business critical projects with high visibility
• Experience of managing change within projects and programmes.

Desirable -

• Educated to Undergraduate degree level or equivalent
• Prince 2, APM Project Management qualification or equivalent
• Experience of commercial contract management
• Experience of benefits management approaches, and an understanding of the processes and tools which can support benefits management monitoring and reporting
• Understanding of structure of government and key UKRI partner organisations as well as its constituent agencies and brands, as well as the Devolved Administrations

Skills:

(I) - Assessed at interview

• Excellent written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent planning and delivery skills, delivered consistently
• Self-awareness and a high level of professionalism
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to quickly understand new and complex issues and to apply solutions
• A willingness to challenge preconceptions and offer well-reasoned and considered views to support delivery
• Self-organisation skills and a demonstrable ability to manage and prioritise a workload and multiple work streams
• Ability to identify and summarise key points from complex discussions and meetings and documents
• The ability to understand and communicate detailed processes quickly
• Excellent attention to detail, delivered consistently including managing data and maintaining audit trials
• Document production to a high standard, able to proofread and redact work as required to deliver effective and cogent outputs
• A self-starter, capable of taking your own initiative when required but equally able to take instruction and deliver results against a brief and to tight deadlines
• A robust and flexible approach with the ability to thrive in an agile/changing environment.

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving - Stakeholder management - Communication skills - Influencing - Self-awareness/self-management - Strategic awareness - Working with others- Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria's listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/.

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days' annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;
04-07-2025