Project Manager – Central Gov Agency

Summary

The Central Government Agency Project Manager role sits between Project Manager and Senior Project Manager and is responsible for delivering medium to large Unified Communications projects and complex workstreams with a high degree of autonomy. The postholder will lead end-to-end delivery, manage customer relationships, coordinate cross-functional teams, maintain strong governance and financial control, and proactively manage risk, change and escalation. For the Central Government Agency customer environment, the role is expected to operate within a structured governance framework with a strong focus on compliance, stakeholder coordination, service continuity and assurance. Eligibility to obtain and maintain Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance is essential, with eligibility to obtain and maintain Security Check (SC) clearance required where mandated by the customer assignment. The role also contributes to continuous improvement within the PMO and may provide guidance to less experienced project managers where appropriate.  

Role Purpose  

To deliver medium to large Unified Communications projects or defined workstreams within larger programmes for the Central Government Agency, ensuring successful outcomes across scope, schedule, budget, quality and customer satisfaction. The role bridges operational delivery and broader programme coordination, providing confident day-to-day leadership across internal teams, customer stakeholders and third-party suppliers.  

Reporting Line  

This role would typically report to a Programme Manager when operating within a large programme, or to a Senior Delivery Leader within a standalone project structure.

Key Accountabilities 

Project Coordination  

• Lead project handover from Sales, ensuring a clear understanding of scope, commercials, assumptions, risks, service offering, contractual obligations and delivery approach.  
• Perform project setup activities including customer initiation, definition of scope, deliverables, success criteria, governance, assurance requirements and delivery approach through the Project Initiation Document (PID) and associated artefacts.  
• Provide customers with a clear overview of delivery activities, milestones, dependencies and required involvement, while establishing the project controls needed to support compliant and successful delivery.  
• Manage one or more projects or complex workstreams across internal departments, third parties and customer stakeholders to deliver Unified Communications solutions within a structured public sector environment.  
• Coordinate dependencies across delivery teams and, where applicable, with other project managers to ensure aligned execution, effective governance and delivery to agreed timescales.  
• Manage transition into service and support, ensuring operational handover requirements, service readiness, acceptance criteria and continuity obligations are completed accurately.  

Governance  

• Produce, maintain and assure project documentation in line with PMO and customer standards, ensuring all records are complete, accurate and stored appropriately in relevant systems.  
• Maintain RAID logs, meeting minutes, decisions, actions and change records, ensuring governance remains current, accurate, auditable and aligned to programme controls.  
• Proactively manage risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, changes and escalations, driving timely resolution and clear stakeholder communication within agreed governance routes.  
• Facilitate and chair internal and customer governance meetings, ensuring decisions, actions, approvals and next steps are clearly captured and followed through.  
• Manage project change control in line with internal processes, contractual obligations and customer commitments, including impact assessment across scope, time, cost, quality and service continuity.  
• Support assurance, audit and compliance activities by ensuring project records, approvals and governance artefacts are maintained to the required standard.  

Scheduling  

• Identify deliverables, milestones, dependencies and resource requirements, and develop integrated plans including mitigation and contingency activities where required.  
• Produce and maintain project plans covering timeline, resources, customer actions and key decision points, and align these with the customer and delivery teams.  
• Secure and coordinate required resources across internal teams, partners, suppliers and customer stakeholders.  
• Track progress against the plan, take corrective action where required, and maintain delivery momentum through proactive management.  

Relationship Management  

• Build strong and credible relationships with customer stakeholders, internal teams and third-party suppliers to support successful delivery and positive customer outcomes.  
• Act as a trusted day-to-day point of contact for customers, demonstrating confidence, professionalism and strong stakeholder management.  
• Travel to customer sites where required and feasible to support project delivery, workshops, governance and key milestones.  

Reporting  

• Provide accurate weekly and monthly internal status reporting, highlighting delivery progress, risks, dependencies, financial position, forecast and matters requiring management attention.  
• Provide clear, timely and professional customer reporting in line with agreed governance, assurance and reporting standards.  
• Report on budget versus actuals, forecasted position, delivery tolerances and any financial or service risks requiring escalation.  

