Vacancies

Technical Senior Project Manager

About the role

We want it all - a technical, capable and experienced project manager with ambition and powerful ideas, but most of all, the bravery to make those ideas happen.

We're looking for an exceptional human to join our Shared Services Programme Team to lead large and complex change and/or system implementation projects for West Northamptonshire Council and our partners: North Northamptonshire Council, Milton Keynes Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.

We have started a very exciting journey seeking opportunity to transform what we do and how we do it! By leveraging our line of business shared systems, we want to push the limits on automation, innovation, and scalable, reusable services that help join up the organisation and make things better for our people and residents.

Is this you? If so, we’d like to hear from you.

What will you be doing?

Planning, leading, project managing – you’ll define the project from the start, lead your project team (including people from across the organisation) to ensure we understand the business drivers for change; explore the options available and deliver the changes needed
Collaborating – with experts from IT, Finance, HR, Transactions, Legal and other Enabler services of West Northamptonshire Council - as well as our partners' - to understand their requirements, leverage their knowledge and expertise, and ensure this shapes project planning and delivery
The project management bit – you’ll be experienced in PRINCE2 project management or other project/programme management, and people change management methodologies, and follow robust tools/standards to ensure your projects run smoothly
Being a proactive thinker, doer and challenger, so that we can do our best work

About you

Natural openness, curiosity, and optimism (a bit of bravery probably wouldn’t hurt either)
Experience in complex technical projects, particularly where integrations between multiple systems is required
Background in Financial services or IT
Experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (Unit 4) and Office 365
Experience in people Change Management, ideally in relation to technical projects
Excellent communications skills and ability to deal with a wide range of stakeholders
A team-driven approach to delivery
A responsive and adaptable attitude
A passion for making a positive impact for individuals and services

Within your application, please use the Supporting Statement section to explain clearly how you fulfil each of the essential criteria from the Job Description attached on this page. If you would prefer, please attach your Supporting Statement to the end of your CV.

We anticipate holding interviews on the 26th and 27th of September.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
Cycle to Work scheme.
Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
Car Lease scheme
Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
Ongoing training and development opportunities.
A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.

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