Project Manager - Manchester

WRc Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research and consultancy firm in Manchester is seeking an experienced Project Manager to deliver complex projects within defined scope and budget. Responsibilities include managing client relationships, coordinating project execution, and ensuring excellent communication across teams. Candidates should have a solid project management background and proficiency in Microsoft 365 products. Competitive salary and benefits including life assurance, flexible benefits programme, and a contributory pension scheme are offered.

Benefits

Life assurance

Flexible benefits programme

Contributory Pension Scheme

Regular training and career development

Qualifications

• Demonstrable project management experience, successfully delivering complex projects.
• Engineering or scientific background beneficial, experience in consultancy ideally in utilities.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 products, particularly Teams, Excel, and Word.

Responsibilities

• Provide a professional project management service to clients and stakeholders.
• Manage project information flow and client relationships.
• Coordinate resources for flawless project execution.

Skills

Project management experience

Communication skills

Proficient in Microsoft 365

Organisational skills

Education

Working towards a professional project management qualification

Job description

Project Manager – WRc, part of RSK Group

WRc, part of RSK Group, is seeking experienced Project Managers to join our growing business. These are full‑time positions (37 hrs per week) based in our Hattersley, Manchester office or a mix of home and office work.

As a Project Manager you will join our busy Project Management Team to plan and deliver a portfolio of projects worldwide to defined scope, cost and quality for our clients.

Projects range from £5k to over £1m in value and address the challenges where the built environment interacts with nature.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide a professional, first‑class, consistent and effective project management service to the clients and all stakeholders.
• Act as the key, day‑to‑day client interface. Manage the flow of project information between the team and the client through regular meetings and written communication.
• Coordinate all resources for the flawless execution of projects. Motivate project teams to deliver exceptional service to the clients.
• Promote a culture of pro‑activity, innovation, transparency, collaboration and flexibility in all aspects of the work of project delivery.
• Prepare and maintain definitions of project requirements. Establish the overall success criteria for the project, including time, cost, technical and performance parameters, and disseminate them to all stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress.
• Develop and implement resource plans and procurement of resources. Manage project resource availability and allocation to ensure timely delivery in line with requirements and priorities. Monitor, track and control outcomes to resolve issues and conflicts.
• Develop and agree budgets. Control forecast and actual costs against them.
• Measure project performance using appropriate project management tools. Identify variances to plan to ensure timely implementation of counter‑measures.
• Manage project risks and issues to mitigate impact to baseline.

Person Specification

• Demonstrable project management experience, successfully delivering complex projects to the defined scope, cost and quality.
• Engineering or scientific background would be beneficial as well as experience in a consultancy environment, ideally but not essentially in the utilities sector.
• Experience managing a diverse portfolio of projects with multiple clients to often demanding timescales.
• Excellent communicator with a proven record of building strong relationships with clients, teams and stakeholders.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft 365 products, particularly Teams, Excel and Word.
• Hold or be working towards a professional project management qualification such as the APM Project Management Qualification or equivalent.
• Excellent organisational skills and enjoy working in a culture of adaptability and dynamism.

Salary and Benefits

• Commensurate with experience
• Life assurance
• A flexible benefits programme including the option to buy additional holidays, health cash plan and discounted gym membership
• Contributory Pension Scheme
• Regular training and career development

About Us

Water Research Centre (WRc) is an independent centre of excellence for innovation and growth that boasts more than 90 years of delivering leading, technical research and innovation services to the global water, waste management and energy sectors. Its subsidiary business, Cognica, is a leading provider of intelligent information‑management solutions and services to the construction and estate‑management markets.

WRc’s 170 employees bring a shared purpose of discovering and delivering new and exciting solutions that enable clients to meet the challenges of the future. In addition to its wide breadth of services in water, WRc is also home to the National Centre for Environmental Toxicology, an expert team of scientists and toxicologists offering a toxicology‑on‑demand subscription service.

The company is renowned for its ability to address global issues, including climate change, green growth and water and sanitation services, through applied engineering excellence and an “innovation through collaboration” ethos.

RSK Group Ltd is an equal opportunities employer.

Do you have what it takes?