Senior Project Manager

Southern Water; Durrington; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water in Durrington, Worthing, is seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead complex IT and digital change across our portfolio. This role combines business and technical leadership, guiding initiatives from initiation through mobilisation to service transition.

You will coordinate cross-functional teams, maintain governance, manage budgets and third-party suppliers, and communicate clearly with stakeholders at all levels. Hybrid working and permanent status are offered.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering large IT/digital projects.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and influence skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams in a matrix environment.
• Certifications: PMP or PRINCE2 and Agile preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale IT/digital transformation projects from initiation to service transition.
• Draft plans, budgets, milestones and coordinate dependencies.
• Manage multi-disciplinary teams and ensure quality and motivation.
• Maintain governance and PMO-aligned documentation.
• Oversee third-party suppliers to meet scope and timelines.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Risk management

Education

PMP

PRINCE2

Agile certification

Job description

Closing Date: 2026-08-28

Job Title: Senior Project Manager

Location: Durrington, Worthing (Hybrid Working)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time
Salary: From £65k based on skills and experience

About the role:

Join us at a pivotal moment in our transformation journey. As a Senior Project Manager in the Digital Delivery team, you'll be at the forefront of shaping, delivering and embedding complex change across our technology landscape. This is a dynamic, fast-moving environment where no two days look the same perfect for someone who thrives on variety, innovation, and working with smart, passionate people.

You'll work across both business and technical domains, leading multi-disciplinary teams through the full project lifecycle.

With a strong project management background in the delivery of digital/IT related projects, you'll be leading complex projects and programs from definition to mobilisation, procurement right through delivery and transition to support.

You will need to be an outstanding communicator who can translate complexity for stakeholders at all levels.

This is a highly collaborative role, working closely with Business Owners, Product Owners, Programme Managers and technical specialists to ensure our portfolio lands successfully and delivers real value.

What you will be responsible for:

• Leading large-scale and complex IT/digital and transformation projects from initiation through to service transition.
• Creating clear plans, estimates, budgets, milestones and deliverables for your programme of work and working with teams to align on dependencies, resources and timings.
• Managing multi-disciplinary teams in a matrix environment, ensuring clarity, alignment, quality and motivation throughout.
• Building strong working relationships across both technical and non-technical teams, ensuring clear communication and proactive risk management.
• Ensuring project governance, documentation and processes are followed in line with PMO standards.
• Managing third-party suppliers and partners to ensure they deliver to scope, quality and timescales.

Additional Requirements:

• Occasional travel to other Southern Water sites may be required.
• Participation in project-specific out-of-hours activity (e.g., implementation cutovers) on a rota basis where relevant.

What you'll bring to the role:

Essential

• Strong, demonstrable experience leading complex IT/digital projects, ideally within large organisations.
• Excellent communication skills — able to engage, influence and bring clarity to stakeholders at every level.
• Demonstrable experience managing project teams in a matrix structure including coaching and mentoring more junior members of the team.
• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile certification or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven ability to work proactively, solve problems independently, and drive delivery at pace.

Desirable

• Experience managing portfolio-level initiatives or supporting Programme Managers with resource planning.
• Experience with procurement and managing third-party suppliers.

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation

At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we'd love to hear from you—even if you don't tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information

In line with Southern Water's security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record

check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre-employment checks, including security vetting.

Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.