Project Manager - Defence and Security

Cambridge Consultants Ltd; Hartford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A consultancy firm in technical project management is seeking a Project Manager or Technical Team Leader in Cambridge, UK. The ideal candidate will be involved in managing innovative projects for Defence and Security clients, primarily within the UK government. Responsibilities include developing project proposals, managing multi-disciplinary teams, and ensuring project success. The position requires strong project management skills and a degree in engineering or a related field. Ideal candidates have a passion for innovation and may possess government security clearance.

Qualifications

• Experience managing small to medium sized technical product development projects.
• Hands-on experience planning and tracking project tasks.
• Technical background in Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Physics, Chemistry or Sensing systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop project proposals for government clients.
• Deliver projects with substantial Research and Development content.
• Manage multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Lead and motivate extensive teams to achieve project outputs.
• Capture technical product requirements and facilitate discussions.

Skills

Project management

Technical leadership

Time management

Written and verbal communication

Organizational skills

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in engineering or relevant scientific discipline

Job description

Overview

We are on the lookout for a talented and ambitious Project Manager or, Technical Team Leader with an interest in moving into Project Management, to join our Programme Management team here in Cambridge, UK. The role will work with our Defence & Security clients, undertaking the development of innovative new products across the entire product life cycle. The role will be primarily project management for our defence and security clients within UK government, although there will be scope to get involved in a variety of projects for our commercial and wider public sector clients. Projects typically consist of early concept work, through prototype manufacture, to new product introduction, often surmounting considerable technical challenges as we push the boundary of what is possible. We combine highly creative lateral thinking with excellent technical skills and we're looking for broad defence and security industry experience to help us form powerful development teams.

Responsibilities

• Developing project proposals that meet our government clients' commercial and technical requirements - this will be primarily for UK-based government clients
• Delivering projects with a significant amount of S&T (Science and Technology) or Research and Development content
• Management of the delivery of projects that solve complex, multi-disciplinary technical challenges, across multi-office teams
• Team building and leadership of multiple project teams
• Capturing technical product requirements and resolving system level discussions, requiring a strong technical background
• Running meetings with clients, presenting and communicating ideas and concepts to all disciplines
• Working with Business Developers in building relationships with clients to understand their programme needs.
• The ability to lead, influence and motivate an extensive team to deliver exploitable project outputs;
• The ability to manage and influence stakeholders to ensure project success.

Logistics

This role will require some domestic UK-based travel but is focussed on managing project teams within the Cambridge office. We have adopted a hybrid working model, with a mix of both home and office working, based on project need.

Qualifications

You will have experience of project managing small to medium sized technical product development projects or are a technical lead of an engineering discipline within a larger project. Ideally you will have a degree in engineering, or a relevant scientific discipline, with hands-on experience of planning tasks and tracking the progress of a team to deliver against those tasks whilst addressing issue as they arise. Naturally you will also have strong time management, written and verbal communication, and organisational skills.

Our UK government work and client base coves a very broad spectrum, so we would also be very interested if you have any of the following:

• UK Government security clearance
• A passion for innovation
• A technical background in Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Physics, Chemistry or Sensing systems
• New product introduction / design for manufacture experience
• Previous experience of working at a consulting / fee for service organisation
• A strong desire to deliver outputs for Defence through Science and Technology
• Existing knowledge of best practice in the delivery of projects
• People skills and networks to build strong working relationships across the defence and security innovation ecosystem, including UK MOD, DSTL, Defence Innovation Unit and Innovation Hubs, a range of security customers and Government departments
• Formal project management credentials such as APMP, PRINCE2 etc.
• Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check, be willing to undertake UK government security clearance and must be a UK passport holder.