Project Manager - R&D

Chess Dynamics; Horsham; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Group pension 5% matched

Income protection

Employee assistance program

Life insurance

Job summary

Chess Dynamics, based in Horsham, UK, is seeking a Project Manager to lead assigned engineering projects from initiation to delivery. You will manage scope, cost, schedule, and risk, coordinate with customers and internal teams, and ensure milestones and acceptance testing align with contract requirements.

The role requires at least 3 years in project management within engineering, strong stakeholder engagement across functions and international customers, and the ability to produce robust

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years in a project management role within an Engineering environment.
• Experience coordinating with international customers and multiple engineering functions.
• Ability to create and maintain project plans using Microsoft Project or similar.
• Experience generating project and financial reports.
• Willingness and ability to travel within the UK and abroad as required.

Responsibilities

• Launch new projects with master schedules, resource plans, stage plans and budgets.
• Manage stakeholder communications and log decisions with commercial impact.
• Oversee artefacts like Master Schedule, PM Plan, SoW/Contract matrices and business processes.
• Coordinate with operations to deliver build-to-print projects and support acceptance testing.
• Identify critical success factors with engineering leads and allocate resources accordingly.
• Ensure design processes are followed and stage gates are met to satisfy the schedule.
• Maintain centralized action logs and drive timely closure of actions.
• Lead risk management per company processes and customer requirements.
• Collaborate with Finance to prepare monthly project reports including revenue, EAC, ETC and forecast margin.
• Ensure controls for production, data management, invoicing, shipping and export controls are in place.
• Capture lessons learned for process improvement and personnel development.

Skills

Stakeholder management

MS Project

Financial reporting

Travel flexibility

UK security clearance

Job description

Role Purpose

Joining the Project Management team and reporting to the R&D IPT Lead, the Project Manager will be responsible for managing the execution of assigned projects, overall engineering development efforts, contract deliverables and contract milestones. The Project Manager will control all cost, time, quality and technical performance requirements as well as manage critical communications and decisions with key internal and external stakeholders. The Project Manager will work closely with Operations in a customer facing role to ensure acceptance testing and delivery in line with contractual obligations. Assigned projects can include both customer contracts as well as internally funded development.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure assigned new projects are launched with due diligence through the creation of project artefacts (master schedules, resource demand plans, stage plans and budgets for each stage).
• Manage communications with internal and external stakeholders, taking responsibility for capturing and communicating their requirements and managing their expectations and engagement. Maintain a logbook of meetings minutes, important decisions and all communications with commercial impact to the business.
• Manage delivery against key PM artefacts including Master Schedule, Project Management Plan, SoW/Contract Compliance Matrix and Chess Business Processes.
• Coordination with operations to ensure the delivery of new and build-to-print projects, engaging with customers to keep them informed of progress and ensuring their availability for acceptance testing as required.
• Liaise with engineering leads and department heads to ensure that critical success-factors for the project are identified and managed and accurate demand for resources/skills requirements are identified and filled.
• Work with the project engineering team and senior reviewers to ensure that all design processes are followed, and stage gates are achieved to meet the schedule.
• Set up and manage centralised residual action logs ensuring that all actions are collected and closed.
• Initiate and run risk management in line with company process and customer requirements.
• Work with Finance to prepare and update monthly projects reports including management of revenue trading plans, EAC, ETC and forecast margin to senior managers.
• Liaise with colleagues to ensure appropriate controls are in place for production, data management & retention, invoicing, shipping, and export controls.
• Coordinate and collect (throughout and at the closure of a project) lessons learned and feedback for process improvement and personnel development.

Additional Responsibilities

• Support and assist colleagues as required in the support of milestones and deliverables.
• Develop a working knowledge of all products delivered by Chess.
• Attain and sustain a working knowledge of all engineering / development processes and their application to the execution of assigned projects.
• Participate in and contribute to continuous business improvement.
• Complete all administrative actions on time and accurately including weekly timesheets and status reports and annual mandatory compliance training modules.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Minimum experience of 3 year in a project management role within an Engineering environment
• Stakeholder management of international Customers and with multiple functions across an engineering design and delivery business
• Ability to create and maintain project plans using Microsoft Project or similar
• Experience in the generation of project and financial reports
• Maintain personal ability to travel within UK and abroad as required (driving licence, passport etc).
• Maintain ability to hold a baseline UK Security Clearance

Personal Attributes

• Be a highly organised individual with excellent time, risk, and cost management skills
• Demonstrates our company values of Teamwork, Integrity, Excellence and Courage
• Implement a methodical approach to project tasks, with an eye for detail
• The ability to work independently when required
• A flexible, conscientious, and diligent attitude
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and written skills
• A resilient and adaptable approach

Work Life Balance

• 37.5 hour working week
• Lunchtime finishes on a Friday
• Hybrid / flexible working arrangements
• 28 days annual leave
• Christmas closure
• Holiday purchasing scheme

Benefits

• Group pension plan – matched contributions up to 5%
• Income protection scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme gives you and your family access to 4 key services including remote GP service, second opinion, mental health pathway service and physiotherapy consultations
• Life assurance policy, including bereavement counselling and probate helpline
• Company shares incentive plan and save as you earn scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Wellbeing initiatives, including access to wellbeing app and the addition of mental health support for all employees. Plus, regular activities across our sites to support and promote wellbeing
• Regular sports and social activities
• Gym membership discounts
• Reward platform (high street discounts, employee benefits, health, and wellbeing offerings).
• Recruitment referral bonus scheme
• Excellent learning & development opportunities
• Great working environment with free, onsite car parking across all our locations

Security Clearance Requirements

Due to the nature of our business, our staff need to be able to obtain UK Security Clearance as a mandated requirement. Therefore, if successful, you will need to provide proof of identity, employment history and right to work in the UK, along with proof of UK residency for at least five years.