Senior Project Manager

National Physical Laboratory; Tewkesbury; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

National Physical Laboratory seeks an experienced project leader to drive delivery across multiple science and IT projects within the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme.

You will coordinate schedules, milestones and governance, translating input from scientists and engineers into actionable plans while managing risks and ensuring robust documentation and reporting. Strong stakeholder engagement is essential.

Qualifications

• Leadership in project delivery within science or IT domains.
• Ability to translate technical input into actionable delivery plans.
• Experience with governance, reporting and audits.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage 2-3 concurrent science or IT-based projects with clear schedules and milestones.
• Translate technical input into actionable delivery plans without deep technical expertise.
• Identify and manage risks, issues and scope changes with documented impacts.
• Maintain high-quality project documentation and timely governance reporting.
• Engage stakeholders and promote cross-programme collaboration and lessons learned.

Skills

Project management

Scheduling

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Documentation

Job description

This is an exceptional opportunity to join the global authority in precision timing at a defining moment for UK digital infrastructure.

Backed by a government investment of £180 million in the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme , we are developing a world-first resilient time distribution capability that will provide industry with a robust alternative to satellite systems such as GPS – which are increasingly vulnerable to disruption from solar storms, jamming and spoofing. This will underpin essential services; including

• Telecommunications,
• Online banking,
• Emergency response,
• Transport networks, and
• Wider digital and data-driven operations.

Together, these services form the backbone of modern society - and your leadership will help ensure they remain secure, reliable and robust even if global navigation satellite systems fail.

As a contributor to this transformation, you will shape the delivery of critical project activity within the NTC programme across NPL, as we deliver an era defining enhancement to the UK's timekeeping capability.

Key responsibilities:

• Project Delivery & Scheduling: Independently manage 2-3 concurrent science or IT-based projects, maintaining clear schedules, milestones, RAID logs, and progress tracking against baseline plans.
• Technical Coordination & Planning: Translate technical input from scientists, engineers, and other specialists into actionable, sequenced delivery plans without needing deep technical expertise.
• Risk, Issue & Change Management: Proactively identify, manage, and expand risks, issues, and scope changes, ensuring all impacts are assessed, approved, and accurately reflected in controlled project updates.
• Governance, Reporting & Documentation: Maintain high-quality project documentation and produce timely reporting in line with NTC governance standards, contributing to audits, assurance activities, and programme-level forums.
• Stakeholder & Team Engagement: Build strong working relationships across technical, HR, and programme colleagues, communicating progress clearly while constructively supporting cross-programme collaboration and lessons learned sharing.