Senior Project Manager (Infrastructure & Construction)

Canal & River Trust; Burnley; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car Cash Allowance

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Job summary

Canal & River Trust in Burnley is seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead towpath and river projects across the North West. You will manage low/medium risk projects, work with framework contractors, and ensure delivery aligns with Waterways and Wellbeing strategy.

Role involves NEC contract management, strong stakeholder engagement, and delivering projects from concept to handover while maintaining safety and financial controls.

Qualifications

• Degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline, e.g. Project Management, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Science.
• Membership of an appropriate professional body, e.g. ICE, APM, RICS.
• Beneficial: PMQ/MSP/PRINCE2g accreditation.

Responsibilities

• Work safely at all times and ensure safety of others.
• Capture project requirements and prepare a business case.
• Develop and monitor the project programme and milestones.
• Provide financial and cost management, estimating and justification of costs.
• Lead and motivate the project team to achieve objectives.
• Manage risks, issues and changes on the project.
• Maintain communications with stakeholders and team.
• Manage contracts (e.g., NEC ECC/EC...); act as PM and Supervisor as defined in NEC.
• Handover and closure with improvements and good practice.

Skills

NEC Contracts

Stakeholder mgmt

Budgeting

Planning

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Degree or equivalent in related discipline (e.g., Project Management, Civil/Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Science)

Tools

MS Project

Job description

Join Our Team: Senior Project Manager Opportunity

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

Are you an experienced Project Manager interested in putting your project management expertise into practice to ultimately benefit millions of people?

We are looking for a Project Manager to join our Project DeliveryNorth team; playing an important role in supporting our vision and delivering our Waterways and Wellbeing strategy. You will be involved in a range of projects that will ensure our existing national waterways, reservoirs and infrastructure are managed and maintained, as well as being fundamental in bringing new developments and improvements to life for our visitors, customers and service users.

See how we make a difference ( https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/how-we-make-a-difference )

Working Hours & Location

This role follows 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. Travel throughout the North West waterway network will also be expected to enable site visits and face to face meetings. A valid UK driving license and access to a vehicle is therefore essential.

Current Project Locations (Upper North West)

• Primary region: North and North West.
• Preferred hubs: Burnley or Lancaster Depot.
• Typical project locations: Burnley, Lancaster, Blackburn, Colne, Preston, Liverpool and the Greater Manchester area.
• Additional notable asset: Opportunity to work on projects associated with the Anderton Boat Lift, one of the Trust's most iconic structures.

Hubs include: Burnley.

See here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers

Role Overview

In this role you will be working with a diverse range of stakeholders and partners planning and delivering our third party funded projects. You will be managing projects of low/medium risk and/or low/medium complexity by applying processes, methods, knowledge,skills and experience to achieve the project objectives. Towpath projects will range from £50,000 to £1,000,000 in value and be delivered with our framework contractors.

You don't need to have worked in a charity before, but we believe we can offer you an exciting change of environment and impactful projects to support and manage. Our towpaths and various historic assets provide a refreshing backdrop and unique working environment. As a Project Manager with the Canal & River Trust you will further develop your skill set and project management career alongside our canals and waterways, in an organisation that values wellbeing and work life balance.

Key responsibilities

• Work safely at all times, ensuring the safety of others and contribute to safe working in all activities.
• Capture project requirements and prepare a business case to justify investment in the project.
• Develop and monitor the project programme and key milestones to achieve the project objectives.
• Provide financial and cost management, estimating and justifying project costs, whilst controlling expenditure and evaluating the outcomes.
• Assign, lead and motivate the project team to ensure all project objectives are achieved.
• Manage risks, issues and changes on the project.
• Maintain communications with stakeholders and the project team/organisation.
• Manage all contracts applicable to the project (e.g., NEC ECC, NEC ECSC, NEC PSC). Carry out the role of the Project Manager and Supervisor as defined in the NEC.
• Handover and closure of the project highlighting any areas for improvements and elements of good practice.
• Provide environmental management by appraising the environmental impact of the project and ensuring that the controls are implemented.

About You

You’re a driven project professional with strong knowledge of project management processes and hands‑on experience delivering multiple low‑medium complexity projects. Confident working with NEC contracts and project finance, you keep schedules tight, budgets on track, and stakeholders aligned. With a positive, can‑do attitude and great communication skills, you bring clarity, momentum, and control to every project.

Skills & Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline, e.g. Project Management, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Science.
• Membership of an appropriate professional body, e.g. Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Association for Project Management (APM), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
• Beneficial: Project/Programme Management accreditation/qualification, e.g. APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ), Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), PRINCE2g.

Experience:

• NEC Contract Management experience.
• Proven track record of successfully managing multiple projects - from definition to delivery - within a relevant discipline/sector (e.g., construction, asset management, utilities, civil engineering, etc).
• Comprehensive knowledge of project management processes and systems.
• Knowledge and experience of Managing Safety in Construction, and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.

General skills:

• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written. Be able to manage internal and external stakeholders, building confidence and credibility towards project processes.
• Ability to manage resources. Be able to coordinate work carried out by different people and organisations.
• Be effective at planning, monitoring and reviewing all project activities.
• Ability to develop and agree budgets for projects, control forecasts and actual costs.
• Be good at problem solving, be able to resolve conflicts, and successfully influence and negotiate.
• Possess good IT skills, including experience of MS Project.
• Valid UK driving licence - Car Cash allowance & regional/national travel, including to remote locations is expected.

What We Offer

In addition to your annual base salary of £45,450 - £47,70 0, we also offer Car Cash Allowance (£390 per month), a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1.

Learn more: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits

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