Escalation  

• Act as the primary escalation point for day-to-day delivery issues internally and externally, ensuring prompt visibility and ownership.
• Manage escalations in a controlled and timely manner, ensuring issues are assessed, documented and resolved through the appropriate governance routes.  
• Escalate significant project concerns to the Programme Manager or senior management where additional intervention, decision-making or customer engagement is required.  

Quality Management  

• Ensure delivery aligns to agreed quality objectives, customer acceptance criteria, internal standards and relevant compliance obligations throughout the project lifecycle.  
• Coordinate and oversee the delivery quality of internal teams, third-party suppliers, installers and other delivery partners, ensuring outputs are fit for purpose and support service continuity.  

Financial Management  

• Manage project financials including budget control, tracking of actuals, forecasting, change impact and support for revenue and cost accuracy.

Knowledge, Skills And Competencies

Skills 

• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Unified Communications delivery, including Enterprise Voice / Direct Routing; broader contact centre or voice migration experience would be advantageous.  
• Strong project management capability within a structured delivery environment.  
• Strong planning, coordination and organisational skills, with good attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities.  
• Confident communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to challenge constructively and build credibility.  
• Strong commercial awareness, including budget management, forecasting and change impact assessment.  
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Project.  
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision while contributing positively to team development and PMO standards.  

Key Competencies  

• Leadership and ownership – take accountability for delivery, drives progress and follows through on commitments.  
• Stakeholder management – builds credibility quickly, manages expectations effectively and maintains strong working relationships.  
• Planning and organisation – able to structure work, prioritise effectively and manage multiple activities in a controlled manner.  
• Commercial and financial awareness – understands budgetary impact, forecasting and the importance of commercial discipline.  
• Risk-based thinking – anticipates issues early, assesses impact clearly and drives appropriate mitigation and escalation.  
• Communication and influence – communicate clearly and professionally, adapting style to suit different audiences.  
• Customer focus – maintains a strong service mindset while balancing customer needs with delivery control and business objectives.
• Collaboration – works effectively across delivery, technical, commercial and support teams to achieve shared outcomes.  
• Adaptability and resilience – remain composed under pressure, responds positively to change and maintains delivery momentum.  
• Continuous improvement – looks for ways to improve ways of working, strengthen governance and contribute to PMO maturity. 

Technical & Professional Qualification

• A recognised project management qualification such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM or PMI is preferred.  
• Degree-level education or equivalent practical experience is desirable but not essential.  
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain BPSS clearance is essential, with eligibility to obtain and maintain Security Check (SC) clearance required where mandated for the Central Government Agency assignment. 

Experience Requirements

• Typically, 4–6 years’ project management experience, with evidence of successfully delivering medium to large technology, telecoms or Unified Communications projects.  
• Experience of full project lifecycle delivery, from initiation and planning through to implementation, transition to support and closure.
• Proven experience of managing customer stakeholders, internal delivery teams, third-party suppliers and cross-functional dependencies.  
• Experience within Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, voice, collaboration, contact centre or wider telecoms / IT delivery environments would be advantageous.  
• Experience of working within a programme structure and reporting to a Programme Manager on large or complex deliveries would be beneficial.  
• Experience of managing project governance, RAID, reporting, change control, financial tracking and escalation within a structured delivery environment. 

Security Clearance Requirements 

• The successful candidate must be eligible to obtain and maintain Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance for work within the Central Government Agency environment.  
• Where required by the customer assignment, the successful candidate must also be eligible to obtain and maintain Security Check (SC) clearance.  
• Where BPSS or SC clearance is not already held, appointment may be subject to satisfactory completion of the relevant pre-employment checks and government vetting process.  
• The postholder will be expected to comply with all customer and organisational security policies, information handling requirements and access control procedures relevant to the assignment. 
• Any offer of employment or assignment to the role may be conditional upon obtaining the required BPSS and, where applicable, SC clearance within agreed timescales.